November 12, 2024 • 30 mins
Welcome home everybody!
In this episode, Rob led our Sidestrand school group on a hunt for Hares across the North Norfolk Countryside. Using the school minibus as a mobile hide, we scampered down country lanes, and pitched in opportune parking spots when we either came across suitable hare habitats, or spotted one sitting on, or sprinting across, a farmers field.
To aid our hunt, we made use of a Hare Call to try to draw them closer, or peak their interest. A classic anthropogenic sound of the countryside, the Hare Call peaked out attention about as much as it did the hares.
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In this episode, Rob led our Sidestrand school group on a hunt for Hares across the North Norfolk Countryside. Using the school minibus as a mobile hide, we scampered down country lanes, and pitched in opportune parking spots when we either came across suitable hare habitats, or spotted one sitting on, or sprinting across, a farmers field.
To aid our hunt, we made use of a Hare Call to try to draw them closer, or peak their interest. A classic anthropogenic sound of the countryside, the Hare Call peaked out attention about as much as it did the hares.
LINKS
HomeSounds
HomeSounds Show Supporters Club
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Welcome home, everybody. Welcome to the Home Sound Show. My
name is Martin and I'm a field recordistant teacher. I'm
the creator of the Home Sounds Project and your co
host for the show along with Rob.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Hello everybody. My name is Rob and I'm an educator
and naturalist. I worked for the Vascal Trust at Sheringham
Park in Norfolk as part of their Children and Young
People Hub. The Home Sound Show invites everyone to become
active environmental listeners. Each month we visit a different location,
seeking out seasonal natural sound and focusing on a different theme.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
In this episode, Rob led our Side Stround School group
on a hunt for hairs across the North Norfolk countryside.
Using the school minibus as a mobile hide. We scampered
down country lanes and pitched in opportune parking spots when
we either came across suitable hair habitat or spotted one
sitting or sprinting across a farmer's field. To aid our hunt,
(01:47):
we made use of a hair call to try to
draw them closer or peak their interest. A classic anthropogenic
sound of the countryside. The hair coll peaked our interest
about as much as it did the hairs.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Right Okay, you're gathering. Gather in for a minute. Gather
in for a minute. I'll explain the plan. So this
morning a bit different this morning. The plan is a
bit of a road trip. Yeah, a bit of a
side strand hall school road trip. Does that sound good?
We're going on the lookout for hairs, the browning to
(02:32):
Australia for them. Well, I mean that would be good,
wouldn't it. But we're going a little bit close to home.
We're looking for hairs, brown hairs. Who's seen ahead? You're
not talking about what I'm talking about.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
Hairs.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Yeah, they're kind of like a jumbo rabbit, aren't they
a bit bigger than a rabbit? Different to a rabbit though.
Hairs don't live in burrows like rabbits. They just live
on the open ground, and they particularly like open farmers' fields,
which is where we're going to go and look for them. Okay, Now,
(03:06):
we are lucky in Norfolk in that hairs are still
common here. Okay, I say they're common, but they sometimes
take a bit of hunting down so you never particularly
know where they're going to be. So we're gonna what
we're gonna do is going to use the bus as
a hide, a mobile hide. So we're going to drive
(03:27):
around some different places where I think there might be
some hairs, and we're going to see if we can
see some hairs. That's the plan for the for the day. Really,
it's not the weather wise, it's not the best day,
so actually having the bus as a base might work
out in our favor, mightn't It might work out in
a favor. Yeah, So we've got a bit of equipment.
(03:56):
We are going to do some sound recordings as previously. Now,
this time of the year is particularly good time of
the year to go and look for hairs because it
is their breeding season. And what month is it? It
is March. Who who's heard of the term mad March hairs?
(04:17):
Anybody Mandras? Yeah, the mad March has Now the reason
it's called mad March for hairs is it's their breeding
season and so their behavior changes in this month and
they do things they don't do in other months, and
specifically they box. Okay, they box, well this is this
(04:44):
is now You're not guaranteed to see this boxing behavior,
but this is but you never know that this is
the time we're going to look for it. We're at
the right time and what happens is they can stand
upon their hind legs and really give it some left
right upper cut, all that sort of business. Seriously, they box, okay. Now,
(05:07):
hairs don't do that. Okay. They only thump their they
only thump their partners, Okay. But they do make some sounds.
