Some recent comings and goings in Cromwell Valley Park

Cuteness alert

The big excitement around in our neck of the woods is that a rabbit built a nest and gave birth in our back yard. Trust me when I tell you that there is not much in the world cuter than a baby bunny.

The nest is a depression in the soil, dug by the mother. It's awfully hard to see. Surprisingly hard to see since its cover is nothing more than the grass and fur that the mother puts on top of it.

Birds and squirrels don't seem to mind sharing space with the babies.

In the videos below you can see the process.

You'll see the mother checking on the babies, feeding them, and hiding them after they've fed. You'll also get a glimpse of one of the babies feeding, and finally a quick view of all four babies in the litter.

Enjoy them, I hope.

Don't forget to go outside and play.

Everywhere you look....what do you find?

You find deer.

And you find nice people.

While I was out walking this morning I found a really talented naturalist leading a walk searching for wild edibles. I joined his group only for a few minutes. He had lots of happy and well educated visitors with him. He was leading the walk for free because he's one of the good guys.

And I passed a nice man with a plastic bag full of trash and a trash grabber. We chatted for a minute as I was curious what he was doing. Bless him, he was out for a walk in the park and he said he picks up trash as he goes along.

And later I saw a dog off leash, looking vaguely lost. Within minutes, several other people saw the dog, stopped it, called the owner (who had been frantically looking for it since it ran away from home hours before), moved it to shade, and gave it water while they waited for the owner to drive to the park and pick it up.

You find them on trails....

and in little gullies...

and in velvet....

and even you find them looking at you.....

Don't forget to go outside and play.

Red fox, and nothing but red fox

Overlapping territory?

Here are some interesting photographs. A red fox and a coyote in the same space. And a rabbit. If I was that rabbit, I'd be pretty darn nervous.

For some interesting information about the how those two canids share, or don't share their territory, have a look at these interesting links.

COYOTES AND INTRAGUILD PREDATION

Ecology of Red Foxes and Niche Relationships with Coyotes on Mount Desert Island, Maine

red fox

red fox

red fox

coyote

coyote

rabbit

rabbit

And keep in mind--it's a beautiful world outside, even if it is a tad chilly.

Another first

Here is an interesting series of photographs.

This is the first time I've captured two red fox together. The breeding season is just beginning, which I think is the explanation for the two foxes being together.

I've also just found two new den holes on the west side of Minebank Run. These may be fox dens. Fox only den during the breeding season--they prefer to live in the open the rest of the year.

More later.

Don't forget to go outside and enjoy your public lands.

This could be fun....

A beaver is back in the park. And has built two dams, several yards apart.

And those small dams are already making a difference. The two photographs below are hard to see, but they show a school of fish is living in the pool made by the upper dam.

More later.