Thoughtsofanidlemind's Blog

Rabbit Warrens Dot Aillebrack

The land immediately behind the beaches in the townland of Aillebrack in Connemara, County Galway, Ireland is dotted with the scrapings created by rabbits as they construct a network of warrens in the sandy soil. Their territory extends back beyond the road to the Connemara Golf Club.

In a satellite image (Figure 1), the scrapings of sand scar the green landscape, where the burrows are built mostly in the sides of small hills. The number of scrapings is a strong indication of just how many rabbits live in the vicinity.

I often park my car at Aillebrack beach and walk along the shore towards Bunowen. The route takes me past the rabbit warrens, but the animals are skittish and disappear underground once they detect the potential threat of a human. It takes time and patience to get into a position to photograph the rabbits, and a long lens to capture anything worthwhile.

Rabbits can be seen throughout the day. On sunny evenings, I quite often come across groups of rabbits that almost seem to have come together for a chat (Figure 3) to enjoy the last hour of sunlight (which on the west coast of Ireland can be well past 9pm in summer).

Rabbit Sentries

Many people walk their dogs along the beach and the area immediately beyond, so the rabbits are understandably wary of any visitors that they see. Usually, some of the rabbits act as lookouts (Figure 4) and warn their warren about any threats they detect.

Dogs become very excited about the smells emanating from burrows. If you’re going out with a camera, leave the dog at home. They’ll just get in the way. Instead, bring something to sit on. It’ll be much more useful.

As far as I can tell, no birds of prey hunt in the vicinity (at least, I haven’t seen any), so there’s little threat from the air. Even so, rabbits don’t stray far from the warren and can reach safety quickly once they’ve been disturbed (Figure 5).

Once the rabbits go underground, they remain in their burrows for ten or fifteen minutes to allow the threat to pass.

Black Rabbits

The colors of the rabbits (coinin in Irish) vary. I’ve seen several black rabbits (Figure 6) interspersed with the more common brownish variety. No discrimination is apparent and the rabbits of all colors graze peacefully together. The brownish fur is harder to detect against the grassland.

The best approach I have found is to approach the areas where the rabbit burrows are found from the seashore by moving inland slowly, using small hills and mounts to avoid being spotted. Sometimes this technique works beautifully, and you end up very close to the rabbits, like the picture in Figure 7. But most of the time, the rabbit early warning system works and the approach results in a scattering of white tails as the rabbits head into their burrows.

Taking Time Out to Spend with the Aillebrack Rabbits

Although I like taking photos, sometimes it’s even better to just sit and watch the rabbits get on with their day. Occasionally a dispute breaks out between two rabbits, perhaps over access to a choice flower or other piece of food, but most of the time everything is very peaceful. Spending some time with the rabbits is a great way to break a walk between Aillebrack and Bunowen.