Bradgate Park RPS Nature Trip

 Yesterday and today were challenging days weatherwise for our visit to Bradgate Park in Leicestershire. Torrential rain in the morning on Sunday gave way to sunny intervals. Unfortunately the wet conditions were too much for my weather-resistant telephoto lens and by afternoon was fogged up inside due to internal condensation. This is a set of images taken with my X100V in the afternoon - a mixture of slow shutterspeed, multiple exposure and HDR.

Treescapes in the Snow

Bradgate Park has some wonderful old and newer trees. Here some images of them after the snow during my recent visit to the area. 

Red Deer at Bradgate Park

 I am still sorting the many images that I took at Bradgate at the end of November. We spent some time looking for Red Deer and, in the end, they came to us - at one point we were surrounded by about a dozen magnificent stags.

Bradgate: Red Deer Crossing

The Red Deer often make the river crossing from the wooded area of Bradgate up onto the grazing hillsides in the evening. When I was there on Monday, I saw a large herd approaching out of the trees and start to cross the river just as my phone rang with a call I had to answer - so I missed much of the action. However, one of the stags stayed on the woodland side watching the last hinds scamper up onto the hillside before he crossed. He got as far as the Mute Swan who attacked anything that came near, took fright and reversed  a bit before bravely rushing past him to join the rest.

 

Bradgate Final Day

Just a few final images from Monday's visit to Bradgate. I was looking for different behaviour images and was intrigued by this Fallow Stag that repeatedly reached up to try and get at the foliage. The Jackdaws busy removing ticks etc from the Fallow deer were tolerated until they tried into the ears. The light was awful so Red Deer images not best quality but enjoyed watching the sparring etc.

Bradgate Park: Birds

Although most photographers go to Bradgate for the deer, especially in the autumn, there are plenty of birds to snap. Starting with the shyer species - Grey Heron, Buzzard, Jackdaw and Pied Wagtail. Jackdaws are born with blue-grey eyes. Their irises change to brown in the first winter and white once they gain their adult plumage. The Black Headed Gulls and Mallard ducks gave plenty of opportunities for 'action' shots as well as portraits.