Wildlife in our gardens

Thank you for the suggestions about the dogs! I may give it a try. In the meantime, I did put up some wire border fencing.

A rabbit and a couple of birds in our feeder.

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My yard is still not quite rabbit proof, I still need to staple 1" mesh along the bottom of the wooden fence sections. So it is possible for them to get in, but exit is quite complicated.

This morning I found in my yard a rabbit head separated from the body by about a foot, and the body was missing the breast and forelegs. I suspect it was the red tail hawks – because the owls would have cracked the skull for the brains.

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Any chance an owl caught the rabbit?

It’s possible, but it looked more like the work of a hawk.

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This may not be in the spirit of this thread which is mostly the enjoyment of wildlife, and I hope this isn’t too graphic. Apologies to the animal rights folks too. But here is what happens to a rabbit when he comes to my garden.

Waste not, want not!


Braised Rabbit?

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Looks good, you sure kept it nice and clean.

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I was picking blueberries at a u-pick farm. I asked how they keep the birds away and she said they have falcons. I was surprised to learn about this.

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I went out in the morning today, and first I see was a wild turkey. And we live in the city, on the edge, but still thickly settled. I guess it knew, it is Easter today, not Thanksgiving. :grin:

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I tried a brand new Rabbit Stew/Hasenpfeffer recipe for this guy. He was pretty tough, but nothing 12 hours (yes, 12!) couldn’t completely tenderize. This stew was the best ever…just a recipe I got off Food.com. Red wine base with celery, onions, carrots (mirepoix) and tomatoes and a few mushrooms.Also called for BACON!!! MMM A little bay leaf and oregano and a balsamic finish…WOW. I almost hope I have more rabbits show up (almost)! haha.

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Kevin, I’d eat that!

It looks almost like creamed chicken. Is it thick enough to pour over biscuits?

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What a great idea…leave it to us southern folks (WV is southern to me) to consider everything in terms of how it would go with biscuits! haha. I actually hadn’t thought of it, but that would be great. It’s funny you mentioned thickness. WHen the stew was first finished, I took a bowl and it was good, but still a bit thin for me (more like vegetable stew) So I made about 3/4 cup of flour roux and mixed it in…that really took it over the top, both in terms of taste and thickness.

Apologies to @Richard and everyone for taking this thread off track…I really enjoyed seeing wildlife in people’s gardens and hope to see more…mostly in your garden and not on your plate! haha Carry on.

I was blessed with a great visit from a pair of Bald Eagles. They were in the road eating a dead cat, then few up behind my orchard. I’ve never seen a pair around here. Sorry not the best pics.

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I water a few bulbs and this pop up.

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White lined sphinx moth…they are out everywhere tonight …just loving the sage or salvia…dont know the correct name. So awesome to watch them.

Can we upload video?

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Thanks to an old post on here…here is a link to the video if the moths!

https://youtu.be/dDgVn_nzT7w

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Those look huge! I can hear your cat.

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That’s Gus! My little whiner tiger cat that weighs about 25 pounds!

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Okay now you have to show us Gus.

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See if you can find them
.

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