Brown Hares in Endon (area).

A Brown Hare was spotted today, in a field between Endon and Denford. I have seen Brown Hares, in ones and twos ever since I moved to Endon about ten years ago. I have never seen any young so I am not absolutely sure if they breed in our area, but I can guess they do; Brown Hares are a relatively sedentary species and the population must be topped up by breeding as otherwise they would probably have become locally extinct by now.

Unlike Mountain Hares, Brown Hares are not native to the British Isles, they were probably introduced by the ancient Romans and are genetically close to extant Brown Hares in N. Netherlands and S. Denmark.

Brown Hares feed at night and lie up during the day in shallow forms under cover in uncultivated field edges or in the outer 20m of woodland. Their food is tender nutritious vegetation. As the vegetation any particular field becomes too coarse or too long the Brown Hares move to a nearby field where the vegetation is suitable. The silage fields/pastures around Endon are good Brown Hare habitat because as each field is cut (for silage) or grazing animals are removed the subsequent fresh, and preferably uneven, grass growth is ideal for providing food and some cover for Brown Hares.  Brown Hares also use arable fields, and there are now a few of these in the Endon area (by the sewage works and Stanley Pool).

Brown Hares are a Staffordshire Biodiversity Action Plan (SBAP) species. And so, local nature conservation organisations  (e.g.the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust) have a remit to encourage farmers and other landowners to maintain and increase Brown Hare populations http://www.sbap.org.uk/actionplan/species/index.php?id=20. Because of this designation I find it odd that it is perfectly acceptable for Brown Hares to be hunted with shotguns and killed for sport. It is not that I object to this being done - I just think it is odd that, on the one hand nature conservation organisations may be advising landowners how to increase their hare population, while later of a shooter can come in and kill some of the animals! Brown Hares in Endon are subject to sport hunting.

I took this photo of a Brown Hare in the fields near Endon Sewage Works in June 2011.