And a squeaking sound can potentially attract a hair because
it sounds a bit like a young hair. And I
can till I give you my best squeaking sounds. Okay.
(05:29):
I've actually got a little little whistle here. Okay, And
this makes a bit of a well if you if
you can that can that can make them. Now, when
(05:56):
you do this to a hair or in the vicinity
of a hair, one of three things can happen. Okay,
one of three things can happen. The number one thing,
it gets scared, runs away. That's kind of like that.
That's kind of the opposite of what you want to happen. Okay.
The number two thing, it does absolutely nothing. Sometimes they
do that. But the number three thing that does happen
(06:18):
sometimes is the hair gets so interested it comes right
over to you. Okay. And so I've done this and
add hairs run right up to my feet. Okay, so
you never know, we might give it a try a
bit later on with the old whistle. Okay, are you ready, right,
let's load up the bus, let's hit the road.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
Brown hairs are one of our most enigmatic mammals, heavily
steeped in British folklore, despite their relatively recent arrival on
these shores. This is not a native species and it
is thought to have been mysterious introduced in Roman times
or just before, most likely from the Near Continent. It
(07:07):
is a creature of open farmland and is found throughout
Mainland Britain, just absent from a small pocket of the
West Highlands of Scotland. It also has a more restricted
distribution in Northern Ireland as a result of nineteenth century releases.
The brown hair should not be confused with our native
mountain or blue hair, which is also found across Ireland
(07:30):
as the subspecies Irish hair, which is a smaller upland
hair locally common in Scotland and Ireland, with a small
population in the Peak District of England. Brown hairs are
bigger than rabbits, with a full grown adult measuring up
to seventy centimeters in the head and body. And weighing
up to seven kilograms, but they share a similar body
(07:50):
form with long ears and muscular back legs, sporting much
longer limbs and ears than their rabbit cousins at range
or crouched down when a scale is lacking. The black
ear tips are another identification feature. Unlike rabbits, hairs live
entirely in the open and never burrow into the ground,
(08:10):
rather resting in a faint depression in the ground known
as a form. Hairs are built for speed and rely
on both their pace and their ability to lie still
and camouflage to escape predation. If unknowingly approached, a hair
will often burst from their hiding place within a meter
or two of being trodden on, and proceed to race
(08:31):
off at speeds of up to seventy kilometers an hour.
This precludes any British predator from being able to catch
a hair in a flat race. As well as pure pace,
the hair is maneuverable when running and is capable of
jinking and changing direction at speed. This impressive sprinting ability
has spawned several well used idioms, such as hairing away
(08:54):
and inspired the hair and the tortoise esop fable m.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
So what we're doing just sort of scanning across the
field looking for some signs of life. I can see, okay,
so I can see two crows, three crows, two pheasants
chasing each other, and two partridges. I mean sometimes if
(09:33):
you can give it a bit of a oh, there's
one coming, straight coming, over coming, over coming, straight up.
There it goes.
Speaker 4 (09:48):
M h m hm, m hm hm.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
So if you look, he's very interesting. He's off.
Speaker 5 (10:06):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
So it's still there, still interested, he still saying it's
coming again.
Speaker 4 (10:26):
M h and he's off.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
Hairs are vegetarians and grays wild grasses all year, and
also feed on herbaceous plants. Feeding occurs mainly at night,
although they continue to be active well before sunset and
after sunrise. They heat some agricultural crops, early growth cereals,
winter root crops, peas, and other lagoons, and are sometimes
(11:12):
controlled by shooting during a short season where numbers are
high and crop damage is extensive. Hair coursing, the hunting
of hairs with dogs, is illegal in mainland UK, although
regulated and legally practiced in the island of Ireland, where
betting on coursing greyhounds is big business. The well known
(11:35):
expression mad as a march hare stems from the hair's
breeding behavior, which begins in the early spring, often commencing
in February. The madness comprises numbers of hares gathering in
fields with much chasing and following, as well as the
classic boxing. During bouts of boxing, the hairs face off
and raise up on their hind legs. Then furious wheeling
(11:59):
punches is rained down on the apparent rival, delivered by
the small front paws, often sending fur flying. Originally assumed
to be male on male conflicts, we now know that
boxing is the female repelling a male's unwanted advances. Females
are in etress for just one day each month, and
a dominance hierarchy arises amongst competing males to sire offspring. Superfetation,
(12:27):
rare in other animals, is quite commonplace in the hair.
