Weasel or Stoat

On our travels along country roads recently, we had seen the scurrying of squirrels, weasels and stoats across our path, and so far have not contributed to the road kill that is sadly still apparent.

We were a little anxious today for a small squirrel that was undecided as to the direction it wanted to go. We were hoping it would not double back on itself as it would have gone under the wheels of our car which would have been an upsetting start to the day.
It shot off into the undergrowth on the verge so was safe for another day all being well.These past couple of days though we have seen weasels or stoats running across the road and I meant to look up a previous post I’d done on the subject to distinguish the two.
I can’t reblog it because I already had in May 2019, so thought I’d do a short post today.
This little chap is a weasel.
They have a slim, elongated body with a small, flattish, triangular head. They have small, rounded ears but large eyes and a pointy snout with long whiskers. Their back is usually brown, gray, or black, but they have a white or yellow chin and belly.
Collective Noun – A group of weasels is known as a “sneak,” a “boogle,” a “gang,” or a “confusion.” (source)
This is a stoat, the difference between the two immediately noticeable is the black tip on the tail.
Their fur is chestnut brown in summer, with a lighter underparts. In winter, in the north regions of North America and tundra areas, their fur becomes thicker and turns white, this is when they are referred to as Ermine or as being ‘in ermine’. (source)
The collective noun for stoats is either gang or pack. (WIKI)

As it turns out, we have actually seen one of each!