Friday 1 July 2016

30 Days Wild day 13- Hares

I travelled back up to York today, this time by car rather than by train. I kept myself occupied looking for birds of prey; kestrels hovering over road verges or the occasional buzzard circling with the thermals. However, what I wasn't expecting to see was a hare. 

Hares aren't too unusual to see during the spring in my part of the world, but I've almost never seen one in summer before. As the crops grow taller, they vanish into the vegetation and become invisible. This one, however, had opted for open ground, where its identifying ears were clearly visible.

Hares spend much of the day hunkered down in shallow depressions in the earth known as forms. This hare, however, was upright. I wonder if it had been disturbed and had moved away from its form, or was attempting to forage during the day.

 Almost as soon as I had seen it, the hare turned and ran, with its strange, leaping gait. We drove on. It was a fleeting encounter, but still special. They're incredibly charismatic animals. 



No comments:

Post a Comment