For the past 2 weeks I've been on a mission to secure more images of mountain hares and chose to work at a site just north of home. The last time I visited this site there were good numbers of hares, albeit wary. This winter there are a lot less but they are just as wary, which suggests that either their numbers have declined naturally - and there is some evidence that hare numbers are cyclic - or their population has been reduced through shooting. Mountain hares have always been shot as game on upland estates but in some circumstances this has extended to further reductions as hares are blamed for harbouring ticks, which can be harmful, and even fatal, to young red grouse chicks.

This individual was one of just two hares that I have been able to get anywhere near and to do so involved a monumental effort of crawling through deep snow with my head down so as not to reveal myself. I'll keep persevering but I fear that these particular hares are not going to accept my presence anytime soon!