It was a relief to see some blue sky at last. It seemed that the interminable grey gloom of overcast skies had hung over us for weeks. Today the sun shone, the moon was just a stretch away, and the scent of spring was in the air.
The day could not to be wasted. I took a stroll around some favourite haunts at Chasewater. The reservoir has been drained to carry out some work on the dam, but the springs that feed the waters ensured that there were still ponds sufficient for the wildlife to do what wildlife does.
I accidentally spooked a Stag out of a belt of trees. While it was out in the open I took the opportunity to grab a few snaps. Typical... I get it all lined up, in focus, and he goes and closes his eyes!
The two Stags held an uneasy truce, occasionally sparring, but also cooperating, taking it in turns to keep an eye out while the other grazed.
It amazes me how such large animals generally manage to keep themselves undiscovered in such a populated area. They'll stand motionless in a clump of trees while walkers pass by totally unaware of their presence.
The lady driver of the passing steam train did spot them from her elevated position and signalled excitedly to me. A blast of the whistle had them running for the horizon, and I headed for home too...
With the Fallow rut intensifying, I was becoming increasingly frustrated with my attempts to get some good shots of the larger bucks. By the time they moved from the less accessible woodland onto the heath, the sun was beginning to set and the light fail.
In the night under pale moonlight, it was relatively easy to get close, but there really wasn't enough light for a clear photo. I'd have to come back the next day.
By the time I arrived at Cannock Chase it was already early afternoon. The weather wasn't playing ball, any brief moments of sun were quickly followed by bouts of grey cloud laden gloom and spitty rain. This didn't seem to bother the rutting deer who were being very vocal, bellowing loudly in the trees.You'll have to turn the volume up on these videos as the soundtrack is a little quiet but, crucial.
The larger buck were in the dense coniferous forests at the usual rutting grounds, which they use year after year. Most were difficult to get a good view of. I neither wanted to unnecessarily disturb them, or be mauled by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
After a few uninspiring shots through the undergrowth, I decided to take a break, put my hammock up in the trees and have lunch. Fully rested, I stood to pack the hammock into my rucksack. As I turned there was a herd of deer right behind me. I froze, they froze... slowly I reached for my camera, they scattered, melting into the forest!
High up on a hill, the sound of clashing antlers echoed across from the next valley. Torn between hurrying and moving stealthily I made my way down the steep slippery track. Two large bucks were fighting in the bracken. A smaller buck decided to take advantage of the vacant plot strutting his stuff and bellowing, but was off in a flash as soon as another much larger buck arrived to investigate the fuss.
Trying to capture the action with my camera was difficult. The power of these two creatures as they pushed and shoved was amazing. Just trying to keep your footing or walk through the tough dry bracken is hard enough, but they were ripping their way through it as if it wasn't there. The noise of antler upon antler was surprisingly loud. After a good 5 minutes or more of battling the bucks broke apart. The bracken parted as a huge buck came crashing and thundering down the slope, straight towards me... Aaargh! Fiddling with the zoom on my camera while checking my potential escape route resulted in a clumsy shot. Luckily the deer spotted me at the last moment and turned off to one side. He looked exhausted, dejected, panting, with the remnants of foliage ripped from the ground hanging from his antlers. I felt sorry for him, he wasn't having a good day.
Following my previous experiences of the Fallow deer rut, I decided that I'd like to try and find some Red deer. They're not nearly as common as the Fallow deer, but I'd heard that there were some small herds to be found just a few miles from where I live.
I discovered plenty of tracks new and old, so I knew they were about. The rain lashed down and after walking miles a cold wind picked up causing a soul destroying chill. I'd just about given up on finding them when, on the far side of some railway lines they trotted out in front of me.
At first they were nervous, ushering the younger ones back into the cover of the scrub. Faining disinterest, while enthusing over some grass, I convinced them that I too was a harmless grazing animal.
For a moment I thought that there was a Stag in the group, until I realised that one of the Does was standing in front of a couple of conveniently positioned branches!
The mothers and their offspring were very affectionate to one another, constantly nuzzling and showing attention.
The clouds lifted, the rain stopped. More deer emerged from the trees.
They seemed remarkably relaxed as I took their pictures.
Some were even curious.
Eventually they began to move off.
A couple of last glances...
... at the strange new herbivore on the other side of the tracks.
An inquisitive gallery of faces peer back at me before wandering off. Please ignore what the one on the left is doing!
Astounding how such a large animal simply disappears in the tall grass...
It's that time of year again, when the Fallow Deer begin to rut. Not wishing to miss out on this fabulous spectacle, I headed off to the forest in search of these elusive, beautiful creatures.
I walked the woods for hours before a head poked up from some bracken. Believing she was invisible just so long as she remained still, she was a little surprised when I took her photograph.
