Today’s quiz is something I’ve been wondering about.
In spring, summer and fall rabbits were everywhere and easy to find. Now that the ground is snow covered, I haven’t seen any and I’ve found only one set of tracks in all my travels.
So where did the rabbits go? Are they hiding? Or sleeping?
My reference guides make it sound like the winter life of rabbits is barely different from summer’s except that they change their diet from leaves to twigs. I find it hard to believe that that’s the only difference.
If you know what rabbits do and where they go in the winter, please leave a comment to let me know.
I’m sure many of us will learn from it!
(photo by D. Gordon E. Robertson from Wikipedia. Click on the photo to see the original.)
My back yard rabbit has a couple of places, one being under a low deck. He comes out late at night and eats seed that has fallen from a bird feeder.
I don’t know exactly what they do but I see them under my birdfeeder at night. Mostly after 10:00 PM. I put an occassional apple out there and they normally show up really late and enjoy some fruit. I’ve only seen one set of rabbit tracks too but they were followed by cat paw prints.
I’ve been seeing one after dark lately eating bird seed that’s fallen! I’m worried though because I occasionally see foxes at night too. ?
Funny you should mention this. I see rabbits every morning lately while walking my dog in Point Breeze (and my dog LOVES rabbits — well, chasing them anyway). This is the first winter I can remember seeing rabbits so frequently.
were do u live
While living in Forest Hills, I had a family of rabbits living under one of my lilac trees. I assume they stay more sheltered during the winter when there is less brush/foliage to hide in. A brown rabbit on a white snow cover would make a tempting target, so I rarely saw anything but tracks in the winter.
They loved the baby carrots I’d set out 🙂 Several were even so bold as to eat out of my hand if I sat very still.
Love the bunny stories, never see any in winter here at all; but we live by the edge of a woods so they are probably down in there or under the huge bushes growing along edges But we have some feral cats here & dog walkers & now a small group of pheasants that are not even bothered by us coming & going in the parking lot & apparently know that people are OK.
Your quizzes get such interesting results, Kate. I think we all like to get in on the action — give our opinions & solutions. Think I’ll get some baby carrots and set them out — good idea. I usually see lots of rabbit tracks in my snow — not so many this year, but then the yard is just crowded with tracks, many of them mine.
Very interesting that they come out at 10:00pm. I typically don’t pay attention to my back yard at night but years ago on a moonlit night I saw a screech-owl perched on the bird feeder shepherd’s hook waiting for mice.
We have lots of rabbits here…just follow their tracks in the snow to see where they go, where they go to eat the bird seed, drink from the ponds, hide under bent asters, grasses or goldenrods, and even hop up the ramp to eat seed off the deck….when the snow is high, this is when they can do some damage to trees and shrubs when they girdle the stems…last year it was almost 3 feet or more on the stems, when I found the damage. I have seen them in the daytime, but mostly right before dark, they just appear. They will tag-team with squirrels getting sunflower seeds under the feeders(they eat while the squirrels let seed fall to the ground from the “squirrel proof” feeders-NOT!!!.) Also have seen them feeding near deer in the driveway. I also put out older vegetable and apples under the shrubs instead of the compost in winter…I usually find several bunny nests in their shallow holes in the gardens in the spring when I am trimming back the plants. Did you ever watch Rabbits play “Tag” or maybe it’s something else? They jump in the air at each other and run in circles…it’s fun to watch….You just never know what you will see outside your window!!!
I saw bunny tag once in the summer at Central Catholic High School’s football field before they turned it into astro turf. It was hilarious to watch one rabbit charge at the other one & the one on the receiving end jump straight up about 6 feet. Yow!
You may want to read the write-up at this link:
http://www.vtfishandwildlife.com/VTCRITTERS/factsheets/mammals/Eastern%20Cottontail%20Rabbit/Eastern%20Cottontail%20Rabbit%20-%20Final.pdf
Rabbits are prey animals. They don’t reproduce in the winter, or at least not successfully, so as they are eaten, etc. there numbers decline. They do seem to be more active at dusk and dawn and probably at night, although I sometimes see them during the day.
“prey animals,” eh? You mean somebody’s dinner. I saw that jumping straight-up feat once — my daughter & I were driving home at night & caught two bunnies in my headlights. I tooted at them with my horn & one jumped straight up, just as you said, Kate. Funniest thing I ever saw.
It’s the reaction factor when she or he said prey animal she meant that in being someone’s dinner mating out in the open snow or when it’s to cold to get enough resources it’s better not to mate. Just a reaction factor in nature its all math.
