This post is perhaps not strictly with the remit of parwich.org but I am sure most people gain great pleasure from seeing the hares in our area, and may be interested in this book, published today. If anyone has seen it do post your reaction in a comment. Information on the book is contained in the following Peak Park press release:
PR 711 – 18 October 2010
New book celebrates brown hares of the Derbyshire Dales
The frisky one…the slink away…the nibbler…the fellow in the dew…the friendless one…the swift-as-the-wind…the stalker…the animal that no-one dare name. These are just some of the ancient names for the brown hare.
This most mysterious inhabitant of the Derbyshire Dales is now the subject of a stunning new book published today.
Written by Derbyshire artist and photographer Christine Gregory, ‘Brown Hares in the Derbyshire Dales’ gives a rare insight into one of the UK’s most loved but now most threatened species.
The book is richly illustrated with 150 original and striking photographs of the hare in all stages of its life cycle, other local wildlife and the landscape of the Derbyshire Dales, all taken by the author.
Meticulously researched and packed with information, ‘Brown Hares in the Derbyshire Dales’ explains where and how to see hares. And it brings together into one place arresting facts about this solitary and tantalizingly secretive creature, which is now so threatened that it is listed as a priority species in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan.
Published to coincide with the International Year of Biodiversity and with a foreword by Lord Edward Manners of Haddon Hall, the book highlights the rapid and extensive loss of habitat that has taken place all over the country.
It includes thought-provoking reflections on the impact of modern farming methods and the effect that the disappearance of traditional grasslands has had on the hare and other species.
Alongside these reflections we can also hear the voices and the views of Dales farmers interviewed by the author especially for the book.
Christine Gregory explained: ‘I am entranced by hares and care about their survival and I have been watching, tracking and photographing them for a number of years. I wanted to share the wonder of these creatures with other people. This book is the result.’
Profits from the book, printed with the support of a grant from the Peak District National Park Sustainable Development Fund, are being donated to Derbyshire Wildlife Trust.
Jane Proctor of the Trust commented: ‘The book is a visual delight and anyone interested in Derbyshire, its landscape and its natural history will want to see and read it’.
Peak District National Park ecologist Karen Shelley-Jones said: ‘Hares are one of those emotive species which capture people’s imagination and inspire action. Along with other mammals, birds, insects, plants and fungi they are part of a healthy grassland ecosystem that we are keen to encourage across the Peak District.’
‘Brown Hares in the Derbyshire Dales’ is published by Lepus Books at £15 plus post and packing. Copies are available from www.lepusbook.co.uk or by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust on 01773 881188.
PARWICH.ORG 
The Brown Hare is by its very nature a shy creature rarely spotted in the open ,but the onset of Spring brings about a remarkable transformation in its behavioural pattern. Hence the phrase ‘Mad as a March Hare ‘,The spectacle of two Hares apparently’ boxing’ would naturally give one the impression that these are two males vying for supremacy to win the favours of the females, what we are actually witnessing is a determined female valiantly fending off the unwanted attentions of an amorous male intent on securing the future of the species.Strangely enough there is only one other warm blooded creature that uses a similar tactic. For further reading on the demise of the Hare try ‘Hare today gone tomorrow’ by Pierre Le Veret, the leading French authority on hare restoring.