northeast-flora-and-fauna

This Red-tailed Hawk may have been hungry, and there was a Woodchuck  (AKA Groundhog) and an Eastern Cottontail in the vicinity [1]. And while Woodchucks can be somewhat tough and feisty [2], rabbits are certainly on the Red-tailed Hawk's menu. Though it's hard not to sympathize with the prey animals when predators are hunting, to our hawks eating small animals isn't a choice as much as a necessity. To them our little furry friends are just food, like a burger, fries, and a shake. June 10, 2023 at Duke Farms Photo 300986026, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) June 10, 2023 at Duke Farms Photo 300986041, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) June 10, 2023 at Duke Farms Photo 300986076, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) [1] I'm using the phrase "in the vicinity" a little loosely; I think I saw the Woodchuck and rabbit within 20 minutes of seeing the hawk. [2] I kind of wonder if Red-tails mostly sneak-attack adult Woodchuck...

Last spring at the Plainsboro Preserve I noticed a couple of unusual "birds" at their bird feeders [1]. What was especially unusual about these birds was that their wings looked more like forelegs, and that their plumage had a furriness that you rarely see in adult birds [2]. I'm still struggling to ID them [3].

Here's a picture I got of a Woodchuck (aka Groundhog aka Whistle Pig) back in June. My recollection is that it was a hot day so my first impression was that the Woodchuck was panting to shed some internal heat. Apparently that's not the explanation; squirrels (Woodchucks are categorized as ground squirrels ) don't pant or sweat . Ears and tails help rodents cool off on hot days instead. And in something similar to sweat, they will sometimes lick themselves and cool off as the water evaporates. Another possibility is that maybe the Woodchuck was whistling  or barking . I think I was quite a way away, and the barking in particular sounds a little like a soft grunt; I'm not sure I would have heard it distinctly enough to have known it was coming from the Woodchuck. Is it possible that Woodchucks get gobsmacked ? June 15, 2022 at Sourland Mountain Preserve Photo 210217929, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)