Been so long since I been out with my kit, been looking after Kay , but as things get better I have more options , and some free time to indulge my wildlife passion.

Out early this morning after a good trip out yesterday, helping another photographer.

Dark and overcast with showers first thing but finally had some joy with the local Hares.

Picture data below shot from the car on a bean bag for aditional support.

Canon 1 DX

500mm F4.0 Plus 2.0 x giving 1000mm F8.0

iso 6400 F8.0 1/400th shutter speed

European hare - Lepus europaeus

Brown Hare / lepus europaeus. Lincolnshire. 11/04/22.

'ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.'

The doe, (centre) had tolerated the attentions of these two bucks, (left/right) who had positioned themselves very close to her for 20 minutes or more. Her scent had informed them that she would become receptive very soon - an opportunity to mate neither of them wanted to miss.

Sometimes the wait can last for a day or more but during that time, bucks will try their luck. This is when a doe retaliates, fending them off by 'boxing'.

In this image, the buck (left) had attempted to mate. Instantly, the doe rounded on him, reared up on her hind legs and started to defend herself. The action caught me unawares and all happened so quickly that I had to grab this shot. No time to think about composition and unfortunately I've clipped the tip of the buck's tail, so not ideal. Nevertheless, a nice record shot to remind me of another great hare day.

A couple more of the local hares... :)

I've tried to shot these guys for a few weeks now, but they are always to shy.

Today I went for something else: Orange tips, a butterfly wich is very common this time of year, but without any succes. I'm not a butterfly photographer I guess....

On my way back this hare came right to me, I hided myself and took a few shots.

Brown Hares

Two hares enjoying their dinner together

In a Suffolk field

Mountain Hare - Lepus Timidus

Cairngorms

Thanks to all who take the time to comment /fav etc...Always appreciated

More for the ongoing hare project... :)

Lepus timidus, Lepre variabile - Mountain hare

Norway

A frosty encounter of the whiskery kind from earlier this week...

on a nice roll at the minute only went out for a hour and a nice hare sat right beside the road

I've never specifically gone out to take photos of hares before but after finding a site with multiple hares the other week, I spent a very cold and very early morning lying at the edge of a field taking photos of these characterful mammals

Hazenpootje(Coprinus lagopus), Alblasserbos, The Netherlands

I've been trying to get images of Brown Hares in the snow over the last few days.

Due to Covid restrictions in the UK at the moment I can't get to my usual spot, so I'm exploring fields that are walkable from where I live. While I've seen a few Hares around, they're definitely more sparse and difficult to approach (crunchy snow doesn't help).

But I quite like these two images. Hopefully we'll get more snow before the winter is over and I can try again.

There has been a lot of farming near home recently. The usual spot I went to for the hares in February/March is now a potato field so they disappeared. It wasn't until recently that I found where they've been hiding. I'm hoping over the coming weeks to do much better than these two shots, but for now...

Haas - European Brown Hare (Lepus europaeus)

Common and widspread Hare's Ear fungi (Current science name Otidea onotica (Pers.) Fuckel). Lansdown near Bath, Somerset, Englandar

Hare Krishna Temple

This beautiful hare briefly sat right in front of me

This is the first time I've ever seen a Hare with a head shaped so fine

Still grounded at home so having some fun with my summer archives. I do hope you like hares as I have plenty more to play with.

More hares... :)

Mountain Hare - Lepus Timidus

Findhorn Valley, Cairngorms

Brown Hare, on farm track Lancashire

Findhorn Valley, Cairngorms, Scotland

Thanks to our brilliant guide, Mark Hamblin, we found some hares soon after reaching the lower slopes and spent a very pleasurable few hours sitting in the snow enjoying their company. At times, the sunshine broke through and bathed the whole mountainside in a wonderful light and then disappeared, but through it all the hares sat in their forms, almost motionless. Although I had really hoped to see these beautiful animals, I really didn't expect to have the privilege to spend so long observing and photographing them. Definitely the highlight of our trip - thanks Mark!

Mountain Hare - Lepus Timidus

Highlands, Scotland

Thanks to all who take the time to comment etc...it is appreciated..

Scottish Mountain Hare in Summer coat

Jonge Haas - juvenile European Brown Hare (Lepus europaeus).

Stumped?

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heir_apparent

Such a beautiful sunrise this morning that I just had to get out.

Managed to dig myself in a ditch and then just waited for the Hares to come past me. Several shots taken were so low that was not sure whether to post, needles to say decided against my better judgement.

They say a Hare is capable of running at speeds of 35mph/56kph, well today they certainly tested me while they were looking for a mate.

The Pentland Hills lie to the south of Edinburgh. The mist took a while to clear the hills.

Thank you to all who view, like or comment on my photos, it is much appreciated

The cliche shot ;-)

Taken from my car. Cars annoy hares less easily than the sight of a person.

Brown Hare (Lepus europaeus)

Lepus

The Thinker