BROWN HARES AT ELMLEY

We are just back from a weeks walking in the Alicante mountains in Spain. I couldn't decide whether to take my camera but in the end decided against it. Wise move. The hotel to hotel unguided walking was tough, sometimes very tough and there was no way I could have carried a heavy camera and lens. A couple of days I didn't even carry my binoculars with me. The odd thing was that I didn't really miss either of them. Sometimes it's nice to be unencumbered and to just see the wildlife and birds without worrying about getting the shot or seeing every small detail.

Anyway, here's a few pictures I took the last time I did take my camera out along the Elmley track on the Isle of Sheppey. Brown hares are not easy to find, most that i've seen were stumbled upon by accident when out walking and usually feature a clean pair of heels as they rocket away into the distance.

I actually saw four hares on this occasion. Three were some distance away. They lay motionless and, to the naked eye were just low mounds of earth in the middle of the field until viewed through binoculars. But this one was much closer and was preoccupied with feeding, scratching and generally lumbering around with that peculiar lanky gait that hares have when not in turbo mode.

It was late March, so I hoped I would see some of the 'boxing' action that these animals are so well known for. This is usually the female fending off the unwanted advances of an amorous male, not a 'may the best man win' battle between rival males that it's sometimes mistaken for. It didn't happen though, but I did enjoy watching this particular hare and not just seeing its heels.