I see lots of holes in the ground beside trails and near trees that could lead to rabbit burrows. I always presumed they were occupied year-round and by generations. Of course, these are in relatively wild areas, like Schenley and Frick Park and the Mt. Washington hillside. They are so dear.
We had two dwarf rabbits as pets when my son was little and when they would do that jumping in the air thing my son would say “Look Mom the bunnies are doing happy feet”. I couldn’t describe it any better….
Love your winter weed series, please keep it up.
Rabbits in winter–I have always presumed they stayed in brushy or shruby areas so they wouldn’t become prey. I’ll have to look for prints this winter.
We don’t have any snow yet so I see them in my small back yard after dark. They seem to not to mind my comings and goings as long as I stay a safe distance away.
In late spring I have seen they play Hop Scotch where one rabbit will jump over the other one and this goes on for a short period of time, then maybe a brief chase.
They are lots of fun to watch.
Happy Holidays
Are they like squirrels where they hibernate when the weather is bad, but come out to forage when it is decent?
Shortly after I read your post, I drove to my son’s school to pick him up after a meet. It was about 9:30 p.m., and as I drove up the driveway to the school, a cottontail rabbit darted across the road into a patch of woods. I don’t know where most rabbits go in the winter, but that one likes to play chicken with mini-vans!
I agree with what Mark said about rabbits being prey animals.
There are rabbit tracks all over my wooded property, (one advantage of snow cover) but there are new rabbit tracks every night where I feed the birds.
A few days ago, during the morning, there was a rabbit, gray squirrel and 2 Ring-Necked Pheasants under a large Scotch Pine tree and some thick deciduous shrubs right next to it. They were all within a 10 foot diameter circle. The dog sat on the chair by the window and really enjoyed watching all of the wildlife. (many birds at feeders also)
Last Sunday, my while Loree and I were participating in the Bushy Run Christmas bird count, we saw a dead rabbit lying along a long dead-end farm road. When we came back through, a Red-tailed hawk was standing over the rabbit feeding. We wondered if the rabbit was a road kill and the hawk was scavenging or if the road was a convenient place for the hawk to eat its prey since the snow was fairly deep off the road. We had to drive through, so the hawk flew a very short distance to perch in a nearby tree – waiting to return to its meal.
Rabbits often use Woodchuck burrows and brushy areas as places to escape predators and to get out out of the inclement weather. I have seen this in my local area of mixed farmland and woodlots, usually around brushy areas.
There’s at least one that is out off Beeler St. at about 11:30 pm in my front yard, because that’s the last time I take our dog out for the night, and it torments her by standing there, saying “I’m a statue and you can’t see me!” but of course she can from the contrast! No bunny tracks in the back, but lots of (feral) cat tracks. Hmmm? A connection?
Happy New Year to all!
Anne
Are there many pheasants in the Pittsburgh area? I live in the south hills and used to hear them on a regular basis, but that was a long time ago when I lived down on Cedar Blvd near Bird Park. And now I live near Dormont Junction, and have for the last 35 years. Not quite as spacious. And I recently heard that they were not around here anymore. Marianne mentioned seeing them but I don’t know where she lives.
Pheasants are game birds from China which are stocked by the PA Game Commission. They used to do well in our state when the landscape was dominated by farmland. I remember them in the south suburbs of Pittsburgh in the 1960s.
Pheasants don’t thrive in forests and suburbs so as Pennsylvania farms turned into woodland and our suburbs expanded, the pheasants disappeared. Wild turkeys took their place. We have turkeys in the City of Pittsburgh that hang out on our steep wooded hillsides.
(Marianne lives on a farm near Dubois,PA. I think that’s why she sees pheasants.)
These are very interesting post. I decided to inquire about rabbits in the winter because I was one of those individuals who thought perhaps they migrated somewhere for the winter, until one day in November, sitting in the snow was a rabbit in my back yard. I didn’t think it was strange except I live right outside of Chicago and there are no woods, brushes, or anything else. I let my dog out in the back yard and she ran after the rabbit. I found myself saying, “run rabbit, run.” Well of course the rabbit got away (thank goodness)! 3 days ago, I noticed a second rabbit. I’m saying to myself, “Please don’t let my backyard become invasion of the rabbits.” I find myself looking out the window every night watching their behavior. For the most part they just sit there in the cold snow. Well, last night, I saw rabbit number 3. We don’t have a deck for them to hide under, but we have 3 white birch trees and I am wondering if they are feeding off of the trees.
The last few years here in Nashville I’ve had bunnies entertaining me at various times during the day and night in the spring through fall but disappear in winter. No sign of them anywhere. My property backs up to woods so I’m sure they’re still back there somewhere. I just don’t see why they don’t show themselves at all. We get rare snow and our temps are not usually too cold.