This is the conception and partial development of a second
litter before the first is born, potentially a useful method
of quickly increasing productivity of local conditions are favorable. As
with rabbits, the resorption of embryos also takes place and
will control population growth if food is scarce. Up to
(12:49):
three letters are produced each year, with one to four.
Leveretts or young hairs, born in a form lined with
the mother's fur. The young are fully furred, have open
eyes from birth, and are independent enough to leave the
form after a few days. Leveretts begin to graze after
a couple of weeks, but are still dependent on their
(13:09):
mother's milk for a month or two. Breeding commences from
a year old, and hares live for an average of
around six years in the wild, although individuals surviving for
around twice this period have been recorded in captivity.
Speaker 6 (13:31):
That's from nearby.
Speaker 2 (13:32):
We could try the whistling trick again. So you ready, Yeah,
you have to watch out of this window. No guarantees. Wait,
(14:02):
oh yeah, it's popped its ears up. Good spot. Yes,
he sees a telegraph pole in the middle of the field.
Started the whistling, and it's just popped its ears up.
Speaker 4 (14:20):
There.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
In fact, there's there's a few actually, I think there
might be four in total coming coming. This is why
(14:51):
I think, oh, they're in a box.
Speaker 4 (14:59):
Mm hmm m hm.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
Now, then where they were responding to the whistle, whether
they were just having a bit of a fight anyway,
So can you see them that sort of thing, A
bit of a standoff. Oh it was three. The other
one popped out.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Mm hmmm.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
So sometimes at this time of the year they'll get
gathered together and chase one another. So you get a
line of hairs all chasing another.
Speaker 3 (16:05):
M hmm.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
What I might try and do is if I can
get I'll get out again. Oh no, hang on, that's
not a bad effect. I have all legged it.
Speaker 5 (16:35):
Yeah, okay, because he forced her at the moment.
Speaker 3 (16:59):
M hmm.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
What try with the telescope again.
Speaker 1 (17:21):
Hairs have long been associated with witchcraft, both as a
witch's familiar and an animal that a witch may be
able to shape shift into. A middle aged Taale tells
of a hunter following a wounded hare back to a
cottage to find an old lady at the stove with
a cut on her arm. She claimed a kitchen accident,
but the circumstantial evidence was enough to condemn the woman
(17:42):
to death. Hairs are a fertility symbol and associated with
the moon, probably due to their propensity to feed under
the light of a full moon. Some famous rabbits were
originally and properly hairs. Rare rabbit in the Easter bunny
are good examples of In Norfolk, hairs are thriving, especially
(18:07):
in the north part of the county close to the coast.
Although the intensification of farming practices has had an adverse
effect on hair populations, the serial monocultures provide little food
in the summer. In autumn, the popularization of nature friendly
farming practices, such as leaving wide headlands around fields, has
had a positive impact. The county also reports the occasional
(18:29):
instance of paler than usual ghost hairs, whose gray pelage
adds a further mistique to these already sybilline lagomorphs.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
So there's one in the screen here. You want to
have a look at that. So it's just sort of
honkering down there in the in thee on the in
the screens with the telescope. It's quite a long way away.
Now do you see that? You see that bit of
a bit of punching going on? Yeah, the two sort
(19:20):
of the two raced out and they sort of faced up,
and then there was a very brief bit of boxing,
wasn't there. Yeah you see that? Yeah, you see that, Christen,
it's right in the middle.
Speaker 4 (19:39):
Of the.
Speaker 6 (19:44):
I shouldn't do well, We'll just have to get it back.
I'm use my T shirt.
Speaker 4 (19:55):
Mm hmm.
Speaker 6 (19:57):
Yeah, it's wrong.
Speaker 7 (20:06):
There it is is that could be should it should
be better?
Speaker 2 (20:25):
Oh?
Speaker 6 (20:33):
Well there it is right, it's in the middle of it.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
Can you see there. It's a long way off now, No,
it's just it's just it's just it probably won't be
(20:57):
we may be too far away to them to hear it.
Oh yeah, it's a popping up.
Speaker 4 (21:10):
Look.
Speaker 3 (21:16):
That was yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:18):
Yeah, it was like.
Speaker 3 (21:26):
That was.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
That So there's actually I think I can say one, two, three,
four five in total.
