Whenever I am outdoors I seem to get more than my fair share of mosquito bites and it really bugs me (pun intended). So when I was watching these deer at Dunham Massey I could really empathise with their plight. Look at how they must suffer with the swarms of evil bitey flies.
The young stag in the final two images seems to be suffering much more than the others and at first I couldn't think why. However I think the first image might just give us a clue.
When I saw the deer in the first shot I thought he had some fabric or an old boot lace twisted around his antlers but if you look closely you will see that that is not the case. The stag in the last two shots has the downy velvet coating still covering his antlers whereas the first one has antlers which have been scraped "clean" of the velvet and the tassles are the remnants of the soft outer layer. I think that the velvet has a fresh supply of blood and so that will be why it is so attractive to the flies and why this poor creature has such an annoying following while the other have less of a problem.
One other thing that I noticed during my walk around the park was that the young female deer were really quite skittish and shy whereas the young bucks were more relaxed. In just a few weeks however there will be a major change in the behaviour as the rut begins and the bucks will become more aggressive in an attempt to achieve dominance within the herd, it won't be quite so easy to get up close to these marvellous creatures then.
When I shot the first of today's images I had been watching a swan on the lake and when I saw this fallen tree I thought this branch had a swan like quality.
I really like the way it reaches up and elegantly curves round.
The second image I don't think I really saw it until I'd snapped it. I knew when I saw the tree that there was something interesting about it if I could get the angle right. From this angle there are two faces, one bearded face in profile looking left and half a face looking right at you.
Shooting in black and white really emphasises the shape and the shadows that bring out the detail.
... but it turns out it wasn't a duck at all; it was a swan, a beautiful swan!
Earlier this year I paid a visit to Dunham Massey and I photographed a pair of swans on a clutch of eggs (click here) so today when I went back to visit the park although my main aim was to photograph the deer I wanted to check on the swan family.
To my delight the adults were still there and they have successfully raised three handsome cygnets. I had hoped to get a family portrait as they were all sat together on the nest but as I was preparing the shot another visitor to the park arrived and started hurling lumps of bread into the water disturbing the piece and ruining the opportunity.
Although they didn't return to the nest as a family group I waited patiently and managed to get a few nice shots.
I don't know what these flowers are, but I am sure that someone out there will know and maybe you will tell me, because I think they are really beautiful.
They were growing in the shade alongside the path and I almost missed them but I am glad I didn't.
Here is another shot of one of the Dunham Massey stags. It really is such a beautiful creature and I was so lucky to be able to get close and appreciate how truly beautiful it is.
It is easy to forget seeing them so close that these are wild not domestic animals. Because they live in a large estate where there are lots of visitors they have become used to people but while they are not as timid as deer that truly live wild for example in the New Forest or Forest of Dean or in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland they can still be skittish and need to be treated with just as much respect.
I think that herds like this are an important part of our nations wildlife and really are a national treasure.
I have called today's post "At Rest" but really while this stag was resting quite peacefully he was constantly on alert watching out for the small of herd of doe's that were feeding nearby. What I didn't realise at the time I was taking this shot was that inside the "den" of branches and wooden stakes next to the stag there was a young fawn exploring.
I haven't been out with my camera for a couple of weeks due to poor weather and also feeling under the weather so I am hoping for a good spell this weekend. In the meantime I am really grateful that I have had some good opportunities earlier this year to keep me going.
So I will be swapping and changing themes over the next few days, after all I have been busy in recent weeks and I want to share the best of those days out.
Today I have gone back to Dunham Massey for this shot of a magnificent stag. It was wonderful getting so close to this wonderful creature but as calm as he appeared to be he never let his guard down and I knew that he was always keeping a close eye on where I was and what I was doing. Every now and then he would lift his head and sniff the air as in this shot. I could sense that he was warning me not to get too close and I had to remind myself that this is a wild animal and it was best to keep at a safe distance.
Today I have gone back to the pictures of deer at Dunham Massey rather than the buildings and reflections that I shared over the past two days.
These three deer are all Fallow Deer but these shots perfectly show some of the different colourings that are quite common from the fairly even brown tones of the stag in the first picture to the almost black backed doe in the second shot and then at the most extreme end the white in the third shot. This is not an albino deer but a genuine white variety. A fourth variety is almost totally black but I haven't got a shot of one to share today.
It didn't matter how quietly I approached the deer they were always on the alert and while they didn't all run off they kept a watchful eye on me.
It is always a privilege to be able to get close to animals in the wild and I love to share the pictures I capture.
An early start on Saturday meant that I got to witness a truly beautiful sunrise and the lighting for these pictures was absolutely perfect. In the shade of the stable block there was no breeze to disturb the surface of the water and so the reflections of the trees, buildings and clouds are flawless. Another bonus due to the early start was that I had the place almost entirely to myself and without the masses of visitors who would arrive later in the day I was able to get these undisturbed shots.
I had gone to Dunham Massey specifically to photograph the resident Fallow Deer and if you haven't seen them yet take a look at my blog posts from the past two days because I am really pleased with some of those pictures, especially the third image I shared yesterday.
