Three-eared rabbit

This three-eared bunny likes to eat the bird seed under our feeder, so I'll include him on this blog. I don't actually think he has three ears as the questionable ear (on his right) may simply be a birth defect or possibly the result of a predator (my brother noticed he was favoring his right paw). He's still pretty cute, and because of his silly ear I call him Flopsy.

Breakfast Date

I often see a pair of cardinals feeding in the yard together. I've read that during their courtship the male actually feeds the female, though I've never actually witnessed this myself. As that early romance fades, the simply sweet companionship remains. These days when hormone levels are lower, I see the female eating from the tray while the male forages on the ground.

Here they are on a breakfast date, chaperoned by a baby bunny (the brownish blur above Mr. Cardinal).

Coyote vs. Bunny

Normally this time of year the bunnies have the run of the neighborhood, nibbling on scraps that fall from the feeders, eating all my flowers, and making many, many babies. But so far this spring I've seen very few.

Maybe the recession has hit the bunny population, so instead of eating out under the feeder every night, they only treat themselves to a gourmet seed meal once a month. Okay, probably not.

We also think that the dog keeps them away. Silly theories have developed out of that idea like the one where Dallas didn't actually eat that bunny back in January, she just deposited its parts all over the yard as a warning to others to not step foot near our third acre lest they meet the same fate as their little friend.

Today I saw what I suspected is the real reason behind declining bunny numbers: the coyote. I've seen and heard them before in our area, but not for a couple years. Stay as long as you'd like, Mr. Coyote. I don't want my sunflowers to become bunny salad, and I prefer that only birds dine at the feeders.