Speaker 3 (21:46):
That was didn't do anything. It's just so chill. The
other one was like, yeah, I'm out here, see later
(22:11):
because of the line he had his head put out there.
He look once was like bye, like I'm out here.
You could deal with this yourself. That's that one.
Speaker 6 (22:39):
There we go, it's moving.
Speaker 3 (22:43):
Well, that's really fast, that's the thing. M So do
that then could be missed that.
Speaker 6 (22:59):
It's just like a focus actually, so just that I'm
there there he goes.
Speaker 3 (23:07):
On there, I'm going to do this thing again.
Speaker 2 (23:09):
Yeah, like it was a little there, a little little
group there. They're having a bit of a run around.
Speaker 8 (23:19):
This is a whistle again, give it a try to care.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
They're kind of they are listening, though, they do go up.
Speaker 3 (23:38):
So with my dogs like, well one specific the younger one,
let's do that look at on the like tile floor,
and she's like, well, she's looking at my foot and
sort of her face like that. She's like, and let's
(24:00):
just keeping that. It is funny.
Speaker 1 (24:11):
Once in the woodland of Norfolk, there was a hare
who sat under an apple tree. He looked like a rabbit,
only quite a bit larger, with very long ears. He
had longer, more powerful legs too, and could run remarkably fast.
The hare sat still and alert, with his long, sensitive
(24:32):
ears stretched up. He was listening to all the sounds
of the forest. And then he had a thought. He wondered,
what would happen to me if the world came to
an end. Just at that moment, an apple fell from
a tree onto the ground close behind him. The hare
(24:52):
heard the thud and felt the ground shake. His heart leapt,
and with his powerful legs he began to run as
fast as he could. The earth is breaking and the
world is coming to an end, he thought. The hair
was so terrified that he ran faster than he had
ever run before, and every time he passed another hair,
(25:13):
he shouted. The earth is breaking apart, and that hair
would be frightened as well, and began to run along too.
Soon there were a hundred hares, all running as fast
as they could, which is very fast. Indeed, all the
other animals of the forest and fields were startled by
the sight and sound of a hundred racing hairs. When
(25:36):
they heard the cry the earth is breaking apart, they
too joined in at a gallop. Soon there were deer
running with the hares, and boars, sheep and cows, foxes, ferrets,
and even the rabbits and voles. Birds flew along overhead,
and beetles and snakes followed along as best they could.
(25:59):
In a tree on a hill overlooking the woods, perched
a great buzzard. He heard the stampede and saw that
the animals were racing out of the woods and would
soon run into the sea. He knew he must stop them,
so he spread his wings, took a deep breath, and
let out a deafening screech. He screeched three times, and
(26:20):
the animals passing below skidded to a halt to see
the buzzard on the hill. The buzzard flew down in
front of the crowd of animals and asked them, why
are you running in such a panic, And they all
began to shout the earth is breaking apart, the earth
is breaking apart. The buzzard screeched again for silence, and
(26:42):
then he asked who saw the earth breaking apart? The
beetles and the snakes shouted the animals, so the buzzard
turned to them and asked, did you see the earth
breaking apart? No, the sheep and the cow saw it,
they replied. The buzzard turned to the shop in cows
and asked, did you see the earth breaking apart? No,
(27:04):
the foxes and ferrets saw it, they replied. The buzzard
turned to the foxes and ferrets and asked, did you
see the earth breaking apart? No, the deer and the
hair saw it, they replied. The buzzard turned to the
deer and the hundred hares and asked, did you see
the earth breaking apart? The hair was very nervous, and
(27:28):
he replied, I was sitting under an apple tree when
I heard a great thud and felt a great shake.
I was sure the earth was breaking and the world
was coming to an end. So I began to run with.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
All my might.
Speaker 1 (27:44):
The buzzard laughed, and all the animals looked around them,
and they could see that the earth was calm. The
empty fields and woodlands sat peacefully just beyond the hill.
