Brown Hare

[ClanChief]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone had any tips on photographing Brown Hare | Wild About Britain
I have taken quite a few photos of them in Perthshire and have observed a bit of boxing activity this morning (June 1st). I have read they may have two or three litters a year - is this normal? Can boxing activity be seen in the summer time? I am happy with the photos I have, but would like to focus more on the behaviour now. Any advice gratefully accepted!

[Rodney Hale]

Are you sure you are talking about brown hares and not mountain hares? Perthshire was once well known for its mountain hares, although not so much now.

Yes, hares now breed throughout the year, so you can see boxing at any time, although February to September inclusive is the main breeding season.
Each female produces around 10 leverets per year in 3 - 4 litters but the first and last litters tend to be a single leveret. This is because the mother's energy status may be critical at cold times of the year.

I've had quite good results photographing hares in crop tramlines. Although they have 360 vision that straight ahead is quite poor and they come trundling up close before they realise you're there. Groups can also be easier to photograph than lone hares. They are too bound up with each other to notice a human presence.
Rodney Hale
Chairman - Hare Preservation Trust

[ClanChief]

Thanks Rodney for the information.

They are fascinating animals and I love their huge eyes that seem to be looking at you, no matter where you are.
Yes, I too have had hares coming close along the crop tramlines. I haven't really observed them closely before, but they certainly have a preference for seedlings just coming through the ground. How do they fare in the summer I wonder, when presumably the tastiest parts of the crop are out of reach?
I love sharing the early morning time with them before work. They really are a joy to watch.

Jeff Goddard

[whis4ey]

We have had hares in the garden here for a few years now
This year there was one new leveret which is still about, but one of the parents was apparently killed out on the roadway a month or so back
They, unfortunately, are a disaster for new shoots, and have eaten the top of some of my new Japanese maples .... a cut as clean as any scalpel
My understanding is that they are now protected
I was able to capture one jumping about a few weeks ago in video, which I may be able to share at a future date
This one seems to have been startled by me taking a photograph

[Rodney Hale]

Originally Posted by ClanChief

Thanks Rodney for the information.

They are fascinating animals and I love their huge eyes that seem to be looking at you, no matter where you are.
Yes, I too have had hares coming close along the crop tramlines. I haven't really observed them closely before, but they certainly have a preference for seedlings just coming through the ground. How do they fare in the summer I wonder, when presumably the tastiest parts of the crop are out of reach?
I love sharing the early morning time with them before work. They really are a joy to watch.

Jeff Goddard

With most cereals now winter sown the plants become unpalatable to hares in the spring. Spring sown cereals or ley grass would help to give continuity of forage, so this is thought to be partly why hares have declined during the past century. However, given the choice they prefer wild herbs and grasses to cultivated forms.

Rodney

[whis4ey]

Does that mean they are going to have a feast on my new wildflower meadow?

[Rodney Hale]

They would probably enjoy your wildflower meadow! If you wish to keep hares off a particular area you could try a product called Grazers which works for rabbits, but there seems to be no data for hares.

By the way, someone mentioned that hares are now protected. Hunting and coursing with dogs are now banned under the Hunting Act 2004, but hares can be shot throughout the year leaving many thousands of orphaned leverets to die of starvation.

I am new to forums of this sort, so apologies if I'm not doing things right!

Best regards,

Rodney Hale

Chairman - Hare Preservation Trust

[ClanChief]

I watched a fox pass close by some hares the other evening

The hares didn't run off as I would have expected, but moved a few more metres away. The fox, I guess, would have no chance of catching the hares, but would be looking for leverets?
I'm just wondering where the best place for them to leave the leverets; in the hedge? (not many hedges around) or in a crop field (could get crushed by tractors). I understand that they are only fed once a day to minimise predation.

[deer boy]

Love the pics whis4ey & ClanChief i had a hare giving me the run around on friday great animals

[Rodney Hale]

Yes, adult hares are 50% faster than a fox and only by stealth and ambush does he have a chance of taking one. Most predation is on leverets. Small fields reduce the hare's ability to utilise her superior speed, but large fields may mean she has to travel further to maintain continuity of forage. So there is probably an optimum field size.

Yes, the mother returns just once a day around dusk to feed her offspring and she takes a sideways leap to break her scent trail before reaching them. The leverets spend the day singly, usually in long grass, to reduce the chances of a predator wiping out the entire family. The mother possibly uses ultra-sound to call them together for feeding. Many leverets are killed by silage cutting machinery and this has undoubtedly been a reason for the hare's steep decline in grassland areas such as the south-west. We are looking into the possibility that leverets could be detected by thermal imaging or by specially trained dogs, but both methods would be expensive and there is also the problem of what to do with the leverets if found.
Rodney Hale
Chairman - Hare Preservation Trust