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A HAPPY XMAS TO ALL NATURALISTS|
LETTERS, NOTES AND QUERIES Containing this month:
More about swimming hares
Nick Carter’s observation of a swimming hare, White Admiral 64, reminded me of
September 2001 when I was given permission to walk the whole of the long shingle
spit that includes Orford Ness. I started at North Weir Point opposite Shingle Street
and eventually ended up at Slaughden. During this day’s walk I counted 24 hares,
easily my highest day total. I tried very hard not to count any twice and consider this
an accurate number. Obviously these hares had to cross from the mainland at some
time. A friend has told me that in his younger and fitter days he actually allowed the
tidal flow to carry him across to the shingle spit with a minimum of effort, but I
imagine a fine sense of judgement. Perhaps the pioneer hares did the same. The more
I thought about it, the more I concluded that this was a good habitat for hares. There
are few predators, including humans, there is an abundance of well established mats
of vegetation to eat, enough dew and moisture to drink and, by using the troughs and
hollows between the storm-created shingle banks, protection from extremes of
weather in what is otherwise a very exposed habitat.
Return to top of page Scratching the surface While walking along the beach at Shingle Street, on Friday 26th May 2006,
we noticed a largish animal, which ran over the crest of the beach and headed
towards the sea. We were some way off to identify positively what type of creature
it was, but having seen a brown hare (Lepus europaeus) a little way back we
suspected that it might have been of that species. As far as we are aware,
it did not enter the sea. A little while later, an animal was seen on the beach,
some ten metres away from the sea. It was clearly a hare. What it was doing
on a beach we were unsure of, until it turned on its back and began to writhe
around. Initially we were puzzled by this behaviour but then suspected that
it may have been scratching its back and that the shingle on the beach was
the most effective ‘tool’ with which to do so. It may
have been attempting to rid itself of its winter pelage. Harris et al (1991)
state that the spring moult commences in March and is usually finished by June
and that the moult begins at the nape, mid-back and head and spreads downwards
and backwards. The weather in spring had been particularly cool in March and
snow had fallen in the south-east of England on 9th and 10th of April. This
was a month in which no maximum was recorded above 20°C since 1986 (Branson,
2006), so perhaps the inclement weather delayed the moult a little? Hares in
southern Britain would probably experience their moult before those of the
north. Autumn flowering Horse Chestnut Whilst driving along the A1214 London Road in Ipswich near Chantry Park on September
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