Wednesday, April 09, 2014

Jackrabbit encounter

Yesterday my roving partner, Sue, and I had a special treat. While walking on the Desert View Trail, we saw a jackrabbit that didn’t see us, and were able to watch it for about five minutes. It was eating creosote—first standing on its hind legs, and then crouched on the ground. As always when I see a jackrabbit, I was astounded by how big it is and how HUGE those ears are. Jackrabbits (which are technically hares, not rabbits), are among a very few animals that can eat creosote, because their kidneys are adapted to handle the poisonous oxalic acid in the plant.

jackrabbit ears 1 8-10-2013 1-04-46 PM 1798x2070

Later on, we saw an unusual, double-decker verdin nest—one nest built on top of an old one. These are great times to be in the Park!

verdin nest double decker 8-10-2013 2-14-52 PM 1597x1828  verdin nest double decker side 8-10-2013 2-15-07 PM 3070x2306

4 comments:

  1. Were both nests occupied? Or was one a leftover?

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    1. Good question. The bottom nest is an old, empty one, probably from last year. That particular tree is a magnet for verdin nests. There must be at least ten in it, ranging from current to a few years old. I've fairly often seen dove nests built on top of other nests (including cactus wren nests, sometimes with cactus wrens in them), but never before a verdin-on-verdin.

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  2. Cool! Did you see today's RBA report of Gambel's quails nesting in a cholla? How are the chicks going to get out?

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    1. I didn't see it but will look for it. Mama Gambel's quails don't always make the best choices for nesting, unfortunately. :-(

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