To start with this time, the Red Deer at Minsmere RSPB reserve. It's that time of year again for the stags, and they are to be heard all day every day at the moment. I have been lucky enough to get some great views. The rut will determine which males will take control of the various harems that roam the reserve. There are around 500 of these animals on total around the reserve, so spotting them is not too tricky! This magnificent stag was certainly the pick of the bunch, and in fading sunlight was stunning to watch as he made himself known.
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| Red Deer, Cervus elaphus |
It is possible to tell the age of a Red Deer by how many points it has on its antler; they shed every year and add a new point the following year. So by my reckoning this stag is 10 years old. It wasn't just the large males getting active, the younger ones were also practising, ready to one day try to win themselves a territory.
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| Red Deer, Cervus elaphus |
This weekend I was at Dungeness, and caught up with some of the birds that appear to be becoming a regular fixture now. There were five Great White Egret, four Black-necked Grebes, a Raven, Stonechat, and a Glossy Ibis amongst the numerous wildfowl. A very pleasant way to spend a few hours on one of my favourite reserves. Below is a fairly poor record shot of two of the four BNG, one of the five GWE that was in a fishing frenzy with c30 Cormorants and a few Grey Herons and Little Egrets and the Glossy Ibis. Glossy Ibis and GWE are certainly heading the way of the Little Egret, and it shouldn't think it will be long before they are a far more common feature of wetland reserves around the country.
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| Black-necked Grebe, Podiceps nigricollis |
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| Great White Egret, Ardea alba |
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| Glossy Ibis, Plegadis falcinellus |
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