Tribute to the Roe Deer


The time has come to return the Canon 500mm lens to Alex and to look back at my favourite photographs of my favourite land mammal the Roe deer. With just one day remaining, I took the lens up to the West Sussex/Surrey border, hoping to see territorial bucks roaming the meadows. It was not long, before I spotted a pair of long ears protruding through the grass a yearling doe ruminating until grazing time. It would be at least an hour before she woke up, so I approached a mature buck grazing in an adjacent field carpeted with buttercups. In a show of mutually beneficial tolerance, the buck allowed Magpies to sit on his back, plucking ticks and mosquitoes. When the buck eventually detected my presence, he at first made a tentative approach, before gaining confidence and strutting back and forth. When the buck disappeared, I turned my attention back towards the neighbouring doe. I carefully selected a secluded thicket on the corner of an oak lined field to quietly observe the animals from a distance of just 30 metres. As a nature-lover, there are few sights more adorable than a Roe deer grazing in a traditional English meadow. To my surprise, three deer popped up out of the long grass within 10 minutes. The most inquisitive was a two-year-old buck, who felt perfectly relaxed about coming over to investigate, before sitting back down for a short break. I first saw the young buck in August 2011, when he was still a baby and I was absolutely delighted to see him alive and doing well.


Young Roe Deer Buck

Young Buck

Young Buck

Mature Roe Deer Buck

Hop-it

Roe deer hopping away

Showdown

Roe Deer Buck

Wood Nymph

Roe deer

Roe deer, Friston Forest

Roe deer

Comments

Gary Faulkner said…
A seriously impressive collection Alan. Well done
Alan MacKenzie said…
Thank you for the compliment, Gary. I've really enjoyed photographing them; the final encounter was the most pleasurable. My body quivers with excitement whenever I get close to a Roe deer. Sometimes, it's hard to counteract and I lose shots due to shaking! I'll need to invest in a 4-stop image stabilizer lens and Wimberley head. Anyone got £8500?

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