Although I love venturing out onto the open moorland,an early morning sortie into one of my local woods appealed to me.This particular wood is a favourite with a lovely little songster, the Pied Flycatcher.With not much foilage on the trees at the moment,it would be easier to try and locate a couple of territorial males,their black and white plummage contrasting vividly against the mossy green bark of the trees!
I could hear 2 different males proclaiming their territory, so I managed to wait patiently for them to come into range.It wasn`t the best of light with a few showers here and there, but I made the most of the occasion.
On the edge of the wood a male Redstart was fresh in from Africa,but was very flitty and difficult to approach!
The highlight of the morning was a handsome roe buck who was feeding in a small clearing some distance away,but keeping upwind and deadly quiet, he approached without the slightest concern.
I didn`t know but at the time he was accompanied by 2 does who were hidden in the woods.
He must have eventually got wind of me and barked a few times, before turning and bounding gracefully away,one of those very special moments indeed.
A couple of hares were chasing one another around a meadow and came very close to me as I hid behind a stone wall.There seems to be good numbers about at the moment and always create a nice portrait shot.
Stopping to sniff the air he knew something was untoward and then showed me a clean pair of heels!
I hope that you have enjoyed viewing the images I managed to take and will be back with more tales shortly!!!
I've overlooked your blog of recently Paul but have caught up this evening to find some excellent shots and interesting commentary in about four posts....did'nt know what I was missing.
ReplyDeleteHi Paul, Great pics. Nice to meet you on Saturday, I was back again on sunday morning with another of my birding pals. Good views of the Oriole's again. Chris
ReplyDeletePaul. You have captured the essence of our recent early morning sorties in the above brilliant images.Pied flys and redstarts never easy and well you know how I feel about roe deer !! The buck is a splendid animal and you were certainly in the right place at the right time and used your fieldcraft to capture some magnificent shots.Good luck with the photoshoot today.
ReplyDeletegreat pics man, thanks
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