@Vermfly, that’s kind of you to try to help @danly see a whale!
It reminds me of a Pickerel Frog in the Canadian province of Ontario. They were provincially somewhat rare, but locally (at my parents’ place) very common.
My buddy wanted to add one to his life list. I parked the car, and opened my door (we were still in the car) . . . hop hop . . . there’s one! Without even getting out of the car. It was a nice moment!
Callifornia Lyre Snake. Some day…
Another one that is not particularly rare over it’s whole range, but might be more uncommon in your particular corner of the world (or might be common, but might have just been avoiding your friend in particular like the California kingsnake has managed to avoid me). Here’s a shot of a handsome pickerel frog I found in Great Smoky Mountain Nat’l Park.
It seems to be a family trait for Mustelidae, at least on the long and streamlined side of the family.
Mustelids are among my favorite creatures that don’t have four wings. Otters of all sorts, my much-missed busyness of domestic chaos generators; I’ve even been lucky enough to see a couple of the Black-footed Ferrets that were retired from the USFWS breeding program.
Have I ever managed to see a weasel in the wild? Not so much as a whisker.
This summer, there were observations of Long-tailed Weasels along Mt. Blue Sky Road to the summit. D and I went up twice, since the road is going to be closed next year for much-needed repair. There were weasel sightings the day before each trip, or the day after, but they obviously knew that I was coming and hid. 
Maybe I should go looking for Pika instead, and turn the tables on them!
I saw one on my very first attempt. There was a nene right in front of our rental cabin in the middle of the rainforest in HI in the morning of day 1
Well… I was going to write a reply about not really having one, and generally preferring to find organisms completely new to me.
But then earlier today for the first time in my life I saw a (Eurasian) Kingfisher. I didn’t manage to take any photos, but it was a really special encounter nonetheless.
I really would like to make an „official“ iNat record of one now. :D
Baltimore Oriole. I still haven’t seen one.
Alas! I get dreadfully seasick, even when drugged and wearing “sea bands.”
Until this past Saturday it was European Goldfinch, but I finally got it! Next up Black-backed Woodpecker. Wish me luck!
Well a future trip to California might be in order then. I’ve seen lots of humpbacks from shore right out from Land’s End in San Francisco. They often congregate right outside the mouth of San Franciso Bay. I’ve also seen a gray whale from the beach in Half Moon Bay and spouting and breaching humpbacks from the porch of an rental house in Mendocino.
Here’s my shots of a humpback from Land’s End. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/7152088
Helping people see a wish list creature is almost better than finding one for yourself. There’s almost something more satisfying about it.
Good advice! In the meantime, I will have to live vicariously through photos like yours.
Pika is near the top of my wishlist too. I meant to go this summer and just never made it happen.
One doesn’t go out nature-watching with the goal of seeing a weasel. They have their own schedule on when they want to be seen, at least in most places. I’ve never seen one except when it was most unexpected, popping up suddenly in front of me (“pop goes the weasel” indeed). The one exception is when I did surveys of a Black-footed Ferret reintroduction site and even then, every time, it was a very long night before one was spotted. River otter is another tough one where the stars apparently need to be properly aligned for one or more to pop up in front of you on a river.
You’re lucky to want to see weasels; a weasel is a problem for those who have chickens (myself included)!
My chickens have been attacked multiple times by a mink, and I was too busy scaring it off to get any photos. That was annoying, but oh well, priorities…
Maybe I should bring one of our chickens with me the next time I go for a nature hike and want to photo a weasel.
The only weasel I ever saw was one that was after my daughter’s chickens. She caught it alive and we released it at our place (we have lots of woods and fields, no chickens.)
We told her that in exchange we were going to bring her our woodchuck(s) but they are surprisingly hard to catch.
Mustela richardsonii Short-tailed weasel, a.k.a. American ermine,
still wearing it’s winter coat in March in Vermont.
I’ve seen two weasels, both after chickens, both scared away without harm done to the chickens.
Unfortunately this one lived under her house, right next to the chicken enclosure, so it had to be relocated. My gain- it was a thrill when it ran right over my foot upon being released. I never would have gotten so close to one, otherwise.
Not exactly a “white whale” but definitely white!
