On Friday morning I made an early morning trip to Minsmere hoping to see the Bearded tits but very soon after arriving at Island mere hide I quickly spotted a magnificent Red Deer stag on Whin hill behind me so grabbing the camera I carefully exited the hide and crept along the path leading back to the hill. It is unusual to see a mature deer stag here as they tend to stay towards the north of the reserve property especially now the rutting season has just about started and because of this they are very difficult to approach and photograph. They can see and/or smell you from a long way off and any movement will give away your presence and cause them to move but luckily for me the wind was blowing straight at me so using the trees, bushes and long grasses for cover I managed to get into a position to take some pictures.
The stag was well up on the hill but very quickly he spotted me and moved down towards me in a very alert fashion and it was only then that I could see a small group of females just the other side of the long grass behind which I was hiding but fortunately they too sensed me and began to move up towards the stag. Because the stags are so full of testosterone at this time of the year they can be very aggressive if you come between them and the females so care should always be taken when trying to see them. I managed to grab a few more pictures before they disappeared over the brow of the hill but it certainly made a good start to the day. Unfortunately the light was very poor because it was so early and the sun had not risen properly and so the pictures you see here have been brightened up a bit in Photoshop.
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