Backyard wild life 2015
I was a little lax last summer enjoying Mother Nature and getting some photographs. You have to take time to enjoy some! Yesterday while my Crockpot was doing most of the work for our supper I sat out.
For the past few weeks I have watched a pair of Robbins build a nest on my neighbors shed, under the eave on top of a downspout. After the eggs were laid they took turns sitting on them. The past few days I could see the eggs had hatched and they were taking turns feeding them. I wanted a picture of that but when I got close enough for a good shot they would not feed them. I finally settled for a couple of shots of one of them in the nest.
Last spring a rabbit adopted my backyard to stay in and lived under my smoking deck. After a few times I hollered no at my dog when he chased it they finally would stay out together at a distance going about their business. The rabbit had a mate that stayed under my neighbors shed; I wasn’t sure which one was the female.
They survived the winter and were out early spring. Mine started gathering grass and twigs so figured it was the female. I had not seen mine out for a week and yesterday when I stepped out there was a baby about a foot from my deck. My dog had gone out so I chased it back under the deck. I knew he would want to chase them. Later it was behind my house in a flower bed, don’t think the dog saw it.
We were in the house for a while then went back out. After just a bit my dog was quiet so checked and he was laying there eating something, a baby bunny. I think a hawk actually killed it and he was having the leftovers. There is a Coopers hawk that visits my backyard regularly. All that was left was the four feet and that is typical of how a hawk would hold and eat it. My dog usually lets out a yelp as he chases something and I never heard the bunny squeal; they sound like a baby crying. At least that’s my story!
This afternoon I went out and checked and there were two more in my flower bed. My dog started to chase but I hollered No and he stopped. He left them alone. Now I know two out of three have survived. I don’t know if there are more but it will be lucky if one survives. Between the cats that roam the neighborhood and the hawks their survival rate is not too high.
I think the rabbits sense somehow that my fenced in yard is cat free, my dog keeps it cat free! Years ago when I had my Dalmatian a female raised litters in a half a whiskey barrel right outside my back door for three years. She always went over and had a sniff but left them alone. I can’t remember if she ever got any of the babies or not.
Smokin Don