It seemed I wasn't as dangerous as I first appeared.
Some inquisitive faces peered from around a tree, interested to see this stranger in their woods.
The juvenile bucks were more bold...
...not as afraid to satisfy their curiosity.
A young Stag turned up. This was his harem and they rallied to attention, taking his lead and following him deeper into the sanctuary of the denser woodland.
After much posturing, and careful studying, I was deemed 'mostly harmless'.
The Does and the young bucks were allowed to return to the outskirts of the trees where the stranger lurked, in order to feast on the acorns that scattered the forest floor.
Eventually they relaxed, realising that I meant no harm. I became the new entertainment to sit and watch.
These were the smaller harems ruled by the lower ranking Stags. To find the large mature Stags I would have to venture into the depths of the dark woods where sunbeams were the only source of light.
After some time a black Stag emerged from the shadows. It appeared to be alone, foraging for greens in the pools of sun between the trees. In a blink of an eye it was gone.
As the sun dipped, I crossed the cold shade of a steep sided valley, rising to summit some open ground alongside a quarry. The noise of the machinery in the distance afforded me some cover for my heavy footsteps as I crept to observe another Stag in the distance.
He looked content grazing with his hard won harem. Feeling slightly vulnerable out on the open ground, I backed away from this powerful animal, as they can be quite aggressive during the rutting season. Retreating to what I thought would be the refuge of a shady, and now increasingly dark deciduous wood, I soon found myself in a battleground. A stag crashed through the bracken bellowing loudly, while a short way off but just out of sight, the sound of antlers clashing together only sought to reinforce the thought that I was 'definitely in the wrong place'!!!
I backed away, but the stag made it clear that he was not happy. Hastily I crashed my way through the tangle of undergrowth along the ill defined narrow deer paths trying to exit the area where it now became apparent that the rutting platforms lay. The stag shadowed me at a distance always seeking the higher ground. I tried to keep calm. "Stags are no more dangerous than, say a bull" I thought to myself. "Well maybe a bull that can run 30mph, jump over 10 feet, and has a rack full of butchers knives on its head"... I didn't feel comforted. Eventually I reached the edge of the woods. The Stag gave me a 'don't come back' glare as it turned back. Phew!
Out on the heath it quickly became dark. With my camera on a tripod, I entertained myself taking some long exposure pictures in the dark.
I cold hear the rutting bellows of stags in the darkness, and soon came to realise that they were getting closer. In fact they were all around me. Thankful for my new torch, I scoured the darkness, nothing to be seen. I was safe enough, they wouldn't be interested in me, would they? It was then that it occurred to me that I was dressed in brown camo, making my way through the heather, holding an open tripod above my head... looking to all the world like a rival Stag....Aaargh!
There was only one course of action in a situation such as this. Run away like a little girl, my torch windmilling wildly... Run away, run away!!!!
There's been some really rainy days recently, it seems autumn has struck with a vengeance.
As you can see I've occupied myself as best I can on the wetter days, playing with matches in the house.
At last a sunny day, and immediately I was outside with my camera snapping anything that got in my way.
I decided to go to Sutton Park and look for deer tracks. A Red stag was found wandering the city streets last week. It was captured and released in the park. Little Muntjacs leave their prints all over the place, but there is rarely anything larger. The smooth, wet sand is ideal for preserving tracks.
I searched all the likely places for deer to hang out, choosing to concentrate on the less visited areas. Then, in the quiet of a deserted wood, a noise of something large making its way through the foliage. I froze, camera at the ready... It was one of the Exmoor ponies curious to see who was trespassing in their patch.
My legs were tired and my throat dry. It was time for my flask of coffee. I found a quiet, open glade and made myself comfortable on a stretch of dry stones. It was nice to sit in the sun. 'Poop', 'BeeePoop'!!! What was that?...
I found myself somewhere more peaceful to finish my coffee.
I'll have to find the Stag another day.
For now I'm happy watching the diamonds dance on the water.
As the towns sprawl ever further into the countryside, I've noticed that the wildlife is beginning to adapt, seeking refuge in the suburbs. The foxes have accustomed well to this environment often living right under our noses unnoticed. More and more I come across signs that deer too are our new neighbours. You might be unaware of their presence but the evidence is there. Food missing from bird tables, choice plants or blooms nibbled away, or the minute little hoofs marks in a soily border. The culprit? The tiny Muntjac deer. The ability to breed all year round, remain hidden in the undergrowth of the most modest garden, and to exist a solitary lifestyle causing little impact to its environment, has meant that it's spread across the country has been inconspicuous.
