February turned out to be a glorious month and the warmest on record. We experienced a lovely heatwave, which brought out lots of wildlife - Butterflies, Bees, Ladybirds, and the birds started collecting nesting material.
However, it was a very different story right at the start of the month, when we saw a couple of days worth of snow. I love the snow, so was straight out with my camera, risking a snow blizzard, to see if I could find some Hares. I was lucky and struck gold. Even though they were at some distance, it was magical to watch Hares being playful in the snow. I did not stay out too long though, as the snow was drifting in fast and my lens was somewhat damp.
The Snowdrops were glorious through January and most of February, but are now on their way out. Soon we will be treated to blankets of Bluebells, and already the woodland floors are covered in sprouting leafs. Spring has definitely been felt in the air for a while now, and everything seems to be a little earlier this year.
As the month went on, I started to see more and more Hares, as they start to become more active for their breeding season. I ventured out at dawn on numerous occasions to look for them. February saw many misty mornings, and whilst that made for beautiful and ethereal landscape photos, it also made it harder to see the Hares. Although, it did make it very atmospheric to see them emerge from the mist, but not the easiest of photography conditions.
One morning I stopped to peer over a hedge on a very misty sunrise, and was over the moon to see around ten Hares chasing one another around. It was almost as though they were excited by the misty conditions and was like watching energetic children playing in the park. After attempting to get what shots I could in the conditions, they all soon vanished deeper into the lingering mist. However, I decided to hang around for a little while, and not before long, Hares started to reappear, mainly in pairs as they made their way past me, to venture on to their next destination for the day.
I also got out to participate on a couple of conservation working parties at my local nature reserves, and also joined my local Natural Environment Committee. Is great to work with some local naturalists and like-minded people.
Here is a shot of the Hares on the above mentioned, misty morning.
