Herding His Harem

The sky was gloriously coloured at sunrise but it was easy to miss because mist rolled in fast from the west to obscure it.

When Basil and I reached Bradgate Park, it seemed very quiet.We walked along the path. Near the entrance, an ambitious young buck with a strand of bracken in his antlers seemed to have garnered three to four females to start his harem. I was surprised to see him chase one off, unless it was a very young male.

As the path widened out in sight of the ruins, we began to hear the bellowing of the large stags up on the hill in the sanctuary. It's evidently sorting out time when the stags choose their hinds and keep them in check. The photo shows a large fallow deer stag. I also saw a very large red deer stag. I don't know where his female friends were grazing.

Our walk concluded with sight of a buzzard being trained.