Braunstone Town Heritage Warden's Report - late March 2007

HOP, SKIP & JUMP - the Natural History of Easter

From Heritage Warden, John Dodd

No it’s not me jumping for joy because they have started the new Library but its those Easter Bunnies and the March Hares.

We all have seen the rabbits (particularly on Mossdale Meadows) and sometimes hares running across fields but we still know very little of these shy creatures.

Hare numbers have fallen significantly over the last thirty years.
The Leicestershire County Councils Community Heritage Initiative, promoters of the Heritage Warden Scheme, need our help to discover more about the status and distribution of rabbits and hares.

If you are out and about in Leicestershire, Rutland or even locally here in Braunstone Town, then you can make a note of what rabbits or hares you see.

Information leaflets which include a survey report form on the back page are available from the Civic Centre or by downloading it from the internet at:

The information leaflet tells you how to spot the difference, where to find them, how to identify their tracks and droppings and what to enter on the form.

And finally did you know that the name of the Christian festival of Easter is supposed to have been adopted from the Anglo-Saxon goddess of the dawn called Eastre. Eastre’s favourite animal and attendant spirit was the hare who carried the dawn lights.

Happy Easter and good hare and rabbit spotting