Before the weather changes and temperatures drop we decided to head to Tatton Park for a walk; rutting season is only just getting underway and although I got a few pics of red deer, I didn't get the stags as they were either too far away or they were laying down in close proximity but under the dark shade of the trees ! Wasn't as sunny as promised either with grey sky mostly but I managed to take a few pics.
Apart from this, I didn't bother taking any other shots of the stags with it being too shady .....it was fairly warm at 20 degrees
why do they always stick their tongues out to anyone holding a camera lol !!
Hello beautiful ! cute youngster peeking out from around the tree stump
social distancing during rutting season seemed to go out the window !! good job the stag was placid, looked like it was one of the gang.
You have to be careful if you walk through the long marsh grass although these were either female or youngsters .......
the rutting hasn't really begun in earnest yet - only heard one very distant bellow so the next few weeks will get more interesting
It is rare they lift their head up as they are constantly grazing ! waited ten minutes and gave up lol (taken with 400mm and 1.4 x)
On the mere's there were lots of tufted ducks, common pochard, cormorants, canada geese, GH.Gulls and a few mute Swans; most were too distant for photos and the sky was very grey overhead.
I saw what I assumed was a single Little Grebe; I was wondering why I didn't see, even on juvenile or post breeding season, any sign of pale gape on base of bill. Just need this confirming as I thought all L.Grebes had at least a hint of pale at the base of their bill ?
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It's a large parkland with 400 deer (red and fallow) btw, that's Mike in the distance walking back towards the car !
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Regards, Hazel
Ok, here we go with more photos of the Black-necked Grebe and then I'll add the big Reds; we didn't get to the park until 3.30pm and it was a very grey sky, however, I had changed to the 300mm and 1.4 x so it helped with the light.
back shortly with the red stags
Lovely set of shots, Hazel. Nice to see the B-n G, the only time I see 'unusual' grebes is offshore in the Forth, and they're usually very distant.
A fantastic book (if you don't already have it) for comparing and identifying similar and confusion species is the Helm Guide To Bird Identification (Here).
Regarding the Grebes, it says a useful way to think about it is to perhaps think of Slavonian Grebe as having the feel of a miniature black-and-white Great Crested Grebe, and Black-necked Grebe as having the feel of a large black-and-white Little Grebe.
Lots of great illustrations and info showing the differences in lots of confusion species. Highly recommended. :-)
My bird photos HERE
Tony
https://www.flickr.com/photos/wherryman/
Now for the red stags which were showing well today........ these big beasts were pretty close although I still used the zoom and extender, always a safe distance away even though it doesn't look it on the photos. I still have to back up on occasion as they won't fit in frame and I'm usually the other far side of the driveway !
Don't worry I was nowhere near it - heavy crop !
two younger stags having a practice battle of the antlers
This stag was magnificent, look at that mane !
and another stag in the same group
it's seen the camera again LOL .............
licking the air ...............
Too many photos so will leave it there, thanks for viewing
Our herring gulls are red listed birds. Think about that the next time you hear some flaming idiot calling for a cull of them.
Lot to learn
gaynorsl said:I would have been a little wary with him tasting the air like that Hazy, hope Mike was around to save your blushes!!!
lol Gaynor, I try have Mike keeping lookout as these huge beasts are so used to humans that they tend to come closer than normal and can often be camouflaged in the long grass when all you see are antlers which look like dried twigs ! I always back up to safe distance if they are moving forward whilst they graze but these animals usually don't bat an eyelid; having said that I'm always on extra alert at this time of year as they can become unpredictable. I tend to stay further away if the stag has a harem ..................these were solitary stags in their own boy group but that will change very soon; the signs were there with them starting to taste the air, bellow softly and signs of wallowing in the mud/urine to entice the ladies !!