Hare in Owl Land
A Black-tailed Hare or two occupied the grassy expanse of the fenced Burrowing Owl area last winter, when no owls at all were seen in the park. I photographed it or them on January 31 and again on March 7, 2018. I was surprised to see one of them suddenly appear in the area just before ten in the morning early in 2019 and nibble on some greenery. The approach of a runner spooked it and it dashed across the paved trail into the Nature Area, where it vanished from my view.
Most recently, one of them seemed quite at home in the owl area at the end of January this year. The one in this video is, I believe, a different animal; it has a lighter color and seems a bit bigger. Both of them, when disturbed, dashed out of the owl area across the paved trail into the Nature Area.
Watching the video, I noticed that as it runs, the hare’s hind legs overlap its front legs, allowing it to take long leaps. Next time I hope I see the hare soon enough to let me switch my camera to high-speed video so that we can watch the animal’s running technique in slow motion. Meanwhile, this will have to do:
