April and May seemed to have switched round this year. April was the driest and coldest on record since 1922, and now almost 3 weeks into May I cannot remember a day in the past 2 weeks at least that has not come with interludes of heavy showers, gusty winds or at least just generally overcast and cold. Well, the evening of 19th May proved a rare exception to that. A prolonged break in the clouds allowed some golden light to come streaming through and bathed the trees in that warming light, so at around 8pm I decided I would go to a local spot where I have occasionally seen foxes.
One of my favourites
Other people had seen cubs there and I was hoping that they might make an appearance. Alas, it was not to be. I waited around for 20 minutes with nothing really happening and was just about to leave when something caught my eye. It transpired to be a splendid Roe buck, quietly grazing on buttercups around 100m from me. I got eye level and lay down near the hedge to minimise my profile and waited, hoping it would come closer. Things didn't go quite to plan, it gave a casual look in my direction before munching on a mouthful of juicy grass and then leisurely strolled into a nearby wood. The light was now fading fairly rapidly and to acquire a shutter speed of just 1/100s I was forced to use ISO 3200. The distance and poor light meant that the photos weren't anything special.
This was only about 400mm, still I couldn't fit all of the deer in!
Shortly afterwards, however, a female deer grazed its way into view. I remained motionless, and she carried on slowly eating and walking in my direction. Then, something amazing happened. She lifted up her head and gave me a prolonged stare, but instead of fleeing did quite the opposite - with a few reassuring nods of her head, she trotted up to me until she was no more than 10 metres away from where I was lying. In fact, she was so close that I could not fit her all in my lens without constantly zooming out as she approached closer. It was truly magical and I could not quite believe my luck as clearly unconcerned by my presence, she started to feed on buttercups and the emerging, fresh and succulent leaves from overhanging branches. She was just getting her summer coat and even in the faded light this was a very soft, hazel brown. Occasionally she would glance up to see what I was doing but she seemed curious and friendly and never really showed any signs of fear. I had never been this close to a wild deer and it was truly unforgettable, one of my best ever experiences to date.
More of a habitat shot showing the park trees in the background
Eventually after around 15 minutes our meeting was ended by a dog walker passing in close proximity and she cantered away deeper into the trees. It won't be an evening I'll forget in a hurry, though!
Having a quick yawn!
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