The final photo in my previous post, Views from my window – foxes, showed two fox cubs watching a deer, which is just about visible in the long grass.
In this post I’m going to share a selection of my favourite photos of deer, all of which have been spotted near our home in Fair Oak.
I’ve kept the selection to those taken ‘through’ windows, although ‘through’ sometimes involves me hanging as far out of an upstairs window as possible.
I’ll start with another bird food raider. This time, it’s an individual deer who has worked out how to get the seeds out of a food tube.
It’s not only bird food that attracts deer – they can’t resist a decent crop of apples either.
It’s an absolute joy to catch sight of a new fawn. This was through a long lens, so the picture is a bit grainy.
It isn’t long before fawns start moving around – they can run really fast from a very young age. Just occasionally they relax long enough for me to grab to get a decent picture or two.
The next few photos were all taken during a few nice warm days a couple of years ago.
Ever seen a fawn with an itch?
I’ve never lived anywhere which has had so much wildlife casually strolling around near human habitation. I suppose I’ve got used to it over the last few years, but I’m pleased to say the novelty never really wears off, and moments like a fawn with an itch still have a certain charm.
This young stag came really close to the house, particularly early in the evening.
Buttercups seem to be particularly attractive – just the flowers, not the stalks.
Clue for my next post
That’s it for this post. I’ll just finish off with one last photo. The deer appears to be sharing a joke with the magpie. This photo also contains a clue about the topic for my next post.
I came across this letter a while back: Doe, d’oh, do. It was a letter to the editor of The Times newspaper.
“Sir, Following your “Correction and Clarification” (Oct 1), that “the female of the red deer is a hind, not a doe”, could I please ask for assurance that a ray remains a drop of golden sun, and that “me” is still an acceptable name to call myself?”
By The Ven Gavin Collins, Archdeacon of the Meon
Ha ha – love it! They’ve had some cracking letters over the years.
Nice pictures, really good. Glad not to have deer in our garden, they would re-arrange it by eating all the roses and other plants below the browse line.
Thanks Mike. The first year we moved in I attempted a vegetable garden – nothing special, just spinach and swiss chard, that sort of thing. Pigeons got my first two attempts at seedling stage, and then after I’d bird-proofed it, the deer broke in and finished the lot off. Since then, I’ve gone to the greengrocer.