The ocean's waves crushed in and out, as they always
had done on the dunes, and amongst the marsh. The
breeze blew through the grasses, and on the leaves of
(28:06):
the woods. The rain fell delicately. Come with me, said
the buzzard, and with the hair he led them all
back to the apple tree in the forest. There, right
behind where the hair had been sitting, was the apple
that fell with a thud. Soon every one was laughing,
(28:28):
and even the hair he felt very foolish, indeed had
to laugh at his own foolishness. Before long every animal
returned home. Life in the woods and on the fields
went on as usual. You've been listening too, Thanks go
(29:03):
to the children and staff of Sidespan School. If you'd
like to keep listening, please subscribe to the Home Sound
Show through your podcast provider, or visit the Home Sounds
Show on spreaker dot com. You can also visit homesounds
dot org, where you can find many more opportunities to
actively listen and numerous ways to support and get involved
(29:25):
with the Home Sounds project. Links relating to this episode
can be found in the description Thanks for listening, and
welcome home everybody. M.
Welcome home, everybody. Welcome to the Home Sound Show. My
name is Martin and I'm a field recordistant teacher. I'm
the creator of the Home Sounds Project and your co
host for the show along with Rob.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Hello everybody. My name is Rob and I'm an educator
and naturalist. I worked for the Vascal Trust at Sheringham
Park in Norfolk as part of their Children and Young
People Hub. The Home Sound Show invites everyone to become
active environmental listeners. Each month we visit a different location,
seeking out seasonal natural sound and focusing on a different theme.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
In this episode, Rob led our Side Stround School group
on a hunt for hairs across the North Norfolk countryside.
Using the school minibus as a mobile hide. We scampered
down country lanes and pitched in opportune parking spots when
we either came across suitable hair habitat or spotted one
sitting or sprinting across a farmer's field. To aid our hunt,
(01:47):
we made use of a hair call to try to
draw them closer or peak their interest. A classic anthropogenic
sound of the countryside. The hair coll peaked our interest
about as much as it did the hairs.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Right Okay, you're gathering. Gather in for a minute. Gather
in for a minute. I'll explain the plan. So this
morning a bit different this morning. The plan is a
bit of a road trip. Yeah, a bit of a
side strand hall school road trip. Does that sound good?
We're going on the lookout for hairs, the browning to
(02:32):
Australia for them. Well, I mean that would be good,
wouldn't it. But we're going a little bit close to home.
We're looking for hairs, brown hairs. Who's seen ahead? You're
not talking about what I'm talking about.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
Hairs.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Yeah, they're kind of like a jumbo rabbit, aren't they
a bit bigger than a rabbit? Different to a rabbit though.
Hairs don't live in burrows like rabbits. They just live
on the open ground, and they particularly like open farmers' fields,
which is where we're going to go and look for them. Okay, Now,
(03:06):
we are lucky in Norfolk in that hairs are still
common here. Okay, I say they're common, but they sometimes
take a bit of hunting down so you never particularly
know where they're going to be. So we're gonna what
we're gonna do is going to use the bus as
a hide, a mobile hide. So we're going to drive
(03:27):
around some different places where I think there might be
some hairs, and we're going to see if we can
see some hairs. That's the plan for the for the day. Really,
it's not the weather wise, it's not the best day,
so actually having the bus as a base might work
out in our favor, mightn't It might work out in
a favor. Yeah, So we've got a bit of equipment.
(03:56):
We are going to do some sound recordings as previously. Now,
this time of the year is particularly good time of
the year to go and look for hairs because it
is their breeding season. And what month is it? It
is March. Who who's heard of the term mad March hairs?
(04:17):
Anybody Mandras? Yeah, the mad March has Now the reason
it's called mad March for hairs is it's their breeding
season and so their behavior changes in this month and
they do things they don't do in other months, and
specifically they box. Okay, they box, well this is this
(04:44):
is now You're not guaranteed to see this boxing behavior,
but this is but you never know that this is
the time we're going to look for it. We're at
the right time and what happens is they can stand
upon their hind legs and really give it some left
right upper cut, all that sort of business. Seriously, they box, okay. Now,
(05:07):
hairs don't do that. Okay. They only thump their they
only thump their partners, Okay. But they do make some sounds.
And a squeaking sound can potentially attract a hair because
it sounds a bit like a young hair. And I
can till I give you my best squeaking sounds. Okay.
(05:29):
I've actually got a little little whistle here. Okay, And
this makes a bit of a well if you if
you can that can that can make them. Now, when
(05:56):
you do this to a hair or in the vicinity
of a hair, one of three things can happen. Okay,
one of three things can happen. The number one thing,
it gets scared, runs away. That's kind of like that.
That's kind of the opposite of what you want to happen. Okay.
