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Posts Tagged ‘Eastern Cottontail rabbit’

Wild rabbit in September

Posted in animals, Autumn, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on September 14, 2020| 10 Comments »

It is always enjoyable to observe these fuzzy little Eastern Cottontail rabbits (Sylvilagus floridanus) when I am out walking the trails at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. This one was suddenly alert as I was getting ready to take this shot and may have detected my presence. From a photographic perspective, I like the shot much better when its head is lifted up than when it is grazing, which is what the rabbit was doing most of the time that I observed it.

If you double-click on the image to see more details, be sure to look into the rabbit’s eye, where you can see a pretty reflection of the

Eastern Cottontail

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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October rabbit

Posted in animals, Autumn, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on October 21, 2019| 6 Comments »

It’s always fun to encounter cute little rabbits like this one that I spotted recently as I was walking along one of the trails at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

I do not see a lot of mammals during my walks, with the notable exception of squirrels, so I am always happy to see a rabbit or a deer or a beaver. As most of you know, I tend to see a lot more insects and birds and that is one of the reasons why they appear so often in my postings.

On the sides of some of the trails at the refuge there are heavy thickets and my observations suggest that they are the preferred habitat for the rabbits, which are almost certainly Eastern Cottontail rabbits (Sylvilagus floridanus).  The rabbits at the wildlife refuge generally seem to be very cautious, which is probably a good survival tactic, considering the number of hawks and eagles in the area.

This particular rabbit froze in place for a moment when it first detected me, allowing me to get this shot. After a brief pause, it scampered away into the safety of the heavy vegetation.

rabbit

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Summer bunny

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , on August 18, 2019| 11 Comments »

I don’t see rabbits very often during my visits to various wildlife parks. Perhaps the numerous hawks and eagles in the area keep the rabbit population under control, or at least make the rabbits especially cautious and stealthy. I was happy therefore when I spotted this Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) during a recent visit to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge and thrilled when he posed momentarily for me.

This rabbit looks to be an adult, but somehow all rabbits are “bunnies” to me. I suspect that is because I had a rabbit as a pet for several years and got used to playing with him every day. I would let Prime Rib (yes, that really was his name) out of his cage and he would happily run around me as I sat on the living room floor, periodically bounding over my outstretched legs.

It was a sad moment for me when Prime Rib died and I can’t help but think of him every time that I see one of his cousins in the wild.

Eastern Cottontail

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Reappearing rabbits

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, Portraits, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on March 13, 2018| 11 Comments »

I know that rabbits don’t go south for the winter, but they seemed to disappear in late autumn and I did not see a single one during the winter months. Suddenly this past week, they started reappearing on the trails at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

Yesterday I spotted this cute little Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) as it gathered up stalks of grass. Initially the rabbit grazed a bit before it started to accumulate a mouthful of the long, dry stalks of grass—perhaps there are little ones that need to be fed.

Eastern Cottontail

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Rabbit in the field

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on June 4, 2015| 8 Comments »

I don’t see rabbits very often at Huntley Meadows Park, so I was thrilled to see this Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) on Monday in one of the meadows in a remote area of the park. I suspect that the rabbits are more active at dawn and dusk, when I am not there, though one of my friends offered a more straightforward explanation—the raptors are efficient hunters.

Eastern Cottontail rabbit

Rabbits have become a part of my daily life since I recently adopted a friend’s rabbit. She moved into an apartment in the city and could not bring PR (Prime Rib) with her, so he now lives with me. I don’t know the full story of his name, but do recall that her former rabbit was called Porkchop.

PR spends most of his time in his cage, but for an hour or so each evening I let him run around the living room. Sometimes he runs and jumps at such high speeds that I wonder if there is caffeine in his food. I took this shot of him relaxing after one of his evening exercise sessions. I think the photo makes for an interesting comparison with the rabbit in the wild (and I also think he’s cute, though I may be biased).

PR

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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