Finding Mountain Hares in Scotland

It’s 2026, and the year has started off wonderfully with heavy snow fall across Scotland and that means one thing… It’s time to go searching for the Mountain Hares.

The area I usually go to has become a bit of a best kept secret when it comes to finding the hares, as there are usually many to be found on the hill. However that doesn’t mean that they are easy to find, burrowing down into the snow to shield from the harsh weather, their white winter coat camouflages them perfectly against the heavy snow fall. But if you know were to look, it can makes things a little easier.

So here we are, narrowly made it down the single track road which was especially bad and definitely the worst I have seen it. I headed straight up to an area where I know the mountain hares can usually be found and thankfully, there were two in close proximity. The weather was true winter weather in the Scottish hills, one minute it was calm with beautiful light, the next minute heavy snow showers covered my field of view. This meant that snow piled into the front of my lens and made focusing difficult. Despite the cold, I was prepared, which meant that I could continue to search for hares and compositions. Being out in snowy conditions has to be my favourite weather to photograph in, especially the mountain hares.

The light was often subdued, making for a sense of cold and calm for these images. Done of these the hare is looking at me directly, but there is something I like about that. Following a few hours on the hill, I decided to call it a day. I was well wrapped up but that doesn’t stop the cold from creeping in, especially when you’ve been sat still for so long. So I left the hares to enjoy the rest of their day, sheltering from the winds as I made my way to my car and what was to be an adventurous drive back to the main road.