I may chat about my books, what I'm writing or reading, or just general thoughts. You may read posts about my cats or just my crazy life in general. Comments are welcome, if anyone wants to interact with me. Maybe we can share war stories, whether it's writing related or just about life in general.

Friday, April 21, 2017

R is for rabbits and roadrunners





We have lots of both these critters in the desert.  Surprisingly, they aren’t predators of each other.  The rabbits eat grass and other green bushes they find in the desert.  Roadrunners usually stick with lizards and other small prey.



The rabbits always find a way into our yard to get at the lawn.  The back is walled in but the front isn’t.  Rabbits eat all day long.  It’s amazing they can eat so much.  They can also make themselves skinny enough to fit between the pickets in the gate and through the Y-block we have as drains.  Their bones must be very pliable.



 He must have been hot

The other day I caught this one in the water dish cooling off.
 

Here's a jackrabbit napping in the front yard






 This roadrunner is hunting in our backyard
 
The roadrunners are predators looking for meat, usually eating lizards, bugs, small snakes and other small prey.  They come by about every month or two and are here a few days before moving on to other parts of their territory.  Usually they come alone, but I have seen them in pairs.  We have some very smart lizards here that must be on the lookout for them because some of them are actually quite big and fat. 



 Roadrunner


Roadrunners have wicked looking teeth, very sharp and fang-like.  They capture their prey in those teeth and then beat it to death on the block wall, or other large rocks.  They roam around the desert freely and have quite a big territory.

10 comments:

  1. Roadrunners are nothing like the docile and goofy character from the cartoons, are they?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. John,

      They're definitely not like the cartoon characters. They can be pretty vicious in thier own way and aren't afraid of people or animals.

      Sunni

      Delete
  2. I saw a one legged roadrunner one time; did pretty good getting around too. I heard too they would go after rattlesnakes. Whenever I saw one, I would wonder where a snake may be.

    betty

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Betty,

      They do go after smaller snakes, as well as lizards, frogs, possibly baby rabbits and baby quail. Roadrunners are survivors and have a lot of courage. Difficulties don't seem to be an obstacle for them.

      Sunni

      Delete
  3. Wow. I kind of now understand Wile E. Coyote's war with the Roadrunner...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Liz,

      The roadrunner is relentless in it's search for food and not afraid of much. I guess the cartoons got it right in that respect. They don't give up.

      Sunni

      Delete
  4. That rabbit is huge! You are lucky to be in a place to take photos of these things.
    http://enchantedfantasies.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thea,

      Don't you remember the ocassional jackrabbit we'd have at the farm? They are quite large and have been known to take on coyotes, etc. They have very strong hind legs, but are more afraid of us than you realize. They are big though. One is as tall as my knees easily. I'm indeed very blessed to live where I can photograph some animals people never see.

      Sunni

      Delete
  5. Very cool road runner photos and the jack rabbit too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. pilch,

      Thanks. I have quite a few but tried to pick out some good ones for this post.

      Sunni

      Delete

Thank you for stopping by to read and
comment on my posts. I appreciate it.
Sunni