Ardath Rekha

This definitely qualifies as cool wildlife time

5/14/09 05:39 pm - This definitely qualifies as cool wildlife time

I went outside this evening and met up with one of the rabbits I raised two summers ago. We had a nice time sitting near each other. Very lovely.

And we also watched an aerial battle. A crow and a hawk in a dogfight that put Top Gun to shame. Impressive as hell. I wish I'd had my Flip with me, but it wasn't in my pocket. Or there would be uploaded footage. I really have to remember to carry that around with me at all times.

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5/14/09 08:37 pm (UTC) - guiltyred

That sounds awesome. I'm a bit of a birdwatcher myself, so any bird stories you have I'd like to read.

I love it when a bunch of small birds take on a hawk or crow, too - it's just so bold and nervy of the little tweeters.

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5/14/09 09:54 pm (UTC) - ardath_rekha

OMG I have tons of bird stories. We rehabbed a lot of birds when I was younger. So lots and lots of stories. One time, the local blue-jays called us out of our house to collect one of their fledgelings who'd fallen out of a nest and couldn't get to a safe spot for the night. They made him get into a cage for us! I still boggle over that one.

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5/14/09 09:29 pm (UTC) - keieeeye

Bunny :D I took mine outside today. One of these days I'll remember to bring a camera out too. But he's getting good about just cuddling up in his towel while I put his harness on/carry him/take harness off, which is nice because when he was younger he'd wriggle and squirm to get back on the floor if I even put him on my lap.

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5/14/09 09:55 pm (UTC) - ardath_rekha

LOL! He's gotten used to the fact that it's not threatening and good things happen. :)

5/14/09 09:59 pm (UTC) - keieeeye

Yeah before he got his shots I was nervous about doing anything he didn't like but the vet said that around his age I should handle him as much as possible so he'll get used to it and now I'm just like "I PICK YOU UP AND STROKE YOU UNTIL YOU STAY STILL." Though I wouldn't let anyone else unless they knew how to make it not scary (holding him close to the body and supporting things that need supporting) and he knew them first.

5/14/09 10:04 pm (UTC) - ardath_rekha

Yes. Rabbits have spots that shouldn't be touched unless they reeeeeeally know you well, otherwise they'll think they're about to have their throat or belly ripped open by a predator, or something equally scary. They have a lot of hardcore prey instincts that have to be treated with respect. But they do love the cuddles, as long as they're introduced to them early enough and decisively enough. :) Of course, the wild bunny isn't interested in cuddles, but just having a wild rabbit choose to sit by me is more than enough to make me gleeful.

5/14/09 10:08 pm (UTC) - keieeeye

I still don't touch his belly or neck too much and only if he's calm. Even before I got him I did heaaaaaps of reading on bunny behaviour because I'm mostly used to dogs and cats and they're predators. Bunnies is way different. But it's good because it means when he does crazy stuff sometimes I actually know what it means, when it's not that he's just hyper and being ridiculous.

And if we had wild rabbits in the suburbs I would be totally ^_^ if one didn't run away. But mostly they only live on the farms and they're pests there.

5/14/09 11:10 pm (UTC) - ardath_rekha

That used to kind of be the case here, too... but the US has gotten so overdeveloped that in a lot of places, the wild animals have had no choice but to move back into the suburbs and even the cities. We've even had coyote sightings in the suburb lately... and about an hour's drive from where I live, there's been a bear sighting. They just don't have anywhere else to go anymore, so back they're coming. At least it means I get to meet neat creatures. But it was about... 18 years ago... that we had a wild rabbit who spent the summer hanging out with us. She'd come and sit on the porch with us, take naps by us, etc... she'd figured out we weren't dangerous, so she was taking advantage of it, since it meant she could relax and drop her guard around us and knew we'd watch her back for her. It was incredible.

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5/14/09 09:32 pm (UTC) - nihilobstat

Apologies if you already knew this, but that's the crow chasing the hawk off from its nest. Hawks will steal babies right out of them for a meal. It's pretty awesome to watch!

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5/14/09 09:58 pm (UTC) - ardath_rekha

Yup, and I think in this case, the hawk must have killed a baby, because the crow would not disengage. He or she was out to kill the hawk, not just drive it away. The crow was treating the whole thing as a duel to the death. I have no idea what ultimately happened, but my heart was in my mouth as I watched them dueling. It put all of the aerial battles in the movies to shame.

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