You can see from the water droplets on the grasses that this was a fairly wet day and while we were out looking for deer the deer were taking shelter under the trees and in the undergrowth. That is the ones who weren't tempted by the apples we had brought to feed them.
This fawn was snuggled down but fully alert and was too wary to come and enjoy a free meal.
A damp day in the forest and off the beaten track I took these pictures of water droplets, the first as it clung to the end of a twig and the second where they collected on the surface of a leaf. I used my 100mm Macro lens to capture these images and lit them with a pocket torch due to the very poor light conditions.
I like the way the hanging droplet captures an inverted image of the forest and I like the way the large droplets on the leaf magnify the pattern within the leaf, I also like the collection of tiny droplets like glitter on the surface of the leaf.
By the time I got round to the last hide at Mere Sands to see the grebes the light was really poor and that has affected the quality of these pictures which are not as sharp as I would have liked. The birds in these shots are a Great Crested Grebe and a Little Grebe. In spite of the atrocious weather they were undeterred as they patrolled the lake in search of a meal. They really have quite impressive fishing skills and they dived for a long time, often resurfacing some distance from the original dive.
I saw both come up with fish but was unable to capture the moment because I had had to close the window to the hide to avoid a soaking as the rain lashed down. I did manage to get a little wet but it didn't spoil my day out. I hope that when I go back I will get some better shots of these cracking little birds.
Half way round my walk along the High Bowkerstead Trail the weather really took a turn for the worse and I realised I was going to have to pack all my gear away. I took shelter under some pine trees and as I started to pack up I saw these tiny fungi, they are really delicate but there were loads of them growing through the carpet of pine needles and bark on the forest floor.
I then saw the droplets of water on the plant in pictures three and four. The weight of the water pulled the plant downwards each tiny droplet looked like a jewel. I illuminated them with a small torch I carry in my pack and as the drops caught the beam of light they sparkled rather like fairy lights at Christmas. I tried to get a sharp image from various angles however I had to give up due to the heavy rain. It has given me some ideas for a future project but for now the pictures above will hopefully do nicely.
