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Is Breakfast Ready?


Is Breakfast Ready?
Photo Information
Copyright: Jane Magen (jaycee) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1681 W: 8 N: 4318] (14043)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2008-06-26
Categories: Desert
Camera: Canon PowerShot S5 IS
Exposure: f/3.5, 1/100 seconds
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2008-06-30 8:14
Viewed: 383
Points: 54
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Every morning when I go out the front door to fill the bird feeder this baby bunny is waiting. He runs up to me and I throw him some seeds. It has become a ritual. One morning I had the camera ready.

Desert Cottontails

Cottontails are named after their tail, which is shaped like a cottony ball. The desert portion of their common name arises from their distribution across the arid lands of the American Southwest and Plains states.

Desert cottontails occur in a wide variety of habitats, including dry desertlike grasslands and shrublands, riparian areas and pinyon-juniper forests. They may occur in the same areas as black-tailed jackrabbits.

The adult desert cottontail is light colored, tan to gray, with a yellowish tinge. The underside of the body is whitish. It often has an orange-brown throat patch. The tail is rounded and looks like a cottonball, but is darker above, white below. The length of a desert cottontail is thirteen to seventeen inches; ears average three to four inches long; and the average weight is two to three pounds. Females are larger than the males.

Hind feet are large and average three inches long. When the rabbit takes short hops, its tracks look like the number "7," with the two hind feet planted first, then the two front feet set behind.

The desert cottontail is born in a nest lined with grass and with fur which the mother pulls from her belly. The nest is located in a depression, abandoned badger or prairie dog burrow, or beneath a shrub.

A female may bear young year round (California) or up to eight months of the year. She may bear twenty to thirty young in four to five litters. A normal litter has two to six young, which are born blind, furless and unable to care for themselves (altrical). The mother returns to the den site to feed her young. The young are weaned at two weeks old, and they leave the nest area three weeks after birth.

When alarmed, a cottontail can run up to twenty miles per hour in a zigzag pattern to escape predators. Often, the cottontail runs to a protective location like a burrow or thicket. If cornered by a small predator, like a weasel, a cottontail may "bowl over" the predator and give it a kick with its powerful hind legs as well. A cottontail may also freeze when danger lurks, and scrunch down to blend into its surroundings.

Desert USA
nglen, eqshannon, mayuresh, uleko, eng55, bahadir, zulfu, Ken52, CeltickRanger, Adanac, boreocypriensis, Luis52, tuslaw, haraprasan, ramthakur, darwin, goldyrs, Gert-Paassen, gracious, Jamesp, claudine has marked this note useful
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Discussions
ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To tuslaw: Bunniesjaycee 1 06-30 20:54
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Critiques [Translate]

  • Great 
  • nglen Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1895 W: 4 N: 5148] (19630)
  • [2008-06-30 8:17]

Hi Jane. Excellent detail in the little one fur. Good natural colours . I think you have friend for life . A nice light in the eye. great big eye it has. well done TFS. good notes too.
Nick..

Friendly little bugger isn't he? Ooooops she...Well they breed like rabbits:-) so you must have your share. We on the other hand do not have as many as one might think, even in the wilds. too many birds of prey out there..owls, eagles and all sorts of raptors...Then there are the many coyotes and a few black bear and...well this is a nice meal for one of them I am sure...so it is much better off down there and well pictured by you Jane.
Bob

  • Great 
  • Juyona Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1998 W: 6 N: 1948] (13031)
  • [2008-06-30 8:30]

Hola Jane,
hermosa escena y pov,
buen foco y encuadre,
saludos

Hello Jane
This is as cute as cute can get...I just love the fact that she is so alert but yet so full of trust for you..Photographically perfect as well.
A brilliant capture and many thanks for this one
Paul

  • Great 
  • uleko Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2369 W: 164 N: 7114] (22494)
  • [2008-06-30 9:12]

Hello Jane,
What a cute little friend you've got! I love its pose here and the sharp details. Beautiful light and colours too. The colour of the slabs go very well with it!
TFS and best wishes, Ulla

  • Great 
  • eng55 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 351 W: 3 N: 375] (1121)
  • [2008-06-30 9:34]

Hi Jane,
This is an excellent shot of this rabbit whit geate pose,colors,sharpness and composition.Very well done!
Thanks for posting.

