Mountain Hare in the snow

I have wanted to photograph Mountain Hares in the snow for a long while, but it's not that straight forward. 
You need snow off course, which this winter has been in short supply, but too much snow and the roads are closed, too little snow and it defeats the objective.
If the snow is too deep it is very difficult to cross the moors plus I'm carrying my photographic equipment. Today I took both 500mm and 300mm although in the end I only used the 500mm.
Low cloud can also be a problem, during the winter visibility can be reduced to a few metres on the moor for days on end so you need to watch the weather forecast.
Finally, and it really goes without saying, you need the Mountain Hares. 
As usual I went up to the Bleaklow area off the Snake Pass. Driving up I thought the snow had all but disappeared but once past the Snake Pass Inn there was plenty on the tops.
There were plenty of hare foot prints in the snow but it took quite a bit of walking before I located one that was prepared to sit still with me close-by.
Was it worth the effort...a definate yes!

Mountain Hare

Mountain Hare - Bleaklow

Made my first trip of the winter to Bleaklow for Mountain Hare with James. The weather has been so bad recently that this was the first opportunity in the last few weeks.
Most of the hares were in their winter pelt but a couple still had brown on the face. 
They are beautiful animals and well adapted to survive in what can be a very hostile environment. The wind increased in strength whilst we were on the moor making it difficult to stand. 
A skein of Pink-footed Geese and single Golden Plover and Raven were the only birds seen.

Mountain Hare

Mountain Hare and Golden Plover - Snake Pass

I took a friend, who had never seen Mountain Hare, up to the Snake Pass area today and we were fortunate with the weather as the sun came out shortly after we arrived. The hares we saw were still very pale so relatively easy to see. 
Whilst we were there we also had several pairs of Golden Plover and I am always surprised how quickly they are back on the nesting grounds. We still have around 150 in the Screatham Lane area so conclude that these birds must be heading much further north and hence delay their departure. Anyway great to see them up close in full 'golden' plumage.
Unfortunately there was a lot of heat haze with the sunshine which spoilt the photos somewhat but gives me a good excuse to go back.

Golden Plover & Mountain Hare

Mountain Hare - Bleaklow

My first visit to see the Mountain Hares for several months and they are now in predominantly white coats, which certainly makes seeing them a lot easier. I counted 15 in a scan of the hillside in this one area.
The light was poor and these two photos were both taken with the 300mm lens fully open at f2.8, but the hares still look impressive.

Mountain Hare

Mountain Hare - Spring pelt

James has been up to the Snake Pass for the Mountain Hares, he saw plenty of hares but was disappointed with the shots he took. I didn't think they were too bad and this shot certainly shows how the Spring moult is progressing. There is certainly a lot less white fur now.

Mountain Hare (James Butler)

Mountain Hare still in its winter coat

The weather forecast was good for today so I headed up to Snake Pass again for the Mountain Hares. The wind was very strong when I arrived and there was some low cloud but the Mountain Hares stood out, still in their winter coats. I counted over 20. There was Raven over the moor and plenty of Red Grouse but I spent most of the time stalking the hares.
It has been quiet on Beeley although Ken had a Red Kite near the village on Wednesday which is hopefully the first of several.

Mountain Hare

Sunrise, rain and a research visit to S Yorks

The day started off well with this beautiful sunrise over Great Longstone as I headed out to Snake Pass. By the time I arrived it was raining heavily but I decided to take a walk along the Pennine Way anyway. I found one very damp, dozing Mountain Hare before I gave in and headed back to the car.
I had decided to visit Broomhead Reservoir in South Yorks to have a look for the Two-barred Crossbills. One of the ways of locating them is by the short trumpeting notes they give in flight alongside the more Crossbill like chips. I'm not familiar with this call but felt that if I am to find them locally it would help to hear the call.
There were 7 birds (four males) on show on and off whilst I was there, more off than on, but I did hear the calls on several occasions which certainly are distinctive. They were distant but I did take a record photo.

Sunrise over Great Longstone

Mountain Hare - dozing in the rain

Two-barred Crossbill, male - Broomhead Reservoir

Mountain Hare - White on black

I went back to Bleaklow again this morning with James and his girlfriend Jacinta. Initially it looked like the weather would be a problem with low cloud but it suddenly cleared and we had a couple of hours of partial sunshine.
James took quite a few photos which I'm sure will appear on James Butler Photography in due course. I took a few photos similar to yesterday but had a lucky encounter when I was walking through a peat hag and I rounded a corner and came across this Mountain Hare illuminated by the only rays of sunlight that had found their way in, the surroundings were in almost complete blackness creating quite a striking photo.

Mountain Hare in the spotlight

Mountain Hare - Bleaklow

Fantastic day today with blue skies most of the time and a beautiful sunset. I started off at the Middleton Moor Starling roost, another great spectacle but not close enough for any new photos. I then went on to the Snake Pass and lower slopes of Bleaklow for Mountain Hare and had a successful trip. I thought they would still be in the brown summer coat but most showed a lot of white and were well on the way to full their full winter coat. I saw at least 15 in the area I walked along with plenty of Red Grouse and a single Peregrine but the hares were the stars of the day.

Mountain Hares and their habitat