Hawk Sighting

Keith and I were so lucky yesterday to spot this raptor in our neighbor's tree. It moved from the tree to the clippings pile below... We think it's a Sharp-shinned Hawk, except that they don't typically like to be around people. They're very rural.... however, the pile of clippings it was on is full of sparrows, and possibly a squirrel or two, which is what they like to hunt.

He moved below after viewing the pile from above...

Then he stretched his leg... 

We must have watched him for over 10 minutes, trying to identify him from an old illustrated bird book I had just gotten from a library book sale. I don't know if we identified him correctly, but whatever he/she is, they're definitely immature. You could tell from the white tufts of downy feathers on his bottom. 

If anyone can identify him, please let me know!

Pennsylvania Bunnies!

So one of my favorite things to do here in Bethlehem is go for walks through the historic neighborhood where I live. There are cool Victorian homes, gorgeous yards and bunnies!

I'm sure that the people who have little gardens in the back don't appreciate the bunnies as much as I do, but they're just so adorable! I love catching sight of these little fluffy-tailed creatures! In California, I would see Jack Rabbits, and occasionally a bunny rabbit or two at Hobo Camp, but nothing like the number of bunnies I see just while I'm walking down the street here! It's really a happy circumstance when I find more than one bunny, too. Which happened one night out by the old pottery buildings.

Apparently they like to eat the clover in the grass... so if you have clover in your lawn, then the bunnies would be a GOOD thing! This little guy at right wasn't scared of my close proximity. He kept nibbling away at the clover while I was trying to get a good shot of him. He didn't like it when I crouched down, though, and took off.

Historic ruins

  At left is what's left of part of an old building. I believe it was a flour mill. There are native flower gardens around it, which are really pretty. This whole area was completely filled with tents and people during Musikfest, and I'm sure that the bunnies had to find another home for a while. But luckily, it's only once a year, and only for a week, that the local residents have to put up with so many people, traffic and noise! And by local residents, I mean the animals that live in the woods around town! 

Finally got the three bunnies posted!

I tried to post the picture of the three bunnies that I took in the evening, but the blogger won't allow me to post them in their edited format for some reason. And without the editing, you can't actually see anything more than a few pairs of reflective eyes in the dark. Ah well, maybe one day I'll come across another gaggle of bunnies before it's too dark to get a good photo of them. I've got my fingers crossed!