Eastern cottontail rabbits occupy the shrubby areas of south-central United States, eastern Mexico, southern Canada, northernmost South America, eastern United States, and Central America.
Studies show that cottontails consume as many as 145 different plants species.
Cottontails remain active all year-round.
MYSTERY BIRD
I will identify it at the end of the post.
Orchard Orioles are smaller than other orioles.
This year, I have seen many “1st summer” adult males.
Today at Col. Sam Smith Park I saw and heard several adult males.
They are a distinctive dark chestnut in colour quite unlike the bright orange of the male Baltimore Oriole.
Orchard Orioles feed on insects, larvae, fruit and nectar in the mid to upper level of trees.
Other birds:
Some botany:
MYSTERY BIRD
The long tail, cinnamon-buff below with a darker throat and blue-black above identify this as a Barn Swallow.
MAILBOX
Hi Miles This bird was just discovered outside our window. Do you recognize it? It has not moved for quite a while.
My response: It is either a Nighthawk or a Whip-Poor-Will. The two are almost identical. Hopefully it will recover and you can release it.
Later I got this message:
Thank you, and good news, the mystery visitor flew off after a hour or so. Cheers,
NATURE POETRY
Once upon a time there were
four little Rabbits, and their names
were–
Flopsy,
Mopsy,
Cotton-tail,
and Peter.
They lived with their Mother in a
sand-bank, underneath the root of a
very big fir-tree. – Beatrix Potter
Miles Hearn
Years ago I saw a bittern sitting atop a nearby chimney. He didn’t move for a couple of hours and I wondered what to do for him. But when I looked for him some time later, he’d taken off. I figured he’d been taking a much needed rest on his long migration north.
Yes, I love rabbits–sadly for them, they are almost a “feeder animal” in the food chain. The Spit (I still call it that) would be overrun with babies in early spring, and by the end of the winter–well, let’s just say the coyotes on the Spit were said to have gotten there because of them. Are some of the “new” birds being seen because of climate change? Nice pictures–as always. Glad the window sill story had a happy ending. Thanks, Miles!