Polymerous said:Sorry to hear that you've had a rabbity visitation, Sherry. Does your dog like to hunt rabbits?

I saw it again today... It's a little cottontail... They're still faster than Bailey is.. He's only 10 pounds. I don't think he's ever managed to kill anything. He's really pretty much a wuss and a crybaby. The two 5 pound girls I had before him were tougher.. Sorry Bailey... it's true... maybe you should send Warp over here..

Lol, Sherry!

For all that Warp is eager to hunt rabbits, they are fast and usually evade him. He *has* caught at least three of them, I think. He is so happy and proud when he does.

I think we must be having a rabbit population explosion in the neighborhood. Today I was walking Warp, and on the return home, about 0.5 miles away, he yanked the leash out of my hand and took off after something, almost certainly a rabbit. (I've seen rabbits at that house before, and so has he - so now he looks. I don't always spot them before he does.) It took forever, and required trespassing into people's back yards (and added another 0.62 mi to our walk) for me to get him back - and I had to do that *twice*, because the first time I cornered him and got the leash back, he apparently spotted another rabbit while we were walking out of that yard, with the result that the whole wretched chase had to be repeated.

(If this Great Escape and Adventure were off on some dead end road, and I didn't have to trespass on properties because the disobedient mutt won't come, I wouldn't mind so much. As it was, I kept praying that he wouldn't run out onto the road when a car was coming through. When I finally got him the second time, I had to climb up a small hill (with loose dirt and dry leaves) to grab him... and then was faced with getting back down that hill (I'm a chicken, I admit it) without dropping the leash. I managed, but it was a bit scary... but I was not about to go chase him down a third time.)

The rabbits have exploded again this year around here too. I'm sure that when fall and winter comes the coyotes will come around again and they will make themselves scarce for a while, but then they just seem to come back after they move on.

Rabbits cannot out run the raptors. Get a good Eagle or Tito Owl. I had to cage mine for protection.

We have had a few more Bald Eagles around here the past few years and I watched one drop from the sky and catch something, most likely a rabbit. It was awesome to see. We have lots of white and red tailed hawks here too, not sure if they are large enough to take a rabbit. The Great Horned owls are around too, and I think they could take a rabbit, as they are large. Then of course there's my cats, who once in a while get lucky and catch one. Me with the BB gun, not so much. When I go out looking for them, they are out of sight. When I don't have the gun handy, they let me walk withing 6 feet of them.

Same here Tom.. Never when you're armed.. Shortly after I moved here, my friend gave me her brother's old pump-it-up single pellet gun.. I quickly saw the folly in that and bought a CO2 cartridge, 15 round pellet gun. I don't take a lot of pleasure in killing things... But take less pleasure in finding my fruit trees stripped bare, or my plants chewed to the ground. Time to start carrying it into the garden again I guess.

Sigh. I wouldn't enjoy that job either, Sherry.

We do see (or hear) hawks here frequently, and our arborist told me this spring that he thought there was a hawk's nest up in one of the redwoods. Maybe they catch the stray rabbit... but more likely rats or other birds.

And cats?
I'm thinking the disappearance of my last two cats went the way of the hungry hawk. Years ago my husband was driving down a major street in our area. He saw a hawk dive down and picked up a cat and fly away. My Kitty is a house cat. No letting her out even for a minute.

When I first moved on the mountain my dog had 5 week old pups and they just stayed in the dog house with her and ran around the yard. Then one disappeared without a trace, a couple days later another...

Immediately I put them all in a dog run. Then one day my 12 year old came running in with his face completely pale and frightened. He said "Mom there is a giant bird perched on the dog kennel, it's as big as a little kid with giant claws."

I rushed out the door and there was a large golden eagle eyeing the dog house. I think he may have taken the missing pups.

When I walked toward the Eagle to scare it off... instead of flying away in a panic it turned toward me, spread it's wings out and hunched it's neck aggressively at me to show me just how big he really was and starting making a piecing cries over and over.

Needless to say I saw those claws and that sharp hooked beak and determined I didn't want to approach without something to defend myself so I picked up the deck broom and started swinging it over my head and making loud noises. The Golden Eagle took flight and joined his mate circling over head.

I think one of the neighbors small dog (a Yorkie) might have gone this way too. Right after we had a rare snowfall she let her dog outside in the backyard. The dog disappeared. She blamed the trash collector for taking her dog. I think the dog stood out in the white snow.

