Oh hare!

 

Lost in my own thoughts I wander down a grassy forest track, head down inspecting the ground. It’s raining lightly and I had just visited the spawn puddles after last night's downpour. A plan to use flash to photograph the newts however is scuppered as the heavy rain has muddied the waters, so that will have to wait for better conditions.

When I look up a hare is scampering away down the pathway. Damn! It must have been so close. I raise my camera and it is still in the viewfinder but the shutter fails to release. Oh hare how could you tease me like that. The video loops inside my head, the hare bounding away down the track it’s white bob tail rear, not an ideal image, until it veers right displaying a perfect side profile and vanishes into the forest.

Hares are quite big and initially I was in two minds as to what it was, a young deer or a hare. No photo then but who needs a photo. I have a complete video in my memory bank that will be with me forever. A photo for my blog as proof I saw it, who cares. It is always fascinating when you see elusive wildlife and never forgotten I suspect. I remember years ago walking with a friend through the forest when he spotted a deer. It was far off but when he pointed it out I could see the tiny silhouette between the fir trees. It was probably 500m away yet that image is still with me today.

Before leaving for my walk I notice the great tit chicks are silent this morning. Also the adults are no longer visiting to feed them. The adult male did visit the balcony a couple of times but it was also strangely silent. When I return from my walk the nest box silence is deafening. Yesterday just before the storm there was plenty of activity and the noisy chicks. I decide to take a look. 

The nest box is empty, where did they go and when? Right up till the storm last night I was watching them eagerly in case the young decided to leave the nest. Would they attempt to leave when the weather was so atrocious? I thought not and expected them to hang around for a day or two. After I have inspected the nest box the adult male returns but avoids the nest box. A few minutes later the male is back again but this time hops onto the nest box looks inside, looks around, cocks its head and it too appears to wonder where they have gone. Maybe the female and two chicks escaped early this morning. Whatever it looks like that ends the saga. I am told they may breed again, we shall see.