A couple of years ago, I was lucky enough to capture some lovely Bushnell clips at a wonderful site in Cannock Chase. Silver Trees Holiday Park is 20 acres of private beautiful woodland and my close friend Rob, has a caravan there. He keeps an eye on the wildlife and lets me know when anything exciting is happening! The site is known for its fallow deer that feed happily between the caravans, giving the visitors a wonderful opportunity to see these stunning mammals.
I wanted to try to capture some special moments this year in a few spots that Rob and I had set up for my trail cams. The fallow give birth deep inside the protective cover of the bracken that coats parts of the more private sections of the site. The bracken is an excellent cover and offers a safe place for the female to leave their young. The females will leave the young fawns hidden during the day, returning to suckle them. This continues until the females feel their fawns are old enough to be taken out into the more open woodland areas. These shots and clips were taken in a more open, but very quiet, and private part of the site.
Being of a very timid nature, it is difficult to be able to see the fawns when they are small, hence the use of the trail cams. Rob and I have identified some of the tracks the doe use a they travel through the bracken and we have a special small clearing that we have discovered is a good place for these females and their newly born fawns. Small openings in the bracken can provide a small, secure space for interaction.
Since the end of June, I have been having a series of cameras around a number of spots and , after collecting the cards and working my way through the footage, I have collected some of the best bits! I have been using a section of trail cams; the Bushnell NatureView Live view and also 2 new 2017 Aggressor models. They have worked a treat and I have captured some very special moments that give us a window into this more secretive time of the fallow deers’ lives.
Sometimes, it was just a glimpse of the females as they moved along some of the quiet paths, passing through the clearing…
They were certainly aware of the camera, but were inquisitive rather than nervous of it and they soon became very used to its presence. I started to get clips of the females moving through with fawns..
There are a number of melanistic forms in the area, meaning that I also captured footage of these dark doe and fawns..
The footage got better and better….. this spot did not disappoint! Here are a selection of stills lifted from the video footage.
One female has 2 fawns and this little family visited regularly and these have to be some of my favourite captures….
Another female felt comfortable enough to suckle her fawn right in front of the camera!
I have got hundreds of lovely clips and it is difficult to choose a selection, but I hope these will show how Bushnells can be a truly wonderful way to capture those, often hidden, special moments of the lives of some of our special British Wildlife.
My Bushnells are still in position but, with the fawns getting older, they are now venturing out into the park and delighting Sliver Trees’ guests! I need to get down there with my DSLR!
A big thank you to Trevor, who owns Silver Trees, and Rob who has collected SD cards from the cameras and kept the batteries charged when I could not make it to the site. We have been rewarded with some of my favourite Bushnell clips to date!