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Mammals - Rabbit Page 1

Image Taken on 24 Aug 2011 at 20:07    Image of day on 12 Oct 2011

Rabbits are so twee when young ...


Ref: 20111012_d45_20110824_2007_272_fb1 baby rabbit with small plums (crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg


Image Taken on 03 Apr 2026 at 00:37    Image of day on 15 May 2026

We really think that this Badger is working on enlarging this Rabbit hole


Ref: 20260515_bu2_20260403_0037_108-20260406_0237_462_sc7 badger activity at round mound east rabbit hole over 4 days (selected montage)(r+mb id@1024).jpg


Image Taken on 14 Feb 2026 at 20:46    Image of day on 26 Mar 2026

10 minutes earlier what looks like same Badger appears to be sizing up the Rabbit hole in the East of Round Mound.
The adult Badger will need a bigger hole than this - will they decide to dig it out?


Ref: 20260326_bu2_20260214_2046_254_sc7 badger too big to enter large rabbit hole in east of round mound(r+mb id@576).jpg


Image Taken on 29 Jul 2025 at 02:07    Image of day on 17 Sep 2025

Badgers do like to look down holes - even if they are (currently) too small to enter.


Ref: 20250917_bu2_20250729_0207_102_sc7 badger with head down rabbit hole(r+mb id@576).jpg


Image Taken on 10 Apr 2026 at 05:04    Image of day on 15 May 2026

One or more Badgers still seem to be enlarging the Rabbit hole in the Round Mound. This one can now just about squeeze into the entrance.


Ref: 20260515_bu2_20260410_0504_112+114+0505_116_sc7 badgers body now fits into enlarged rabbit hole (montage)(r+mb id@768).jpg


Image Taken on 19 Apr 2026 at 03:16    Image of day on 25 May 2026

A few years ago a Fox spent a few weeks housing her cubs down this hole, so there must be some kind of chamber inside.
Recently Badger(s) have been intermittently enlarging the hole until this night (after midnight 18 Apr 2026) there is a determined effort to open the hole for Badgers. The trail cam took over 300 pics in the 2 hours of activity. The first indication of success was seeing a badger EXITING the hole head first - there must be room to turn around.


Ref: 20260525_bu2_20260419_0316_205-0323_247_sc7 badgers digging out rabbit hole in round mound + fox watching over 2 hours 01+03-05 of 17 (montage ober 8 mins)(r+mb id@1024).jpg


Image Taken on 19 Apr 2026 at 04:35    Image of day on 25 May 2026

Suddenly 2 Badgers are at the site - at least one entering it.
Could this be a sort of 'starter home' for a new pair?


Ref: 20260525_bu2_20260419_0435_404-0448_334_sc7 badgers digging out rabbit hole in round mound + fox watching over 2 hours 10-12 of 17 (montage over 14m)(r+mb id@1024).jpg


Image Taken on 19 Apr 2026 at 04:50    Image of day on 25 May 2026

This female Fox, with active teats, found the excavation works and took a lot of interest as the Badgers came and went. We have no evidence for her entering the hole, but she may have.


Ref: 20260525_bu2_20260419_0450_452-0508_512_sc7 badgers digging out rabbit hole in round mound + fox watching over 2 hours 13+14+16+17 of 17 (montage 18m)(r+mb id@1024).jpg


Image Taken on 31 Dec 2017 at 13:44    Image of day on 07 Feb 2018

Finding a dead Rabbit on a path as we occasionally do, we moved it to just outside the trigger beam at the woodland site in the expectation of a fox dragging it away overnight. The magpies have the first pecks, but a quarter of an hour later this Buzzard landed right on top of the Rabbit Carcass.


Ref: 20180207_e64_20171231_1344_162_fb2 buzzard and magpies feeding on dead rabbit 04 of 45 (crop 1)(r+mb id@1024).jpg


Image Taken on 29 Sep 2023 at 16:03    Image of day on 17 Nov 2023

A glance from the SE corner at the field margin to our east show this Buzzard on (what turned out to be) a dead Rabbit from which the bird has already taken some lumps of meat. He spotted the humans and tried to take off with the prize, but it was obvious over a couple of tries that it was too heavy for the bird.


