The Deer and the Butterfly

The colours are still awesome out there at the moment, with greens and yellows everywhere. It wont be long before the greens turn a golden brown as the autumn sets in and the yellows disappear though. So I made the most of it!

I asked this fallow doe if she had seen any wild boars on her travels and she said "they went thatta way!"


A little further on and I came across another doe with her fawn. I asked them the same question and they said....


I think they went in there?


I must be losing it!

I didn't find any wild boars, but I did come across a Speckled Wood butterfly resting on some yellow flowers. I think its a female and she has obviously come a cropper with a bird, which has taken part of her wing.


Rob

Look out for Bambi!

Our roe and fallow deer have given birth to their fawns, so please be aware of this if walking your dog off lead in the forest.
The doe will leave her fawn in the grass, sometimes near the edge of a track while she wanders off in search of food. This is not neglect and the fawn has not been abandoned as the doe needs to feed to keep her strength up and to produce milk for her suckling fawn.
Fallow deer have one fawn after a gestation period of nearly nine months, whereas roe deer have between one and three fawns after a gestation period of ten months. The mortality rate for roe deer fawns is much higher than fallow deer fawns and one reason is due to their weight and size at birth.
A roe fawn can weigh as little as 1.5kg, whereas a fallow fawn weighs between 4 - 5kg.

If you come across one, please don't disturb it or stay around it for too long as the doe will be anxiously watching from a distance and it will also be very stressful for the fawn. Thanks.

Deer in the Forest of Dean...

Roe Deer - Buck


Roe Deer - Doe


Fallow Deer - Buck


Fallow Deer - Doe


Fallow Deer - Doe & Fawn


Melanistic Fallow Fawn


Rob

Fallow Deer

Here are a couple of fallow deer I bumped into earlier. It was raining, but that didn't seem to bother them and I was lucky that they were not bothered about my presence either!
None of the images have been cropped, but the light levels were low and I bumped the ISO up to 6400, hence a bit of noise!


Melanistic Fallow Doe - (Dama dama)




Melanistic Fallow Doe - (Dama dama)




Common Fallow Doe - (Dama dama)

Fallow Doe

Tried my hardest to find some wild boar for you today folks, but the weather was against me and I failed.

Looking at it positively, a failure is one step closer to success, so it won't be long.

I did manage to spot a fallow doe before the skies turned grey and the sleet started to fall! I could see her grazing through some trees, she had the sun on her back.

Carefully and quietly I crept up as close as I could, until I was no more than 7 or 8 metres away.

There was a lot of bracken in the way and I was finding it hard to get a clear view. Then she spotted me!

As long as you are quiet and calm, fallow deer will stand and look at you for a while before running away, this is when you can get your shot.

Rob

BBC Glos Wildlife Feature

Click the link below, it will take you to a new deer feature, which I have written for the BBC Gloucestershire website.
Knocked Autumnwatch off the top spot, lol.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/gloucestershire/hi/people_and_places/nature/default.stm

Fallow Bucks

Here are a few pics from my latest batch of fallow bucks, taken today in the forest.

(EDIT) I would just like to point out that I don't just walk into the forest and photograph deer like this. I sit, usually in very cramped, wet and cold places for up to 4hrs or more before I am rewarded with opportunities like these.

I am nursing a very sore back from my session today!

This melanistic fallow buck got a little frisky and jumped the fallen tree.

He then stood on the other side and looked out into the forest.


I have cropped this one. Common fallow buck.

Rob

Pics and Video From Today

Went walkabout earlier and found some more deer, although they didn't want to look at me today for some reason.
Must be my ninja skills?!


Can you see her? Click pic for larger view


I was tempted to jump on and hitch a ride!

My eldest daughter Alice was with me today, she is 14 years old and she sat in a cold, damp cramped environment for 3.5hrs and she was so quiet that these deer walked out no more than 20 feet in front of us.

Another Fallow Buck

Another fallow buck, not as old as the last one, but still nice to see. Some doe's around also.

Fallow Buck

This is quite an impressive fallow deer buck with a few of his doe's in the Forest of Dean. Sorry about the shakey camera, no tripod today!

He is not that old, but he has some pretty impressive antlers already and I can't wait to see him in a few years time.

White Buck Pics

Well, I didn't have to wait long to get my pics of the white buck! 24hrs to be precise. I was sat in a cramped position for just over 3hrs today when he finally showed and I was rewarded with this shot among others.

23.09.2009

I don't think he is a true albinistic buck, just white, but that's OK.

Guess I was just in the right place at the right time, but after seeing him there yesterday, I had to try my luck again.

I also managed to snap a couple of common and a melanistic fallow deer. I also saw a menil doe the other day, but she was too far away to photograph. I Will try harder next time!

Melanistic

Common

Common

Common

New Deer Pics & Video from the Forest of Dean

Well, the fallow deer rut is around the corner and the doe's are already grouping. Counted 19 in two groups on Monday 21st September.
I managed to get some pics of the one group. Here they are...

Click on the images for larger size.


This image has been cropped to highlight the tick on top of her left ear!


Two young doe's having a bit of fun. The dark one is melanistic.

Spotted me! Oh well never mind!

OK, this is not a deer, nor is it in the Forest of Dean! It's a grey heron I photographed on the river Avon earlier this month.

This is a rare treat! A pure white fallow buck, not a true albinistic fallow buck, but impressive none the less. I filmed him on Tuesday 22nd September.

I was quite a way off and I didn't want to scare him away by trying to get closer. 50x optical zoom pulled him in though.

Forest Fallow Deer

Here is a nice scene, a couple of fallow bucks and some doe's just after the rut in November 2007.
Even though the patchy sun looks nice, it made the conditions difficult for a good photo. I had to wait for the deer to be become vertually motionless or else I would have ended up with motion blur, which happened on around 80% of the pics from this shoot.