Early Young Hares

[Agriv8]

So was down my mates farm waiting for it to turn dark for the rats. After helping with a bit of lambing (assisting in cornering and  holding the torch !  ) he   Mentioned he’d seen some hares that were juveniles but seemed a bit early for there size but definitely juveniles. Anyway like watching Hares so went for a wander  and soon spotted the and watched though the scope  as soon as it picked me up croch and flat ears to body then after a while sped off with the tell tale ears up and hare running style.

there are very few about around here so we agreed these would be left on the protected list on the permission! So my question is that these juveniles seemed well grown which seemed odd at this time of year at a guess a good 1/2 to 2/3rds the size of an adult so these must have been born very early in the year so looking to increase my knowledge in this area.

ps pest control in other areas rabbit that was eating flowers in garden  pigeon roosting in eaves of cow shed  - and a good few rats especially youngsters - also watched bats, swallows and a pair of roe dear and the barn owels out working in- far better than sat watching tv !

atb Agriv8

[JDog]

Lots of leverets about in the Wolds. You will know that the mother hare leaves them in different places for safety reasons and visits them in turn when they are still suckling.

[Agriv8]

JDog no I didn’t know that but the two I clearly ID’d were adjoining fields - what size are the ones on the wolds as  these were approaching adult rabbit size ? So much so that the safety had been knocked of on pcp air gun - it was only when it did not bolt and flattened its ears did the - that’s not a rabbit thought appeared in my head.

6 minutes ago, JDog said:

Lots of leverets about in the Wolds. You will know that the mother hare leaves them in different places for safety reasons and visits them in turn when they are still suckling.

 

[Walker570]

On one of my farms the owner came across a very young leveret in a hoof mark in a field. He said it would just about fit in double hands, so was very young. He saw what he assumed was the female in the next field. This wa early March. I thought this was a bit early.

[JDog]

24 minutes ago, Agriv8 said:

JDog no I didn’t know that but the two I clearly ID’d were adjoining fields - what size are the ones on the wolds as  these were approaching adult rabbit size ? So much so that the safety had been knocked of on pcp air gun - it was only when it did not bolt and flattened its ears did the - that’s not a rabbit thought appeared in my head.

 

Some are as big or even bigger than rabbits.

[samboy]

I have 6 permissions and walk my dogs over acres of land and i cant remember the last time i saw a hare. 

But i have seen more rats this week than i have ever seen.

[oscarsdad]

I counted 11 hares on one field today. No shortage of them this way. 

[Agriv8]

Like most farmer folk up in Yorkshire they are very much a preservation of endangered wildlife.

I walked through the other evening and my farmer mates first comment- my swallows are nesting! Don’t they every year ? Reply No the feral pigeons seem to scare them off ! And you sorted those sky rats out  ! 
 

I don’t know how you can get the message across to the anti shooting party -but my farmer mate will not put poison down in case rat or mouse is caught by the pair of barn owls in yonder ash tree after taking poison 

he was texting me locations of tree rats he had seen  as he had heard the woodpecker in his copse on his farm.

So to reduce the numbers of rats pigeons rabbits quickly and humanly to help others less able species  prosper. I don’t know how we can get the message across ( that most on this forum seem to agree ) that is shooters are probably more environmentally switched on than we are given credit for.

so To get to my point hares young and old are welcome and protected on my permission- sorry that turned into a rant. Will sign off now thanks for reading Agriv8