Hello Jane, a cute cottontail and its wonderful shot. TFS.
Regards,
Bahadır

  • Great 
  • zulfu Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 473 W: 0 N: 70] (491)
  • [2008-06-30 13:18]

Hello Jane, perfect shot of this cute beauty. TFS. Regards,
Mehmet

  • Great 
  • Ken52 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 660 W: 98 N: 1249] (4153)
  • [2008-06-30 13:49]

Great shot of the cottontail. Details and focus are excellent. Perfect eye. Exceptional exposure. Nice natural color.

hello Jane

what a great chance you have to leave among wonderful animals,
i love this cuty adorable animal, you get excellent sharpness and details,

TFS

Asbed

  • Great 
  • Adanac Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1036 W: 1 N: 3967] (13346)
  • [2008-06-30 17:45]

Hello Jane,
Beautiful visitor, captured superbly my friend. Look at the details you got, thanks for sharing Jane.
Rick

Hi Sis Jane

what a great shot of this beautiful and cute cottontail. Great colours and clarity with superb DOF. Many thanks for sharing this beauty Sister.
Cheers,

Bayram
PS. Sorry for the delaying in making comment today. I have so many obligation today.

  • Great 
  • Luis52 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1015 W: 5 N: 2758] (10010)
  • [2008-06-30 18:56]

Hi Cousin.
I wish to have some friend like this one, but My big dog is very jealous, but I love him that way. Once he save My life, and I save his when a rattle snake bite him insted of Me
Lovely image Jane. I like the big ears and almost can see the blod on them.
Saludos Prima.
Luis52.

A beauty of a shot Jane,
Very well composed and the detail is extremely fine. Wonderful natural colours as well.
Rosie and I were watching a pair of cottontails chase each other all over the back yard this evening. What a sight they were jumping in the air and twisting this way and that.
Our cottontails don't have nearly as large ears as yours do. Our's are maybe half that size or even less. Great notes! TFS.
Ron

Hi Jane,
A nice capture of this beautiful cottontail. Very good details with nice composition. Perhaps a little more low eye level would have been even better. Thanks a lot for sharing.

Jane, you have 'domesticated' this Cottontail by offering it care, concern and seeds, so be warned, ha, ha, ha!!
An adorable image again of this lovely and innocent looking creature.
The amazing clarity of the picture shows the strong bonding between you two.
Thanks and regards.
Ram

Hi Jane
Crystal clear image with superb detail and nice color contrast
tfs jon

  • Great 
  • gannu Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 839 W: 4 N: 2079] (9752)
  • [2008-07-01 2:00]

Hello Jane, What did you replied? Yes or No? But looking at the eye contact and focus I assume NO. Just joking. Excellent composition and superb sharp picture. Ganesh

Hello Jane,
Very cute image of cottontail with excellent details,you have capture a nice pose with lovely expression,
TFS

What a lovley Bunny!I thought they're scared of human beings!Very well shot, jane!
Goldy

Hello Jane,

What a cute rabbit? You named it an Cottontail, anyway good picture with lots of details.
Looks like he is in your garden, what a luck.

Gert

Hello Jane,
Looks like you have a friend that coming to visit you every day same as me with a duck!
I loved the size of this beautiful posting to view and enjoy the closeness of the Cottontail in total sharpness, nice colour and details
many thanks for the sharing
take care and my regards
Tony

  • Great 
  • arfer Gold Star Critiquer [C: 2731 W: 0 N: 0] (0)
  • [2008-07-01 21:37]

Hello Jane

What a cute little cottontail.
The ears are much larger than ours up here but this is understandable because the blood in the ears helps dissipate heat,which is an asset where you are.
Excellent pov and dof.
The focus is excellent.
Lovely natural colours.
Great job.
TFS

Rob

  • Great 
  • Jamesp Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1205 W: 0 N: 4610] (13714)
  • [2008-07-01 22:36]

Hi Jane

Wow - what a cute bunny! Beautiful eyes and ears. He would not stay long at our house - Coco would go wild (our dog - a Westie) - though if she caught it she would probably just lick it!

Excellent detail here - well captured.

I have been away for a few days - sorry I missed some of your postings.

James

  • Great 
  • Mana Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1675 W: 24 N: 4870] (15888)
  • [2008-07-02 21:02]

Hi Jane,
Wonderful shot of this cute little bunny with so much innocence on its expressive eyes. Very neat and sharp image with nice colours and details. You have a bubbly guest and you must be starting your day so nicely. Excellent POV and composition. Kudos.
TFS.
Sumon

Great shot. Sharply focussed and the sparkle in the eye looks lively. I feel may be a little lower pov would have been even more interesting. Anyways, great work.

I love your rabbits so much Jane! Look at those ears; it's marvelous! I wish I have such a cute friend here as well! This is an excellent picture with good details, interesting POV and exposure. Greetings from Quebec!
Claudine

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