Mountain Hares

A few weeks ago my friend Richard and I made an early start to try and photograph Mountain Hares. As the name suggests they live at high altitudes so the weather plays a big part in the success of a trip. We wanted shots of them in their white, winter coats. So trying to find a day when the conditions would be good enough wasn't as easy as you would think. The main problem being low cloud, then the strong winds and snow. Richard had been several times before but this was my first visit.

After a good walk to the hills through patches of snow and having to cross a waterfall, we split up and slowly combed the area. You would expect that they would be easy to spot with their white coats against the heather and grass, but they tend to hide in hollows and behind rocks. I flushed several that I hadn't even seen as I walked up the hillside. I quickly realised I needed to change my plan of attack, I had to try and spot them from a greater distance. After a while I did find one sitting out in the open, It was too far away to get a decent photograph so I would have to stalk it. I started to crawl towards it, getting a few shots as I got closer. Eventually after crawling what must have been 50 metres I was at a range for full frame shots. Over the next few hours I used the same technique to photograph a few more and came home pleased with the results. Hopefully I will be able to get back to them soon.

Short-eared Owls

Back in November I had a good session with some Short-eared Owls. I did think that it would be an ongoing project through the winter, although the weather has put paid to that so far. Hopefully there will be some more opportunities before they move off to their breeding grounds.