Features

Presenter Janet Sumner travelled to Manor House Farm at Nateby near Preston to find out how changes in farming methods can really help our wildlife to flourish.

Since joining the Environmental Stewardship Scheme, farmer Michael Parker has turned his back on intensive farming methods, allowing hedgerows to grow and leaving fields unploughed. As well as attracting more than 50 species of birds to the farm, there are also scores of brown hares.

Although they are not a protected species, it is still quite rare to see brown hares in the wild. Manor House Farm provides them with an ideal environment in which to breed as there is plenty of cover for them to raise their young and a large variety of grasses and plants for them to eat.

Brown Hares have huge eyes and ears and can usually detect predators long before they are seem themselves. Hares rely on running fast to get themselves out of danger. The Brown hares numbers have dropped by 75% since the war and are currently estimated to be 800,000 but it’s hoped that with less intensive farming methods these numbers will increase substantially. Janet discovered, the best time to see hares is first thing in the morning or at dusk.