Before our visit to the Sussex Wildlife Trust’s Rye Harbour on 11 March, I’d only ever seen Hares at a distance, a long distance, so, although we saw lots of wonderful birds during our 8-mile exploration of the reserve that day, the highlight for me was getting reasonably close views of several Hares.
Admittedly, most of those views were of their rear ends as they skedaddled but, even then, we could see how big their ears and back legs were. And, although the photo below was also taken at quite a distance and has had to be heavily cropped, I do like how it shows the comparison between the Rabbit and the Hare.

And, luckily, very luckily, this one Hare decided to sit still for longer than the previous ones – at least, it sat still for about 30 seconds, which was just enough to get one decent photo. What magnificent creatures they are!

p.s. If you’ve not yet read Marianne Taylor’s wonderful book The Way of the Hare (Bloomsbury, London, 2017), you really should. It’s a treat!
One of my favourite animals
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Sadly, I don’t see them often … but then that makes it all the more special when I do. 🙂
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How wonderful to see hares!
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It was superb, Philip. 🙂
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I love your posts! Thanks for sharing your enthusiasm and love of nature!
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Well, that’s very kind of you to say, Sarah. Much appreciated, thank you. 🙂
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Coincidentally there was a programme on Radio 4 about hares this morning:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0003jn1
you can listern to it on cathc-up, I think. I found it very interesting and heartening.
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that should read catch-up!
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Thanks for the tip – I’ll have a listen. 🙂
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Aren’t they simply the utmost? We have been seeing some quite close to recently, we parked at the side of a field, they sat or sauntered across the field in no hurry at all. It is always such a thrill to see them.
I shall locate a copy of that book, I shall try to add it to my last Awesome Books order (a few minutes ago). Thanks!
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Sounds lovely – I envy you those views. 🙂
And I hope you enjoy the book. I knew nothing about Hares until I read it.
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