The number two thing, it does absolutely nothing. Sometimes they
do that. But the number three thing that does happen
(06:18):
sometimes is the hair gets so interested it comes right
over to you. Okay. And so I've done this and
add hairs run right up to my feet. Okay, so
you never know, we might give it a try a
bit later on with the old whistle. Okay, are you ready, right,
let's load up the bus, let's hit the road.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
Brown hairs are one of our most enigmatic mammals, heavily
steeped in British folklore, despite their relatively recent arrival on
these shores. This is not a native species and it
is thought to have been mysterious introduced in Roman times
or just before, most likely from the Near Continent. It
(07:07):
is a creature of open farmland and is found throughout
Mainland Britain, just absent from a small pocket of the
West Highlands of Scotland. It also has a more restricted
distribution in Northern Ireland as a result of nineteenth century releases.
The brown hair should not be confused with our native
mountain or blue hair, which is also found across Ireland
(07:30):
as the subspecies Irish hair, which is a smaller upland
hair locally common in Scotland and Ireland, with a small
population in the Peak District of England. Brown hairs are
bigger than rabbits, with a full grown adult measuring up
to seventy centimeters in the head and body. And weighing
up to seven kilograms, but they share a similar body
(07:50):
form with long ears and muscular back legs, sporting much
longer limbs and ears than their rabbit cousins at range
or crouched down when a scale is lacking. The black
ear tips are another identification feature. Unlike rabbits, hairs live
entirely in the open and never burrow into the ground,
(08:10):
rather resting in a faint depression in the ground known
as a form. Hairs are built for speed and rely
on both their pace and their ability to lie still
and camouflage to escape predation. If unknowingly approached, a hair
will often burst from their hiding place within a meter
or two of being trodden on, and proceed to race
(08:31):
off at speeds of up to seventy kilometers an hour.
This precludes any British predator from being able to catch
a hair in a flat race. As well as pure pace,
the hair is maneuverable when running and is capable of
jinking and changing direction at speed. This impressive sprinting ability
has spawned several well used idioms, such as hairing away
(08:54):
and inspired the hair and the tortoise esop fable m.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
So what we're doing just sort of scanning across the
field looking for some signs of life. I can see, okay,
so I can see two crows, three crows, two pheasants
chasing each other, and two partridges. I mean sometimes if
(09:33):
you can give it a bit of a oh, there's
one coming, straight coming, over coming, over coming, straight up.
There it goes.
Speaker 4 (09:48):
M h m hm, m hm hm.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
So if you look, he's very interesting. He's off.
Speaker 5 (10:06):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
So it's still there, still interested, he still saying it's
coming again.
Speaker 4 (10:26):
M h and he's off.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
Hairs are vegetarians and grays wild grasses all year, and
also feed on herbaceous plants. Feeding occurs mainly at night,
although they continue to be active well before sunset and
after sunrise. They heat some agricultural crops, early growth cereals,
winter root crops, peas, and other lagoons, and are sometimes
(11:12):
controlled by shooting during a short season where numbers are
high and crop damage is extensive. Hair coursing, the hunting
of hairs with dogs, is illegal in mainland UK, although
regulated and legally practiced in the island of Ireland, where
betting on coursing greyhounds is big business. The well known
(11:35):
expression mad as a march hare stems from the hair's
breeding behavior, which begins in the early spring, often commencing
in February. The madness comprises numbers of hares gathering in
fields with much chasing and following, as well as the
classic boxing. During bouts of boxing, the hairs face off
and raise up on their hind legs. Then furious wheeling
(11:59):
punches is rained down on the apparent rival, delivered by
the small front paws, often sending fur flying. Originally assumed
to be male on male conflicts, we now know that
boxing is the female repelling a male's unwanted advances. Females
are in etress for just one day each month, and
a dominance hierarchy arises amongst competing males to sire offspring. Superfetation,
(12:27):
rare in other animals, is quite commonplace in the hair.
This is the conception and partial development of a second
litter before the first is born, potentially a useful method
of quickly increasing productivity of local conditions are favorable. As
with rabbits, the resorption of embryos also takes place and
will control population growth if food is scarce. Up to
(12:49):
three letters are produced each year, with one to four.
Leveretts or young hairs, born in a form lined with
the mother's fur. The young are fully furred, have open
eyes from birth, and are independent enough to leave the
form after a few days. Leveretts begin to graze after
a couple of weeks, but are still dependent on their
(13:09):
mother's milk for a month or two. Breeding commences from
a year old, and hares live for an average of
around six years in the wild, although individuals surviving for
around twice this period have been recorded in captivity.
