As many of you know, I often profess my extreme dislike for rabbits which manifests itself in many ways. Verbally (“little bastard” is a go-to), physically with many a shoe launched out the door at all hours of the day and, when my dog Stella was still with me, the frequently snarled “Get that rabbit.” She was a keen huntress.
I’m sharing this in an effort to purge myself of the guilt I suddenly carry after what I witnessed last weekend. Let me preface this by writing that my garden is crawling with rabbits as a result of the raised deck in my neighbor’s yard that serves as a sort of flop house for all the horny rabbits who pop in, scratch an itch or two or twelve, and leave me to deal with the darling little critters that result from their promiscuity. It’s a problem.
We’ve had another recent explosion of little bunnies who’ve inevitably discovered my garden, weaving through the thicket of dahlias, roses, and hydrangeas to avoid me. And I have to admit, at this stage, they’re really cute. So when I heard one cry out, sounding much like a small child, the other night as I sat chatting with my sister-in-law at the kitchen table, I knew something was hunting in the backyard and couldn’t resist the urge to head out into the darkness.
Image by M. Maggs
My husband had left the patio light on that evening, something we rarely do, so that the grassy area just beyond the patio was dimly lit. In that sliver of space where light meets dark stood the silhouette of a Great Horned Owl. While I couldn’t see the tiny rabbit in its talons, I knew it was there. The owl turned it’s head with the smoothest swivel, eyes golden, the feather tufts on its head more pronounced as it squared off with me. Without a sound, it lifted off, revealing the white undersides of its wings and the outline of a lifeless little rabbit dangling in the darkness.
For a moment, a tinge of sadness came over me followed by a good amount of relief. One less “little bastard.”
Awesome! Natural selection working. We have a few owls in our area but only ever hear them in the winter. Our rabbit population is ridiculous, I wish the owls did more to keep them in check.
I’ve had to cage my small trees, hydrangeas, roses , etc. because the population is out of control in my neighborhood. The owls often hang out in a large walnut tree in the woods across the streets. They’ve been there for years and as my garden has grown, so to has the rabbit population. I think the owls appreciate the easing hunt.
The circle of life….the first time I heard a baby bunny cry out as it was being carried off by a hawk in broad daylight, I had no idea what it was. Such a piercing cry. In my side yard the Mama bunny ran out into the open, obviously looking for her young one, and kept running until she had circled back into cover. It was an amazing sight and introduction into life in the country. We have many hawks and I’ve seen fox, too, all keeping the small critters in check.
I’m so grateful for the nighttime predators that have helped curbed some of the rabbit population around our home. They’ve done so much damage to young plants in the garden and it’s been frustrating to go out into the garden in the morning only to find that the rose you were anxiously awaiting has been annihilated! Never a good feeling!
We’re planning on building an owl nest this fall to help. The rabbits have been really bad this year. My dog is getting a workout chasing them, but unfortunately, they just keep coming back.
Wow, an owl nest! I’d love to know how you build it.
I first called the Will County Forest Preserve to see what type of owls are most common in the area. It’s a Eastern screech owl. They also directed me to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology for plans and research. Here’s the plans: https://nestwatch.org/learn/all-about-birdhouses/birds/eastern-screech-owl/ The plans weren’t very detailed and I was able to find better plans as well.
Fantastic! If you’re into birds like me you might be interested in a book entitled “The Genius of Birds.” It includes a lot of very interesting research conducted by Cornell as well as plenty of humorous stories.