At first I thought someone had stolen my pup too. Which is why I thought putting them in a locked kennel would suffice. But 6 foot chain link walls were no hindrance to the Eagle. He was just waiting for a fat little pup to waddle out. The Eagle knew exactly where they were.

SpringGreenThumb said:When I walked toward the Eagle to scare it off... instead of flying away in a panic it turned toward me, spread it's wings out and hunched it's neck aggressively at me to show me just how big he really was and starting making a piecing cries over and over.

Needless to say I saw those claws and that sharp hooked beak and determined I didn't want to approach without something to defend myself so I picked up the deck broom and started swinging it over my head and making loud noises. The Golden Eagle took flight and joined his mate circling over head.

wow!!!!!!

LynNY said:

wow!!!!!!

The interesting thing was I saw a small spotted falcon camouflaged low against the tree trunk it was clinging to. That falcon was so terrified of the Eagles overhead it was frozen... It didn't move when I got just 4 feet from it with the exception of her eyes that kept looking up at the Eagles and back at me. She was obviously more terrified of the Eagles. I moved away so she could hide in peace. That falcon never moved until the Eagles had been gone for roughly 30 minutes. Then it climbed higher in the tree and waited still another 30 minutes before she flew away.

Every once in awhile I'm maintaining the garden and I see the shadow of a very large bird suddenly sweep across the garden I'm tending. I turn to look to see which raptor it is and it has already vanished over the tree tops with amazing speed.

My instinct is to look directly up instead of into the sun so I often miss it.

My dog once unintentionally rescued a blackbird, which was being chased by a hawk. He likes chasing the larger birds in the yard (never caught one - fortunately) and as he jumped trying to get the blackbird, he got in the way of the hawk, which had to go all flaps out in order not to collide with him at full speed and so the blackbird had a chance to get away.

Wow. Just wow.

So sorry for those who have lost pets to the local predators, whether avian or not.

A couple of months (?) ago, one neighbor told my husband that the local coyotes had gotten a neighborhood dog. Normally we never hear them, and at most might see one slinking in the daytime, maybe a mile from our home. But there were a few nights when they were apparently close by, and what a horrible noise they made (especially as mixed in there was a sound like something was getting murdered ).

Warp is mostly inside with us, except for potty time or when one of us is out in the garden. (Sometimes he wants to go out on his own, either to greet our garden helpers or because he has seen a rabbit or squirrel.) Our yard is now completely fenced so the coyotes can't get in (though the raccoons and rabbits and rats and who knows what-all can, because some of the fencing is wrought iron and not wood or chainlink). The few times he has gotten loose (i.e. escaped the property) at night (before we got the weak points reinforced) were scary. There was a period of a few months where he wanted to go out at night and hunt the backyard on his own, but lately he seems to balk at going "out there" in the dark. I have to wonder if maybe he was frightened by a raccoon or something. (Normally this dog fears no critter, but rather eyes them all as potential prey. But raccoons can be vicious and scary when they feel threatened.)

unfortunately, or fortunately we, too, have coyotes right outside our back fence. they do help keep the rodent population down along with the raptors, but they also feast on our neighbors' pet cats or other pets that escape. we also have problems with rattlers coming through our wrought iron fencing even tho' it's reinforced w/ deer fencing on the outside (about 4' up) to keep them out. the larger snakes just shimmy vertically over the barrier. we have found baby rattlers coiled in the garage and under our garbage cans, as well.

the one we found recently in the yard, our brave little terrier tried to attack. fortunately she was not bitten, and i was able to catch her before she went after it again. i called the animal control (humane society) to come get it, and as the officer was leaving she said to me, "mam' if i were you, next time, just kill the darn thing." i was a little shocked by her reply.

since the snake in the yard, i always clomp around in the garden, and before i attack a shrubby area to be cleaned i always poke with a long stick and wear gloves. we've been infested with black widows and more recently with the more prolific brown widows. (thank goodness, so far no bites except itchy ones from the no see ums.) i've been tempted to call the pest control guy but try to do things organically. any ideas on how to get rid of spiders?

My dog hides under the deck most nights especially through the winter in fear of the Cougars that follow the deer down to lower altitudes during the winter.

I have coyotes too.

Umm... Isn't it rather cold for your dog to be out at night, in the winter?