Although I've come across them during the day in the countryside, in the suburbs they wisely use the cover of darkness. Usually I only spot them in the distance as they cross the roads between parkland and gardens. Their eyes reflect the car headlights, and combined with the pale part of their ears, they can take on the appearance of a Hyena when viewed head on!
Fruitless attempts to film them in an urban setting have left me frustrated, so it was ironic that, after many hours of searching I managed to video this chap just a few hundred yards away from my house.
Their call is very similar to a fox and easily confused (hear it here), but it is slightly harsher, more metallic and less 'musical'. So if you hear what you think are foxes calling in the night, the roses aren't flowering too well this year, and the garden birds are looking hungry... then maybe you have a deer friend too!
This is the time of year that the Fallow Deer rut. Determined not to miss out on the spectacle, I headed off into the woods.Beyond the old military shooting butts the forest is thick and dark. The steep slopes are favoured by the deer and few people stray from the paths into the trees.
Of course that might be something to do with the hundreds of disused mine shafts. Dug over the centuries, many of these shafts were never mapped or filled in. Over the years some have collapsed in on themselves, while others remain hidden beneath the bracken. Unfortunately this is the best place to view the rutting stands, so I'd have to take my chances.
I wandered high and low. The Bucks were bellowing loudly. I'd head off in the direction of the noise, only for it to stop moments before I'd located the 'stand' and another one would start in the distance. It was frustrating, so I hung up the hammock and stopped for a spot of tiffin.
I took a photo of my picnic spot, viewed the picture, and switched my camera off. At the same moment I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. A young Stag! It had crept up on me. I lifted the camera... Aaah! It was switched off... fumble, fumble. He was gone. They were playing games with me.
Eventually I discovered a stand. The ground was muddied from days of pounding, and the lower branches cleared from the trees by sweeping antlers. I ducked down below a steep slope to get my other camera from my rucksack. There was a deep bellow and the ground rumbled as two young Bucks leapt passed my head and on down the impossible incline...
I'd missed them I thought, but no. As I stood up there was a huge Buck like a black shadow in the forest.
I was soon spotted, but whether it was indecision or curiosity that delayed them, it gave me enough time to grab some video footage.
For a moment the Stag stared me in the eye, and I was worried that he was going to come crashing through the trees at me.
Luckily he had 'lurve' on the mind. They disappeared into the collage of trees with admirable stealth.
It was starting to get dark. The moon hid behind the clouds. The car was parked a long way away, over by a tree. Suddenly there seemed to be a lot of trees that all looked alike.
Still, it was no problem, it would turn up. Must be careful not to fall down any mine shafts...
I'll use the camera flash to see where I am... Oooh more trees... and eyes in the woods!
As the summer fades to a fond memory, I make sure I find time to embrace any remaining sunny days. The sand quarries on the hills are a favourite haunt. Small lakes, pioneering rough scrub, and Gorsy slopes, are framed by mature woodland in a sea of green fields dotted with church topped villages.
Of course my romantic eye chooses to ignore the semi industrial elements, but not the signs warning me of impending doom. The silt pools ARE dangerous, and you really have to watch what you're doing. There's something a little concerning about a 6 foot sign warning you of quicksand that has sunk up to its neck.
It's these pools and the new growth on the silt that brings the deer to graze. I often see Muntjac, but there is also a herd of Fallow deer. I'm impressed how such a large animal in good number remain unseen throughout the day. I can spend hours following the tracks trough the woods and across the sands, it's fun to see what they've been up to.
This is the wallow hole that they visit almost daily. In its base is the perfect imprint of a large deer that has been lying on its side. The forest floor when disturbed sends up clouds of mosquitoes, and a coating of mud helps prevent bites. I was tempted to try it, but instead opted for higher mozzy free ground...
Up on the hill I settled for a while to watch over the surrounding land, hoping to spot some wildlife. The Buzzard screeching a warning overhead, combined with my lack of patience, meant I had no luck.
I knew the deer were out there somewhere in the mist comforted trees. Maybe it wasn't a lack of patience but more my rumbling tummy that sent me on my way.
Down in the mature woodland I managed to forage some Sweet Chestnuts while I was waiting for the water to boil for my coffee.
A quick simmer and they hit the spot for a yummy snack.
Hedgerow Hazelnuts provided some perambulant picnicking...
... as I headed homeward through the picture postcard scenery.
It was a relief to see some blue sky at last. It seemed that the interminable grey gloom of overcast skies had hung over us for weeks. Today the sun shone, the moon was just a stretch away, and the scent of spring was in the air.
I accidentally spooked a Stag out of a belt of trees. While it was out in the open I took the opportunity to grab a few snaps. Typical... I get it all lined up, in focus, and he goes and closes his eyes!
The two Stags held an uneasy truce, occasionally sparring, but also cooperating, taking it in turns to keep an eye out while the other grazed.
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