Seasonal First: Hare Sighting

I can testify to the fact that our Mad March Hares are out and about. We were driving home through the Suffolk countryside in the Sudbury area when we alighted on a couple of hares. By the time we had found somewhere safe to park, I was only able to take a quick couple of record snaps. This is the better of the two!

We have only seen hares once before since our arrival in East Anglia, and that was last year at WWT Welney in the Fens. However, I hope to see many more sightings of these iconic creatures, with their black-tipped ears and strong hind legs. Unlike rabbits, hares do not have burrows. They live above ground.

We saw some beautiful rabbits recently (like the one below), and, although you cannot tell from these photos, the rabbits seem very small in comparison with their larger Leporidae cousins.

Mammals seen in 2013, January - early March ...

1] Grey Squirrel - Minsmere
2] Rabbit - Minsmere
3] Hare - Sudbury area
4] Red Deer - Minsmere, Rendlesham Forest
5] Muntjac Deer - Minsmere

From the Hide (1): Mr (& Mrs) Toad and friends

We had greatly enjoyed Adam Tilt's account of his heroic Toad Rescue in Burry Port, so were aware that Mr - & Mrs - Toad might be out in the spring sunshine. Nevertheless, we were somewhat taken by surprise as we scanned the scene from the hide in Pembrey Country Park, for a warty creature was making its way down towards the water's edge before our eyes.

The view from the hide: last time we were here it was like a scene from Monet's Giverny, with waterlilies!

Turning tail: our first sighting of a rabbit in 2011.

We left the first hide - and lo and behold, there were Mr and Mrs Common Toad!

They were moving purposefully in our direction (though we used a zoom lens and tried to give them space)

It was soon time for a short rest ...

... before the obstacle course!

Talk about camouflage - but the spotty legs gave the toad away!

There were a few Mallard drakes on the water.

The toads knew that spring was in the air, but this (Yellow Brain?) fungus and the cold wind added a touch of the autumnal.

Spring won out, however, for I saw my first Daisy of 2011 ...

... complete with 'pollinator'!

• The Toads on Roads project
• Beware ... 'Toad on Road' signs
• BBC coverage
• 2010: Toads in Gloucestershire

Postscript: 2 March ~ I have been keeping an eye out for frogspawn - without success thus far. My first sighting of the year is 'virtual' spawn here on Lletty's (Carmarthenshire) blog ...