Ref: 20231117_df3_20230929_1603_079-1604_135 buzzard at dead rabbit fails trying to fly off with it 02+006+010+012 of 12 (montage)(r+mb id@768).jpg


Image Taken on 29 Sep 2023 at 16:04    Image of day on 17 Nov 2023




Ref: 20231117_df3_20230929_1604_117 buzzard at dead rabbit fails trying to fly off with it 10 of 12 (crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg


Image Taken on 25 May 2013 at 09:00    Image of day on 06 Jul 2013

Finally free of pursuit, we get a better view of what looks like a young rabbit in the claws. 800 metres on we had a hazy view of a similar mobbing as it arrived over another rookery.


Ref: 20130706_df1_20130525_0900_243 buzzard carrying dead rabbit in claws (crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg


Image Taken on 13 Jul 2008 at 09:23    Image of day on 28 Jul 2008

Earlier in the day we were surprised to see a buzzard carrying a whole rabbit. The next surprise is that it didn't set off with it. Instead it flew a few 100m over to a known morning 'thermal' and despite the load circled without flapping and eventually disappeared as a speck in the haze. We imagine it was transporting it back a hungry brood some way away. A few days later without the thermal we saw a smaller load being carried off toward the M1 Motorway.


Ref: 20080728_dc1_20080713_0923_009 buzzard carrying rabbit in talons(r+mb id@576).jpg


Image Taken on 31 Dec 2017 at 13:51    Image of day on 08 Feb 2018

4 more pics of the Buzzard eating the dead Rabbit:-
TL: The hazy eye is just the nictitating membrane - the bird is 'blinking'.
TR: The bird has a fragment of meat in the tip of the beak.
BL: The bird is tearing back the skin. Raptors have strong muscles at the back of the neck that enables them to do this.
BR: The beak is wet with blood



Ref: 20180208_e64_20171231_1351_163+1409_172+1415_175+1515_190_fb2 buzzard feeding on dead rabbit 05+14+17+32 of 45 (montage)(r+mb id@1024).jpg


Image Taken on 31 Dec 2017 at 14:29    Image of day on 07 Feb 2018

Here the bird had been picking off pieces for about 45 minutes.


Ref: 20180207_e64_20171231_1429_178_fb2 buzzard feeding on dead rabbit 20 of 45 (crop)(r+mb id@1024).jpg


Image Taken on 31 Dec 2017 at 14:35    Image of day on 08 Feb 2018

The Buzzard continues to rip apart the already dead Rabbit.


Ref: 20180208_e64_20171231_1435_180_fb2 buzzard feeding on dead rabbit 22 of 45 (detail crop)(r+mb id@768).jpg


Image Taken on 31 Dec 2017 at 14:54    Image of day on 08 Feb 2018

The Buzzard continues to rip apart the already dead Rabbit.


Ref: 20180208_e64_20171231_1454_184_fb2 buzzard feeding on dead rabbit 26 of 45 (crop)(r+mb id@768).jpg


Image Taken on 01 Jan 2018 at 16:21    Image of day on 07 Feb 2018

The Buzzard spent about 2.5 hours feeding on the coney till an hour after sunset as you see here.
Birds remove fur like they do feathers from bird prey - by plucking it out and it has made quite a pile.
The Rabbit got dragged about the site - here is mostly out of frame at the right, and we don't know how much has been eaten.


Ref: 20180207_e64_20180101_1621_037_fb2 buzzard feeding on rabbit carcass 9 of 9 (crop)(r+mb id@768).jpg


Image Taken on 14 Jun 2022 at 16:06    Image of day on 01 Aug 2022

This Buzzard wings past with this disgusting looking mess of very-dead Rabbit messing up the bird's aerodynamics. The voracious chicks will be pleased.


Ref: 20220801_df3_20220614_1606_368 buzzard flying overhead with large piece of rabbit in claws(r+mb id@576).jpg


Image Taken on 05 Jun 2011 at 11:17    Image of day on 18 Jul 2011

Next day a Buzzard carried a rabbit along the line of the brook. The bird was flying into wind (making poor progress) but we noticed that it was doing the Osprey trick of lining up the prey with the direction of flight to reduce drag. A brief skirmish with a rook had it back in it's normal feet together position, but quickly reverted to the aligned position here. 7 days later we saw a similar flight but the rabbit was just hanging down as we usually see.


Ref: 20110718_df1_20110605_1117_098 buzzard in flight with rabbit in talons aligned with body (crop @576)(r+mb id@576).jpg


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