I set out in the morning to put out my trail camera and as it was not particularly early I did not really expect to see any deer; they would usually be deep in the woods and probably lying down, having a nap. I was wrong!
Walking on the track I noticed a deer in the woods. Too far for a photo but also too far for the deer to be spooked. What I was able to tell though, when looking through the telephoto lens, was that it was the Roebuck, with full antlers on show. What I mean by that is that there are two bucks in the area. One that still has velvet antlers and this one that doesn’t. I haven’t been able to see this one close up for some time, so I thought I’d see if I could get closer.
I carried on, further along the track. The idea was to then double back through the woodland, find a spot and wait. As I got near to where I wanted to be though, I spotted the deer had already made its way further along too. So – I stood still; it looked; I very slowly took a step behind a tree and waited. The buck kept looking, but then after a minute decided to lie down. Over the next 10/15 minutes it kept looking my way, but either hadn’t seen me or wasn’t too concerned. I think it was more like the former as I was reasonably close and in my experience too close for it to be comfortable and just lie down.
This situation continued for about half an hour. Me keeping quiet and as still as possible (not easy when crouched behind a tree), and the Roebuck seemingly quite content, but then I decided to make a move slightly forward. He did become more alert; looking and sniffing the air, but one thing I’ve learnt is that if you’re going looking for wildlife, don’t have a shower, put your best smelly on and nice clean clothes; they will sniff you out! LOL
Anyway, what happened is the buck got up, looked, sniffed, but then came even closer to where I was! So, again I was rooted to the spot. Aching knees, back and feet, but all worth it to get close to this wonderful animal.
I love this story. I held my breath as I’m sure you were!
Your patience (and aches) rewarded. Thanks for sharing.
Hi
Thanks for your comments, I really appreciate it.
Nigel