Damian's Backyard Friends Part 2
In the time since we last visited our backyard, we bought a bird feeder. After a short while, the feeder attracted several birds - none of which we got a good picture of. These included cardinals, nuthatches, a Baltimore Oriole, and a red-winged blackbird. It also attracted the chipmunks and squirrels too, which in turn attracted the attention of our friendly neighborhood red-shouldered hawk. This post is more a biology lesson than anything, and if you are disturbed by the site of what a top predator is capable of doing to a cute little bunny rabbit, I suggest you hit the back button on your browser. Hey, all the animal kingdom is friends with Damian, predators and prey alike.
You all remember Baby Rabbity from last time? Well, um... more on him later.
Dovey!
Flyey!
Tomato Hornwormy!
Anty!
Chipmunky! (He's there, look closely)
Bearded Dragony! (He lives by the creek)
Spidery!
Squirrely!
Okay, so Hoang was watching the bird feeder festivities one afternoon and remarking how many animals we seem to have in our backyard. Then, all of the sudden from over the house behind where she was looking, a HUGE hawk swooped down and made off with a chipmunk - right before her eyes. I ran outside to see it perched up in a tree... it was not the more common red-tailed hawk, but rather a larger red-shouldered hawk. It was incredible! We didn't see another mammal in our backyard for a couple days after that. Then, one night I was poking around the yard and stumbled upon a rather disturbing site. Our friend Hawky had made a return visit and let's just say baby rabbity is now named Hawk Dinner. I (of course) took some pictures, but you'll have to click on them to see. I warn you, pregnant women (there are 2 of you reading this I know of), children under the age of 13, and anyone with a heart condition or affection for bunny rabbits do not want to see this. There are three parts of a rabbit hawks don't like:
The fur (note hawk feather to the left)
The entrails (piled oh-so neatly)
And... the head.
Besetting Vice Home
Okay, so Hoang was watching the bird feeder festivities one afternoon and remarking how many animals we seem to have in our backyard. Then, all of the sudden from over the house behind where she was looking, a HUGE hawk swooped down and made off with a chipmunk - right before her eyes. I ran outside to see it perched up in a tree... it was not the more common red-tailed hawk, but rather a larger red-shouldered hawk. It was incredible! We didn't see another mammal in our backyard for a couple days after that. Then, one night I was poking around the yard and stumbled upon a rather disturbing site. Our friend Hawky had made a return visit and let's just say baby rabbity is now named Hawk Dinner. I (of course) took some pictures, but you'll have to click on them to see. I warn you, pregnant women (there are 2 of you reading this I know of), children under the age of 13, and anyone with a heart condition or affection for bunny rabbits do not want to see this. There are three parts of a rabbit hawks don't like:
The fur (note hawk feather to the left)
The entrails (piled oh-so neatly)
And... the head.
Besetting Vice Home
posted by sgw at 12:07 PM |
