And then there was one...

For the second time this week, I have had a most interesting, yet disturbing, view as I sat at the kitchen table.  Both times, I had just poured my first cup of coffee.  The sun was just starting to filter a bit of light into the garden area outside the kitchen window making for a pleasant view.  I watched as the hummingbirds darted in and out of the Turk's Cap and the juvenile squirrels chased each other about in the oak tree.  The first day, I saw three rabbits..this morning, there were only two.  One was right in the gravel pathway that leads to the little Frog Pond.  This bunny was munching on the the spent daylilies leaves and was oblivious to anything but a tasty meal.  The other rabbit was in the peach orchard.  I could see this one quite clearly even though it was a good distance away from the kitchen.  That was one huge rabbit!

As I sat there staring out the window, a large Redtailed Hawk swooped down and snatched up the smaller bunny!  This had happened just three days earlier in almost the same spot!  The hawk struggled with the rabbit and dropped it.  The rabbit jumped up and tried to make a run for it but it was a futile effort.  Its escape was thwarted by the hawk as it swooped once again and this time those talons did not lose their grip.  My poor bunny!  I started to rush outside to see if I could help but it all occurred in just a matter of seconds and, well, these old legs do not run anywhere fast!  Watching this unfold just a few feet in front of the open window was pretty amazing.  If I did not like the hawk so much, I would have been traumatized!  This is the same hawk that follows me about the yard occasionally.  It will find some sturdy fence post and eye me up as I pull weeds or water the plants.

The other (larger) rabbit froze when it saw what was happening to the other bunny.  Two of its friends had been abruptly snatched as they ate.  Perhaps the larger rabbit was smarter.  Since it was inside the fence surrounding the peach orchard and down under those heavily leaved trees, maybe the hawk had second thoughts about attacking it.  More likely, the smaller rabbit looked to be an easier prey to carry.  If the larger rabbit was depending on that fence wire for protection, it is out of luck now.  Michael removed the fence today as the posts were all rotting.  The rabbit will now have to be a bit more wary!  Three rabbits in the morning sun..along came the hawk and now there is one.  Bye Bye Bunny.