But as I walked up the path to the park I was blown away by the colours of the early morning sky and the lovely reflections. I have selected a couple of shots for today and I have another for tomorrow.
The first shot shows a view of the old stable block and clock tower with a beautiful sky behind it.
The second shot shows the house itself with the "lake" in the foreground. There is so much to like about this image; the colours in the sky give a warm glow and the promise of a nice day and these colours are reflected throughout the image especially in the bottom of the picture. I also really love the trees which together with their reflection make an almost perfect circle as if it was shot through a sphere. I think this is a really beautiful picture.
I was lucky enough to spot this lone stag in a small clearing, he had quite clearly been digging up the soil with his antlers, perhaps searching for acorns or other tasty morsels. I followed at a safe distance trying not to spook him and to let him know I meant him no harm as he walked through the woodland. He stopped a few times and watched me and I thought that he might run off but happily he seemed quite contented and relaxed. He approached a fallen tree and proceeded to clean his antlers by brushing against the branches.
As I slowly approached he would lift his head, look at me and sniff the air and then when he was satisfied that I was no threat he resumed his scraping.
So today's three pictures show that story with his head down in the first image you can see how intently he was cleaning his impressive antlers.
In the second shot he has his tongue out, he wasn't being rude he was just doing a bit of grooming.
I like both of those shots because they are candid shots of a wild animal at ease going about its daily life.
I love the third shot though because it is a perfectly posed and beautifully lit natural portrait of a truly majestic and beautiful creature.
I have been to Dunham Massey a few times in the last three or four months, the last time was during the rutting season when there was lots of action but the light was rubbish and so I didn't really get the shots I had hoped for. All the same I got some nice pictures that I shared at the time.
With the promise of better weather today I got up early and set off with my camera and high hopes. It was pretty cold so I wrapped up warm and donned my wellies and I walked several miles, some of it through very muddy conditions but I enjoyed every minute of it. I would have stayed longer if I could and although I took lots of pictures I will definitely go back.
I think the shots I have shared today are proof that my early start was not in vain. I have lots of other, even better shots than these so please come back over the next few days to see some of those.
It has been snowing here today and the cold wet weather made me think back to the warmer summer days so I have picked some shots from a trip to Dunham Massey when the weather was much kinder.
I love the first shot with the stag resting in the long grass, he was totally relaxed and I'm sure he didn't want to be spotted. He really was blending in nicely.
The second shot is lovely too, I think it is a great portrait of a handsome beast.
One of the things I love about this time of year as the trees change and the leaves fall is the number of fungi that you can find on the woodland floor. I don't always get to appreciate the full range of colours of the trees nut I like the sounds and the feel of the fallen leaves as I walk through them and looking down means I am more likely to spot the fungi. Even in the damp and cold these lovely colonies give off a warm glow.
So although I have called this a Huntsman's cottage it is probably more likely a game keepers cottage but set in the wooded parkland it could be either.
I like the first shot in black and white, I think it is really atmospheric and you can almost picture this as a haunted house.
Shot from a different angle the picture looks so much better in colour with the autumn colours and the way the building is framed by the trees.
Today I wasn't going to post any more pictures from the Rut although I was going to choose some other mammals after listening to the awesome song "Mammal" by They Might Be Giants (Click here to listen). Anyway as I was browsing I decided to post the first two because they show two different stags with very clear evidence of the violence of the rut.
In the first image the stag is what is known as a Menil variety with a much paler coat than the more common tan/fawn colouring and without the black rump. He has clearly been in a fight and has lost part of his impressive set of antlers.
In the second image you can see two lines of scarring on its right flank also evidence of being in a fight.
The young stags can spend a lot of time sparring without any real vicious intent but when the rutting season begins in earnest the sparring becomes much more serious and potentially deadly. Perhaps these two can count themselves lucky, despite their wounds.
In contrast to that the final shot in today's selection is a much more tranquil, bucolic scene.
So that is all for now, I am not sure what I will post next but please come back tomorrow to see what I choose.
These two fine creatures were pacing around the edge of a wooded glade keeping a respectful distance from the dominant stag who was strutting his stuff and bellowing with gusto to declare his superiority and stake his claim. While he was spectacular these two were a bit easier to photograph and I particularly like the second shot. I hope you will agree.
I was going to share some pictures of some of the stags today but looking through my pictures I couldn't resist posting some more of the new generation, they're so flipping cute.
It was such a treat to get up close and get these images I am so lucky.
So a few more soft images from my shoot at Dunham Massey yesterday and although the rut is all about the dominant males I also got some lovely images of some of the younger members of the herd. As I said yesterday the images are soft and grainy because of the high ISO, the first two were at ISO of 25,600 and the third was 20,000 due to the really poor light. I think the first two in the shade of the trees are really atmospheric images and I like them a lot. The third is just so cute.
Photographing butterflies can be quite tricky and you definitely need to be quick off the mark to get a good shot.
Today's shot while not the sharpest is still a good image showing off the beauty of this fantastic butterfly the Red Admiral.
