{"id":115739,"date":"2023-09-08T04:30:55","date_gmt":"2023-09-08T10:30:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=115739"},"modified":"2023-10-17T03:31:44","modified_gmt":"2023-10-17T09:31:44","slug":"late-summer-long-tailed-weasel-photos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/09\/08\/late-summer-long-tailed-weasel-photos\/","title":{"rendered":"Late Summer Long-tailed Weasel Photos"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was super excited to take Long-tailed Weasel photos yesterday morning while I was looking for birds to photograph at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area.<\/p>\n

\"Side-litSide-lit Long-tailed Weasel portrait \u2013 Nikon D500, f10, 1\/320, ISO 640, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

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When I first spotted the Long-tailed Weasels next to the road, they weren’t in the best light. All three of them were to the east of me and my Jeep, which meant the lighting angle I had on them wasn’t optimal. It was kind of a cross between the weasels being backlit and side-lit.<\/p>\n

I still liked the way this portrait turned out despite the lighting challenges. That small, silvery catch light in the weasel’s eye is actually my Jeep.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Two cars and two people on bicycles came by while I was photographing the weasels, and that was too much for them. The weasels ran off and hid.<\/p>\n

Because I have photographed weasels before and know their behaviors, I had a feeling that the weasels were going to cross the road, so I drove off and, a few minutes later, drove back to look for them on the other side of the road.<\/p>\n

\"StandingStanding Long-tailed Weasel \u2013 Nikon D500, f10, 1\/1600, ISO 640, EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I’m glad I trusted my instincts and went back to find the weasels a second time because the Long-tailed Weasels did cross the road, which meant that the angle of morning light I had on them was much, much better.<\/p>\n

\"Long-tailedLong-tailed Weasel sticking out its tongue \u2013 Nikon D500, f10, 1\/1600, ISO 640, EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, I felt that the lighting angle was perfect. The fur of the weasels seemed to glow in the morning sun.<\/p>\n

I was also far enough away from the weasels that I could photograph them while they stood on the rocks without cutting off their small ears. At times, I couldn’t see their very long tails because they were hidden behind the rocks.<\/p>\n

\"Long-tailedLong-tailed Weasel side-eye \u2013 Nikon D500, f8, 1\/2000, ISO 640, EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Then one of the weasels came in closer, and I opted to take close ups of it while it appeared to give me the classic ‘side-eye’ for some unknown reason. I certainly don’t know what was going on in the weasel’s mind, but this image made me laugh. I’ve seen that look before from people and dogs.<\/p>\n

\"Long-tailedLong-tailed Weasel in its sleek summer coat \u2013 Nikon D500, f8, 1\/2500, ISO 640, EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

A few frames later, while I was taking photo after photo of the weasel, I noticed how sleek the weasel’s summer coat was. In just a few weeks, these weasels will start to swap out their summer duds for their white winter coats. I hope I will get to photograph them in their snow-white winter apparel.<\/p>\n

\"Long-tailedLong-tailed Weasel stopped on a gravel road \u2013 Nikon D500, f8, 1\/1600, ISO 640, EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Having the Long-tailed Weasels<\/span><\/a> in my viewfinder yesterday was a thrilling surprise. Paying attention to a small movement at the side of the road yielded these images. I’m very grateful for my keen eyesight.<\/p>\n

I found one more weasel yesterday but before I could get my camera locked on to it a small car, being driven way too fast for the dirt road, went by and scared the weasel off. That sucked.<\/p>\n

Earlier in the morning, I also had the opportunity to see and speak with my friend and fellow photographer, Jerry Ellison, yesterday by Glover Pond, and that was awesome. I hadn’t seen him in a very long time. Thanks for the calendar Jerry! It was so good to see you again.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Long-tailed Weasel photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was super excited to take Long-tailed Weasel photos yesterday morning while I was looking for birds to photograph at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":115724,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1022,697,1157,26],"tags":[4004,4142,2416,4094,1162,4046,14332,4470,4342,14331,953,2315,9880,5185,2774,2775,4095],"class_list":["post-115739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-davis-county-utah","category-farmington-bay-wma","category-long-tailed-weasels","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-close-up","tag-long-tailed-weasel","tag-marsh","tag-neogale-frenata","tag-portrait","tag-raspberry","tag-rocks","tag-side-lit","tag-side-eye","tag-standing","tag-summer-3","tag-summer-coat","tag-tongue","tag-weasel","tag-weasels","tag-wetlands"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t