It's Mad March Hare month again; the time to spot boxing hares in the fields.
Although there are no shortages of them on the Yorkshire Wolds, to get photographs good enough to paint from is always a challenge.
The large arable fields around here leave little cover for a 6ft2” artist with a cumbersome camera and tripod.
So at this time of year I usually head north to the Isle of Islay, my favourite of the islands off the West coast of Scotland .
Here the hares are even more abundant than they are here. But, the advantage for me is that the fields are smaller and surrounded by stone walls which make great cover.
The last time I was there, I spent a week hiding out in a derelict cottage close to a field full of hare and I got the opportunity to watch their courting process in detail.
At dawn, the group I was watching were often sitting quietly. A few would be feeding and then one by one they would start to stretch and groom, then have a little yawn and shake the night rain off their coats.
A break in the clouds allowed shafts of sunlight through and this seemed to act as a natural aphrodisiac! Some hares sat on their hind legs and started shadow boxing, like professionals limbering up.
The males thought it was time to try their luck. Most of their cautious approaches, intended to test the female's receptivity, were rebuffed with lunging paws which sent the boys packing.
The three females of the group ganged together in defence. But these males were not for turning and a flurry of boxing broke out. Chaos then ensued as hares leaped up into the air and crashed down onto each other.
One of the females urinated and the males rushed over to test the scent and jostle for position to see who could roll in it first.
This only added to the confusion, because those males that had rolled in the female's ‘perfume' now smelt of females themselves.
Traditionally, these boxing bouts were thought to be two males fighting for a female. But from my observations, it is the female doe beating off the as-yet unwanted advances of the buck.
Males sometimes come to blows during the commotion and confusion but never seem to do full on boxing – it's more of a scuffle.
The boxing matches between bucks and does are only one part of a courtship that can last many days.
There are also frantic chases, when a doe makes a break for it and dashes off to test the buck's speed and agility. If he can't keep up with her then he's out of the picture. She only wants the fittest and smartest to father her young.
She will run through hedges, over and around stone walls, through streams and over ditches, zig-zagging as she goes. It looks like she is trying to escape.
But, on a few occasions, I have seen a doe give all her male suitors the slip. Surprised at her own success, she reappears and begins scent marking and wagging her tail like a flag of flirtation so that the lagging males spot her and catch up.
Buck hares can often be seen ranging over fields with a rather odd loping gait. With their noses to the ground they are searching out the scent of an oestrous doe.
Whilst I was watching, 30 or more hares began to run together in front of me all ‘mad marching'. I have never seen a sight like this before in my life and probably never will again!
After an hour the hares had all parted and I could start to recognise some of the individuals again. One buck had a white spot on his nose. Others had tears in their ears and scars from previous bouts. They box with such force that fur can fly.
On this occasion, one buck had to be retired early. His injuries looked serious and as he hobbled off into the distance I realised that he had a clean break in his front leg. Clearly he would never box again.
Mad March Hares is a well known saying, but don't let it confuse you. Hares actually breed all year round and can have three litters annually.
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Wildlife Diary -
