Weasel

After a morning spent completing the first draft of my latest report, I decided to walk down to Thorpe Meadows after lunch, to see if I could catch up with the two Common Seals that have been spotted recently near The Boathouse pub.

It was a beautiful, spring-like afternoon, with perfect light but when I arrived there was no sign of the seals, or very much else for that matter, so I decided to do a loop along the Nene before returning for a second look. 

As I was walking along a small grassy riverside path I caught a flash of movement, so stopped dead in my tracks. After a moment or two this Weasel appeared and jumped and rolled in a muddy depression in the path. I was upwind of it so it didn't see me at first, but I'm fairly sure it eventually realised it was being watched. This didn't stop its antics, and I was able to watch  it repeating this behaviour for some time before it finally disappeared in the long grass. 

I completed my loop, checked out the seal haunt again (to no avail) and then set off to do a loop in the opposite direction. By the time I arrived back at the Boathouse for the third time, it was nearly dark. But I soon spotted a sleek grey head in the middle of the backwater, looking around and then slipping back under the water's surface. The conditions were very testing, but I managed a few shots, and also saw a Kingfisher, which I think is probably going to nest in the steep bank near the path.

Great to see so much wildlife in the urban area - we're very lucky to have the River Nene running through the city.