Aching but happy

I went back to a favourite spot of mine on the marshes to photograph rabbits.  It was a beautiful evening, the wind was blowing in my favour and so, adorned in head to toe camo, around an hour and a half before sunset, I laid down adjacent to some nettles and waited.  Within 20 minutes, a rabbit appeared 2m or so away, completely oblivious of my presence, or so I thought.  Within seconds, I could feel, through the ground, the thump of it’s hind feet alerting others that ‘something’ was up.  It obviously couldn’t be 100% sure that I was human, given that other than my eyes, nothing pale was showing.  So, it ambled on and nibbled some grass a little way behind me.

Eventually, the whole clan came out of their burrows and bounded onto the grass infront of me.  I resisted taking pictures for the first 5 minutes, allowing them to become accustomed to my presence.  I started taking pictures and then, from the corner of my right eye, there was a hare!  It had snuck up beside me and was now less than a metre away!  I have watched and photographed hares more times than I can remember but never appreciated just how big they are.  It too, took no notice of me and moved beyond me.

 

The next hour or so was spent shooting various images and was jolly fortunate that more often than not, they would pick the area bathed in sunlight, or maybe they just enjoyed the warmth of the setting sun.     

Tags: north kent marshes, rabbit, sunset