I'll start with a photo taken early this morning. I was walking around the edge of Falmer Pond and glanced out over the adjacent fields. I'm ever hopeful of seeing a fox out there (they are around but very secretive), but what caught my eye was a 'large rabbit'. It was a very long way off and of course it wasn't a rabbit, but a hare. It paused briefly and then bounded along the gap in the crops before disappearing into the thicker cover.
There weren't really any other surprises today, but I did find time to watch the yellowhammers which were flocking with the local sparrows. 
In another sign of the prospect of summer, a lone house martin flew overhead. The shot's not up to much, but it's a way of recording the first martin of the year… just a few days after the first swallow.
For the rest, I'll leave it to the goslings. There is still only the pair, but they are being well protected. A phalanx of greylags lined the bank keeping a watchful eye.
And out on the water the familiar white goose is once again acting as protector-in-chief to the young.
Camera note: all shots taken with the Canon 7D and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens.
derWandersmann
27 Apr 2012"See you the dimpled track that runs,
All hollow through the wheat?
O that was where they hauled the guns
That smote King Philip's fleet."
Sorry. Couldn't resist.
Nice to see a martin, and the goslings are getting bigger, and used to the water. They're as charming as ever. Is there any attrition from underwater snappers?
gdare
27 Apr 2012What is the difference between rabbit and hare? In Serbian we don't have two words for the same animal 😀
Words
28 Apr 2012dW, nice quote and Kipling almost certainly knew this field and this pond. His house is just a few miles away at Rottingdean (where I take all the coastal shots).
If by snappers you mean terrapins, then I doubt there's a risk. The main predators are foxes and sparrowhawks.
SittingFox
28 Apr 2012Good spot with the brown hare. Tough creatures to photograph.
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28 Apr 2012Darko, they are similar but definitely not the same. Hares are larger, and their behaviour is different (they tend to live in much smaller groupings). You must have a word for them!
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28 Apr 2012Adele, tough at that distance anyway (it's about a 50% crop). I'd love to get close enough to them to get a proper picture…. one day, one day.
derWandersmann
28 Apr 2012Originally posted by SittingFox:
Linnaeus' name for them: Lepus timidus.
derWandersmann
28 Apr 2012Originally posted by gdare:
Darko, it's not two words for the same animal; it's one word (зец) for two similar (but not the same) animals. In classifying them, the place where one finds the differentiation is at the Genus level; at the next level up (Family), they are both Leporidæ, but the hare is Genus Lepus, while the rabbit can be one of several Genera, none of which is Lepus. They are very definitely related, though.
gdare
28 Apr 2012On a second thought, I remembered another word but it is not so common in Serbian language. But it is possible that one means rabbit and another hare. I will try to find more about that.
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29 Apr 2012Darko, it would be interesting to know if there is a separate word. My on-line searches revealed nothing useful.
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29 Apr 2012Erwin, thanks!
gdare
1 May 2012The other word would be "kunić" and it is used for domesticated rabbits.
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1 May 2012Aha! Thanks Darko. Interesting.
Wulpen
19 Oct 2012Nice Pict