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Back on the hills again

I rejoined the mountain hare survey team this morning.  It's the first time I have been walking on the Lammermuirs since mid-November, when I broke my wrist.  I took a walking pole with me today, just to help with tramping through heather and across rough ground.  Glad I took it!

Sunrise was at 8.03 today, and we set off on our walk at about 7.45 am, early enough to see the hares before they hunker down, out of sight, during daylight hours.  Of course, bless their hearts, they have their white coats on, to camouflage themselves in the snow.  But all the snow has gone, so they stood out like sore thumbs!  We stood, at intervals, and scanned the hillsides (also a good opportunity for me to get my breathe back!!!) and when we could see a small white dot on a distant hillside, the binoculars would confirm that it was a hare.  Some were not so far away, and it's great to see them bounding off, leaping over the heather.  We saw 21 of these beautiful creatures today.  A record number for this survey of Lammer Law.

Comments

  1. Anonymous4 February 2016 at 13:54

    Fantastic! Lucky you.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sally5 February 2016 at 06:17

    They look brilliant. Great photos A! x

    ReplyDelete
  3. Rambler5 February 2016 at 10:16

    Poor things, thinking they blend into the background! Lovely walk and lovely photos! I haven't been for a decent walk in ages as it's like walking on a soaked sponge up on the Moor behind my home.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. the running wave5 February 2016 at 14:24

      Very squelchy here too. Even on the top of Lammer Law, the ground is really wet. I would have expected it to have drained away, but I expect the snow melt and then the rain on top has just saturated the soil! Good views though! Have a good weekend. A

      Delete

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