Winter Wonderland

My first meaningful photography trip out this year, and what a beautiful morning. There’s nothing better at this time of year, crisp and frosty, and great light. Headed over to the fen and started trying to capture the frosty reeds and fen plants, a tough job with a 500mm lens, but at least it gives a nice soft background.

I took a different route to normal around the fen, and was so glad I did. Walking along the path, I noticed a dark shape amongst the white grasses up ahead. Stopping near some cover, I quietly set up the tripod and camera. Creeping forward I could see it was a Roe deer, a female. She ignored me and so I crept closer and composed an image. At the sound of the shutter she looked up and stared at me. I thought she’d probably disappear at this point, but I kept still and quiet. She relaxed and went back to feeding, amazing! She now ignored the click of the shutter, and grazed intently, only pausing to look up at the sound of dogs barking in the distance.

I spent around half an hour with her, I couldn’t believe how relaxed she was. It was interesting to see how she was grazing, snuffling around at the base of the tufts of grass and pulling out the least frozen parts.

Slowly she moved further away, finally retreating to cover as a couple walking their dog came down the path. Luckily they managed to see her before she disappeared.

Continuing on my walk, the other side of the fen was bathed in the warm morning sunshine and most of the frost had already melted away. Spring seemed just around the corner as a pair of Blue tits inspected a potential nest hole.

Finally I managed I get one of the Treecreepers in my viewfinder. Not the best photo in the world, but it’s a start!

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