Early Encounters

I was up early and decided to get out for a walk before work.  Having spotted a red deer hind with its calf the other day I decided to go back to the same location.  As you can imagine the mother is very protective and all I got was a fleeting glance as she led the calf away from me (see extra).

On the way home I spotted this young male and female deer in an adjacent field.  As I initially watched them he was getting the attention of a local magpie, standing on his antlers then back before hopping off.  I knew I couldn't get close for a good photo but wondered what would happen if I flew the drone up towards them.  

This was one of the images.  I'd liken their behaviour to curiosity rather than fear, in fact if you watch the linked video, you can see that they actually started to approach the drone and then it was me that was fearful of them getting too close, so I beat a hasty retreat.  Much as I'd love to be able to get shots like the wonderful images I see from some of the London parks on Blipfoto, these are truly wild animals and I take pleasure that they are wary of humans and it takes some fieldcraft to get good images.  For many thousands of people who live nearby they are completely oblivious to the herd's presence in the local fields.