IMAGE OF THE MONTH

JANUARY 2013

Mountain Hare – Is it safe to come out yet?

I was an hour trekking into the hills on a cold and frosty morning and was having no luck finding any hares.  I was on the verge of giving up when I looked around one more corner when to my surprise I saw this hare about 40ft away sitting in front of a boulder.  Slowly I crept closer and got within 15ft of the hare and settled behind a boulder for cover.  It did not seem to be aware of my presence so I took my chance and waited to see if it would display any behaviour.  After about 20mins waiting it hide under the boulder as a bird of prey flew overhead. After 10 mins thankfully it came back out and I was ready to capture it popping it’s head out to check if the coast was clear.  I remained with it for quite sometime.  It was a fantastic experience and I walked away from the hare without disturbing it.