Startled

The light this morning was as dark as my mood, but we both improved in the early afternoon, so I walked up to the Vale Landscape Heritage Trust orchard at Windmill Hill to see what might be about. I spent a little while on the corn buntings and yellowhammers which count as the usual suspects for this site, and then went looking for stonechats, though sadly without finding any. Last winter and spring this site was full of them, but so far this year I haven't seen a single one, here or anywhere else.

I'm not sure whether I or this roe deer was the more surprised when I wandered round a corner and we found ourselves staring at each other, but its reactions were faster than mine. It immediately took flight, but then paused and turned to check on me, which was when I took this photo. A couple of frames later it was in motion again, crashing through the orchard as it tried to escape. Given the way it was heading, I started to fear that it might hurdle the fence and end up on the busy road, but fortunately it turned again, moving back towards the farm land behind the orchard where I photographed a buzzard following the plough last Sunday. I quickened my pace towards the gate, figuring that the sooner the deer calmed down, the less chance there was of it doing something potentially suicidal, but I did pause just long enough to snap a couple of images of a meadow pipit (species number 85 of 2023) that landed on the fence a little way in front of me.

Today's birds are here if you'd like to see them.