Well, on 1 March, what other animal could I possibly cover than the Mad March Hare? The brown hare that is. There is a second species that lives in Britain, the mountain or 'blue' hare. But as the name suggests, that lives in rather higher places, such as mountain ranges in Scotland.

But why do we say hares are mad in March?

Well, at this time of the year the males go a-courting. Trying to find a receptive female with which to mate and produce offspring. But, often the females aren't always all that receptive. So along comes Mr Hare, trying to woo Ms Hare by getting as close as possible to her. No respecter of personal space. hat does Ms Hare do? Gives him a clout on the nose for being too forward. So hares 'boxing' is actually the females beating up pushy males. Which they can do quite easily, as they are rather larger.

To tell the truth, hares box all the way from February to September, they have a long breeding season. But at this time plants are only just starting to grow again after winter, so the fields are quite bare and it is much easier to see them.

Hares being easier to see now is also the origin for the Easter Bunny. Because they are more visible now, they were the sacred animal of the goddess Eostre, whose spring festival was merged with a Christian rite to make Easter. Part of the carry-over was the hare (though it underwent a slight identity change into a rabbit) and became the Easter Bunny.

If you want to see hares around Top Lodge, check out the fields just down the hill from the centre. Look for a long-legged 'rabbit', without the white flashing tail. Also, hares do not use burrows, so if it disappears underground you know it isn't one. Hares are also rather much larger, big females can be nearly 2 feet in length. And if you do see one, be very happy. Brown hares have been declining badly over the last 100 years, having lost 80% of their numbers.

No, nothing to do with the football. Just a quick note that for the next month or so there will be rather less posts on this blog. My job involves a lot of getting out and about when people are around. Namely in the period spring, summer, autumn and Christmas. This obviously doesn't leave much time for me to take holiday, so February and March are a traditional time for me to kick back and relax. As a result I will be around the centre less, and therefore maybe not up to date on all the latest news. Hence less to write for the blog. I will however try to keep up to date with FaWW.

By the way, if you DO need to get in touch about anything, do still give me a call. The contact number of the Top Lodge page is my work mobile, which is switched on 24/7. If I don't answer, just leave a message.

Hi there, and welcome to the next installment of Fineshade and Wildlife Weekly.

This week I will be looking at one of the most popular birds to see from the wildlife hide, the great spotted woodpecker. Very smart with striking black and white colours, and a red bit under the base of the tail. You can tell which are the male birds as they also have a bit of red on the back of their head. Starling sized, they are not to be confused with the much rarer and smaller lesser spotted woodpecker, which is about the size of a sparrow.

Fineshade Woods are full of these attractive birds, and about now you can hear them living up to their name. Rather than singing to declare territories, they rapidly beat their beaks against some old dead wood, creating a loud 'drumming' noise. You best bet to see one however is down at the wildlife hide. if you spend a bit of time in there, especially looking at the peanut feeder to the left of the hide, chances are at least one bird will come down to feed. You can see a number of wonderful photographs of the birds in the Top Lodge gallery.

And my word, it was a bit chilly out there. Looked lovely though, with a nice covering of snow over everything. 

Many thanks to those who made the trip out to see the kites. Made us wait rather! but eventually 50+ kites showed nicely, twisting and tumbling in the cold evening air. The fox and two fallow deer were of course a nice bonus too!

So, that is it for this year. Hopefully we will be back doing more kite roost walks next winter.

With more snow forecast tonight and some still on the ground from last weekend, why am I sounding happy about the whole thing?

Well, the good thing about snow is that it allows you to spot signs of wildlife that are not normally visible.

Fineshade Woods has a healthy population of foxes, badgers, voles, mice, fallow and muntjac deer. But normally trying to see one is, at best, pot luck. But the snow reveals the passing of these animals through their footprints. The 'slots' of deer (big for fallow, small for muntjac), the broad pads of badgers with obvious claws, the narrow pads of foxes, the skritterings of mice and voles with a groove in between created by the dragging tail. They all show up marvellously on fresh snow. So, rather than letting it put you off, why not see the snow as a great opportunity to visit?