Just thought I’d put in my two cents.
I just went out to put birdseed in feeder. I found 5-8 tuffs of fur no blood. Not sure if from a rabbit or squirrel. I am going back out to clean that up. Will the birds return. What do you think happened?
Shay, those signs usually mean a hawk caught a mammal beneath your feeder and took away its meal to eat elsewhere. My guess is that it was a squirrel.
Have just discovered your site. Love it!
Re the rabbits. We were sitting in our dining room (2-story ranch) and watching a rabbit hopping through our front yard. We all exclaimed when we saw it because rabbits had a disease a few years back and had almost disappeared. While oohing over the rabbit a hawk swooped down and carried it away. What a bummer!
Also, this morning took out my little dachshund and scared a rabbit heading toward our bird feeder. Scared him and he jumped straight up! I’ll have to check late at night now too.
I have a couple of wild rabbits that show up in my yard this winter. One of them lives under my next door neighbors shed. (Its winter so I can follow the tracks.) So, I was reading that you should not just feed them carrots, but Timothy Grass as well. Well, my bunny came out every night except one night when it was -10, and came to get its carrot. I guess I have spoiled this bun, cuz it came for the grass one time, ate some, and never came back for the rest even though I have seen it in the yard. I guess its back to carrots with the grass..lol. Also, the other bunny I have only seen once, and I don’t know where it lives cuz there was no fresh snow the night I saw it so it did not leave tracks on the snow that was frozen.
I have a wild bunny in my back yard that I have been hand feeding for 8 years… She is very sweet…and she doesn’t leave my yard.
I have only ever seen one bunny in my backyard, however this year as the snow melts I am seeing so much bunny poop on the patio and close to underneath the bird feeders that I’ve decided I can’t keep the feeders back there anymore. This is the first spring in five years that the patio has bunny poop on it. I wouldn’t have noticed it if it was a small amount. There’s just that much of it that it looks gross to look at, droppings everywhere! Makes me sad because I LOVE watching the birds come back there, and I enjoy watching my bunny as well but it seems to me that there must be a bunch of them hiding or living under the deck. I live close to a ravine with so much wild greenery that it doesn’t make sense for why these critters would live in my backyard rather than the ravine.
just moved to a cabin in the woods (Allenspark, CO (8500ft.) from Phoenix, AZ
I have seen the most spectacular scenery and wildlife, including a very cute resident bunny!!! Want to know what you feed your feral bunny??
deb daley, it took me a while to answer your question because I have never fed wild rabbits. Here are several links that may help:
Wiki How: http://www.wikihow.com/Feed-Wild-Rabbits
PETA (ethical considerations): http://www.peta.org/issues/wildlife/rabbits/
One thing to consider: If you have a garden (or favorite trees) and you encourage wild rabbits to live near you, you will have to protect the vegetation from the rabbits.
I have three large black coils around the house. They are located between bushes for cover. All the coils are occupied by rabbits. The twigs on the bushes keep the rabbits supplied with food in the winter. The bushes near the house keep them covered. One of the rabbits sits near the window in the basement right by the coil.
The rabbits seem to like the large black ribbed plastic coils. There are rabbits taking up residence every year. Fun to watch!
I have two wild rabbits that live under the brush in our yard. I have always wondered if they have had babies as I have never seen any. They seem to be out in the day even in the winter and I live in Canada!! I leave them carrots and apples. They are very friendly and seem happy I hope they are!!
I have this rabbit that just chills in my yard morning, noon and night. She is not afraid of us and will let us get pretty close, within about 5-6 ft of her, before she makes a move to run away. She knows we don’t mean her any harm, I guess, or she’d be a lot more skittish. She’s cool, kind of like a pet I don’t have to clean up after. I do worry about the occasional hawk. I think she has a false sense of security now, lol.
Think “bunnies,” and we all almost automatically think, “carrots!” Blame for that likely goes to that wascally wabbit, Bugs! However, while a carrot as a treat for a wild rabbit you occasionally spot in your backyard may be okay, far too many pet owners mistakenly feed theirs carrots every day! Due to this starchy vegetable’s high sugar content, “vets are seeing rabbits suffering from … sometimes fatal health issues like obesity, gut problems and dental disease.” A rabbit’s primary diet should consist of clean hay, grass, and leafy greens like broccoli, cabbage and kale. Some fruit is okay, too, but only in small amounts. I’ve been a big fan of the reel-life Bugs Bunny for over 50 years, but let’s not inadvertently love the real-life ones to death as a result!