North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Hilborn.E@epamail.epa.gov]

I was working in my fenced orchard yesterday when my dog stepped on
something that gave out a loud squeak.

We both started digging and I found a shallow, loose nest lined with
soft hair and 4 adorable baby rabbits, about 3 inches below the surface
of the lawn next to a mulched bed.  They were apparently close to
weaning as their eyes were open and they were about 5 inches long, They
were apparently healthy and fat (they should be fat  - they were fed on
milk made from my well-cultivated but decimated soybean crop!).

Anyway, I disposed of the nest with some mixed feelings (why do they
have to be so darn cute?).

I am now piling a gravel mixture mounded up along my woven wire fence. I
think that rabbits have been slipping under the fence where small gaps
exist between the wire and the ground.

My question is- why didn't my dogs smell those babies?  It seems
incredible to me, that my sharp-nosed hounds were lying right next to
that nest.  We never would have found it if a paw had not made a direct
hit.  I am concerned about other nests lurking about.  There was
certainly no visual cue that a nest existed there.

Any thoughts on how to find these nests?

Betsy Hilborn
7a NC