Speaker 6 (13:31):
That's from nearby.
Speaker 2 (13:32):
We could try the whistling trick again. So you ready, Yeah,
you have to watch out of this window. No guarantees. Wait,
(14:02):
oh yeah, it's popped its ears up. Good spot. Yes,
he sees a telegraph pole in the middle of the field.
Started the whistling, and it's just popped its ears up.
Speaker 4 (14:20):
There.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
In fact, there's there's a few actually, I think there
might be four in total coming coming. This is why
(14:51):
I think, oh, they're in a box.
Speaker 4 (14:59):
Mm hmm m hm.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
Now, then where they were responding to the whistle, whether
they were just having a bit of a fight anyway,
So can you see them that sort of thing, A
bit of a standoff. Oh it was three. The other
one popped out.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Mm hmmm.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
So sometimes at this time of the year they'll get
gathered together and chase one another. So you get a
line of hairs all chasing another.
Speaker 3 (16:05):
M hmm.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
What I might try and do is if I can
get I'll get out again. Oh no, hang on, that's
not a bad effect. I have all legged it.
Speaker 5 (16:35):
Yeah, okay, because he forced her at the moment.
Speaker 3 (16:59):
M hmm.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
What try with the telescope again.
Speaker 1 (17:21):
Hairs have long been associated with witchcraft, both as a
witch's familiar and an animal that a witch may be
able to shape shift into. A middle aged Taale tells
of a hunter following a wounded hare back to a
cottage to find an old lady at the stove with
a cut on her arm. She claimed a kitchen accident,
but the circumstantial evidence was enough to condemn the woman
(17:42):
to death. Hairs are a fertility symbol and associated with
the moon, probably due to their propensity to feed under
the light of a full moon. Some famous rabbits were
originally and properly hairs. Rare rabbit in the Easter bunny
are good examples of In Norfolk, hairs are thriving, especially
(18:07):
in the north part of the county close to the coast.
Although the intensification of farming practices has had an adverse
effect on hair populations, the serial monocultures provide little food
in the summer. In autumn, the popularization of nature friendly
farming practices, such as leaving wide headlands around fields, has
had a positive impact. The county also reports the occasional
(18:29):
instance of paler than usual ghost hairs, whose gray pelage
adds a further mistique to these already sybilline lagomorphs.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
So there's one in the screen here. You want to
have a look at that. So it's just sort of
honkering down there in the in thee on the in
the screens with the telescope. It's quite a long way away.
Now do you see that? You see that bit of
a bit of punching going on? Yeah, the two sort
(19:20):
of the two raced out and they sort of faced up,
and then there was a very brief bit of boxing,
wasn't there. Yeah you see that? Yeah, you see that, Christen,
it's right in the middle.
Speaker 4 (19:39):
Of the.
Speaker 6 (19:44):
I shouldn't do well, We'll just have to get it back.
I'm use my T shirt.
Speaker 4 (19:55):
Mm hmm.
Speaker 6 (19:57):
Yeah, it's wrong.
Speaker 7 (20:06):
There it is is that could be should it should
be better?
Speaker 2 (20:25):
Oh?
Speaker 6 (20:33):
Well there it is right, it's in the middle of it.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
Can you see there. It's a long way off now, No,
it's just it's just it's just it probably won't be
(20:57):
we may be too far away to them to hear it.
Oh yeah, it's a popping up.
Speaker 4 (21:10):
Look.
Speaker 3 (21:16):
That was yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:18):
Yeah, it was like.
Speaker 3 (21:26):
That was.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
That So there's actually I think I can say one, two, three,
four five in total.
Speaker 3 (21:46):
That was didn't do anything. It's just so chill. The
other one was like, yeah, I'm out here, see later
(22:11):
because of the line he had his head put out there.
He look once was like bye, like I'm out here.
You could deal with this yourself. That's that one.
Speaker 6 (22:39):
There we go, it's moving.
Speaker 3 (22:43):
Well, that's really fast, that's the thing. M So do
that then could be missed that.
Speaker 6 (22:59):
It's just like a focus actually, so just that I'm
there there he goes.
Speaker 3 (23:07):
On there, I'm going to do this thing again.
