Max is in the middle of his A-Levels at the moment, which is - I suppose - a perfectly valid reason for him not having done any bloggo stuff for yonks.
However he has managed to sneak out a few times to sit in his car and listen to Tarkus with a peculiar look on his face, and occasionally to do a little bit of bird watching.
He usually takes his camera with him, and over the last few months has built up a fantastic library of images of the wildlife of the Wells region of Somerset. Here, in a new series, are some of them...
I was out bird watching ‘t other day to stop myself from having a mental breakdown, (it being the second week of my A-Levels) and I found myself sat in a silent hide hoping for something interesting like a hobby or bittern to pop down, drink a pint of shandy (you can’t drink and fly remember) with me in front of the camera, before going off about on their daily business. I waited for half an hour or so, and heard a rustling in the reeds to my left.“Great Scott!” Exclaimed I, “It must be a hoatzin!” (OK I didn't say anything of the sort, but in my Biology exam yesterday there was a question about hoatzins, and I feel incredibly smug because I think that I was the only person in class to know what the hell they were).
It was not a hoatzin, but a very cute female roe deer with her young (interesting rod deer fact: their coats are grey in winter (see the photo posted on my blog a while ago about the roe deer being killed by a big cat) and a light orange to red colour in the summer).
They were not bothered by me, and came to within 10 yards of my position, not minding as the camera shutter clicked or I dropped my binoculars. The female moved into the reeds in front of me, whilst the baby stayed a little way back, obviously still a bit new to this whole thing.
Roe deer must be very similar to white-tailed deer, which also turn grey in winter.
ReplyDeleteI've come across several fawns this year already. Their mothers leave them in the undergrowth, where their dappled forms are unbelievably camouflaged. Those spots break up the outline of the fawn's body, and when the sun shines through the undergrowth, it makes them blend in perfectly. I've come within a foot of young fawns, and their instinct to remain motionless is that strong.
My poor dog came across a nursing doe last weekend, and let's just say that the doe didn't appreciate having a "blond coyote" anywhere near her offspring.
When I was in England a few years ago, I so wanted to see either a roe deer or red deer, but I had no luck. I did see my first European hare and my first rooks and jackdaws. I was particularly amazed with how similar Turdus merula is to Turdus migratorius. I also wanted to see a European badger, but no luck there, either.
We have deer at such high densities here that it is quite amazing. You can whole herds of them in quite urban environments.