The scenery was still there doing its stuff, and as I strolled down the track to "the bench at the top of the reservoir", a couple of kestrels floated along on the thermals whilst the curlews kept up a liquid cry worrying about the presence of the two birds of prey.
At the bench, I sat down and watched a solitary Great Crested Grebe do a bit of fishing, and a Heron flap nonchalantly down to the waters edge.
And then a real surprise and magic moment. A couple of red deer that had probably been keeping cool in some thick wooded undergrowth broke cover and ambled across some open land before disappearing into the trees.
I thought about following them but realised by the time I had walked around the headland (about a mile) they would have been long gone. Actually what really clinched it was the emergence of about twenty school kids singing and making alot of noise accompanied by a "responsible" adult armed with a loud and crackling walkie talkie. I explained about the deer, and he excitedly shouted out to the children at the front that there were deer about and that they should keep very quiet. The decibels went up a few notches as they all began to shout and demand to be allowed to use the walkie talkie to tell their mates (yes there were more of them) a few hundred yards behind. I beat a hasty retreat up the hill, as I suspect did the deer.
Still it had made my day, and I forgot to mention the Ravens.
6 comments:
Ah, lovely things, deer. And what a frightening and irresponsible that Bambi was. I've just got back from Maramures (northern region of Romania) and it was full of birds, not to mention wild flowers; and especially exciting for us were hoopoes, which we heard talking to each other every morning and evening but could never actually see one no matter how near they sounded!
Gadjo - I would be happy to hear a Hoopoe let alone see one. I understand they are ocasional visitors to Southern England.
Teachers, eh! Tut, tut, tut. ;)
Yes, I think they do visit S England occasionally. I think you have to get up early - like 6 o'clock in the bastard morning - in order to get a sight of them. I saw some once in Macedonia, and they are lovely birds.
had been fishing at Errwood Reservoir the other evening and was driving home at about 8pm (just dark). Before I reached the car park at Pym Chair, a large Red Deer stag crossed the road; my car headlights illuminating his eyes. That was a first for me in the Goyt Valley. Nice to know that beasts such as he live 45 minutes outside Manchester. That's Hares, Badgers, Grouse and Deer I have seen on my way home during the past two months.
Andrew - They are fantastic animals. Saw a stag in Wildmoorstone last December. Speaking to one of the rangers a couple of months ago there is quite a large herd in the Goyt. It would be good to hear them roaring during the rutting season!
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