Speaker 2 (23:09):
Yeah, like it was a little there, a little little
group there. They're having a bit of a run around.
Speaker 8 (23:19):
This is a whistle again, give it a try to care.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
They're kind of they are listening, though, they do go up.
Speaker 3 (23:38):
So with my dogs like, well one specific the younger one,
let's do that look at on the like tile floor,
and she's like, well, she's looking at my foot and
sort of her face like that. She's like, and let's
(24:00):
just keeping that. It is funny.
Speaker 1 (24:11):
Once in the woodland of Norfolk, there was a hare
who sat under an apple tree. He looked like a rabbit,
only quite a bit larger, with very long ears. He
had longer, more powerful legs too, and could run remarkably fast.
The hare sat still and alert, with his long, sensitive
(24:32):
ears stretched up. He was listening to all the sounds
of the forest. And then he had a thought. He wondered,
what would happen to me if the world came to
an end. Just at that moment, an apple fell from
a tree onto the ground close behind him. The hare
(24:52):
heard the thud and felt the ground shake. His heart leapt,
and with his powerful legs he began to run as
fast as he could. The earth is breaking and the
world is coming to an end, he thought. The hair
was so terrified that he ran faster than he had
ever run before, and every time he passed another hair,
(25:13):
he shouted. The earth is breaking apart, and that hair
would be frightened as well, and began to run along too.
Soon there were a hundred hares, all running as fast
as they could, which is very fast. Indeed, all the
other animals of the forest and fields were startled by
the sight and sound of a hundred racing hairs. When
(25:36):
they heard the cry the earth is breaking apart, they
too joined in at a gallop. Soon there were deer
running with the hares, and boars, sheep and cows, foxes, ferrets,
and even the rabbits and voles. Birds flew along overhead,
and beetles and snakes followed along as best they could.
(25:59):
In a tree on a hill overlooking the woods, perched
a great buzzard. He heard the stampede and saw that
the animals were racing out of the woods and would
soon run into the sea. He knew he must stop them,
so he spread his wings, took a deep breath, and
let out a deafening screech. He screeched three times, and
(26:20):
the animals passing below skidded to a halt to see
the buzzard on the hill. The buzzard flew down in
front of the crowd of animals and asked them, why
are you running in such a panic, And they all
began to shout the earth is breaking apart, the earth
is breaking apart. The buzzard screeched again for silence, and
(26:42):
then he asked who saw the earth breaking apart? The
beetles and the snakes shouted the animals, so the buzzard
turned to them and asked, did you see the earth
breaking apart? No, the sheep and the cow saw it,
they replied. The buzzard turned to the shop in cows
and asked, did you see the earth breaking apart? No,
(27:04):
the foxes and ferrets saw it, they replied. The buzzard
turned to the foxes and ferrets and asked, did you
see the earth breaking apart? No, the deer and the
hair saw it, they replied. The buzzard turned to the
deer and the hundred hares and asked, did you see
the earth breaking apart? The hair was very nervous, and
(27:28):
he replied, I was sitting under an apple tree when
I heard a great thud and felt a great shake.
I was sure the earth was breaking and the world
was coming to an end. So I began to run with.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
All my might.
Speaker 1 (27:44):
The buzzard laughed, and all the animals looked around them,
and they could see that the earth was calm. The
empty fields and woodlands sat peacefully just beyond the hill.
The ocean's waves crushed in and out, as they always
had done on the dunes, and amongst the marsh. The
breeze blew through the grasses, and on the leaves of
(28:06):
the woods. The rain fell delicately. Come with me, said
the buzzard, and with the hair he led them all
back to the apple tree in the forest. There, right
behind where the hair had been sitting, was the apple
that fell with a thud. Soon every one was laughing,
(28:28):
and even the hair he felt very foolish, indeed had
to laugh at his own foolishness. Before long every animal
returned home. Life in the woods and on the fields
went on as usual. You've been listening too, Thanks go
(29:03):
to the children and staff of Sidespan School. If you'd
like to keep listening, please subscribe to the Home Sound
Show through your podcast provider, or visit the Home Sounds
Show on spreaker dot com. You can also visit homesounds
dot org, where you can find many more opportunities to
actively listen and numerous ways to support and get involved
(29:25):
with the Home Sounds project. Links relating to this episode
can be found in the description Thanks for listening, and
welcome home everybody. M.
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