My Year with Hares is one man's personal account of the year he spent with a group of hares in North Norfolk.
Martin Hayward Smith is a professional wildlife cameraman and photographer; he has travelled extensively working for the BBC, Discovery and many other companies.
Martin was commissioned to make a film about hares; during the making of this program he gained footage of behaviour never before seen. With unlimited access from a number of private locations by North Norfolk landowners, Martin worked on prime UK hare habitat, from Holkham, The Barshams to Burnham Market – an area that covers thousands of acres.
My Year with Hares takes the form of diary entries, which are split into seasonal chapters. As well as hares, Martin documents through text and photographs other wildlife encountered while out in the field – including many farmland birds, foxes, deer etc.
Martin's text includes humorous incidents (getting stuck in a snowdrift and being dug out by the gamekeeper) and some interesting hare facts (females often try to castrate males during their boxing bouts).