mountain nowHARE

No wonder I couldn't spot any mountain hare up on Bleaklow today this helicopter was periodically flying low overhead. It was disappointing as I had been ticking off the days in the diary to see when I could get a spare day to go and photo'  the hares again. I did see one hare but unfortunately he saw me first and he bolted (extra). The others must have either cleared the area due to the helicopter of were well and truly bunkered down because I walked to the trig point and back through endless peat crevices without luck. I did see lots of frog spawn which I don't see that often these days, a peacock butterfly, song thrushes, curlew flying over and plenty of grouse. Along with a sunny 18*C it was a pleasant day out.

For information I did chat with a guy on the ground controlling the helicopter runs. He told me they have been helicoptering in 14,000 bags of heather cuttings, bilberry and cotton grass to re-establish plant growth. These plants will be spread out after gullies are blocked to hold back the water and allow time for revegetation which will in turn slow the erosion. He claimed that this area of peat bog holds more carbon than the rainforests and that it is the biggest environmental project in Europe (funded by the EU).