Deer, Forest of Dean


Deer, Forest of Dean, originally uploaded by Ben909.

Finally, he spotted me. All the series of deer photographs seem to end with a shot similar to this, as the deer freeze and stare for a few seconds before running away.

Deer, Forest of Dean


Deer, Forest of Dean, originally uploaded by Ben909.

My stalking skills seem to be improving :)

Deer, Forest of Dean


Deer, Forest of Dean, originally uploaded by Ben909.

My photostream continues to be flooded with my deer pictures, and less so by the wild boar. The deer and boar are the subject matter I enjoy photographing the most though, so no doubt they'll continue.

Deer, Forest of Dean


Deer, Forest of Dean, originally uploaded by Ben909.

Boar in the wood


Boar in the wood, originally uploaded by Ben909.

This sign is at Cannop Ponds, Forest of Dean. Perhaps a bit alarmist, but generally good advice I guess. I'm yet to see wild boar near the ponds themselves, but have seen them fairly nearby. My recent sightings have been in other parts of the forest though.

Mother-to-be


Mother-to-be, originally uploaded by Ben909.

This photo was taken at Cannop Ponds. The swan was sat on a large well-made nest, with her eggs safe beneath her.

Westbury Court Garden


Westbury Court Garden, originally uploaded by Ben909.

Wikipedia

Westbury Court Garden


Westbury Court Garden, originally uploaded by Ben909.

Wikipedia

Westbury Court Garden


Westbury Court Garden, originally uploaded by Ben909.

Taken on the hottest day of the year so far. This was the first time we've been inside the gardens. Despite being so formal, it's still a relaxing garden. Wikipedia

Evergreen Oak


Evergreen Oak, originally uploaded by Ben909.

Apparently the oldest Evergreen Oak in England, planted in the 1600's. Taken at Westbury Court Garden - Wikipedia

Evergreen Oak


Evergreen Oak, originally uploaded by Ben909.

Apparently the oldest Evergreen Oak in England, planted in the 1600's. Taken at Westbury Court Garden - Wikipedia

Evergreen Oak


Evergreen Oak, originally uploaded by Ben909.

Apparently the oldest Evergreen Oak in England, planted in the 1600's. Taken at Westbury Court Garden - Wikipedia

Flower close-up


Flower close-up, originally uploaded by Ben909.

No idea what kind of flower it is :) Taken at Westbury Court Garden - Wikipedia

Bark


Bark, originally uploaded by Ben909.

Just some bark...

Flower cluster


Flower cluster, originally uploaded by Ben909.

Taken at Westbury Court Garden - Wikipedia

Deer, Forest of Dean


Deer, Forest of Dean, originally uploaded by Ben909.

Yet another deer shot.

Deer, Forest of Dean


Deer, Forest of Dean, originally uploaded by Ben909.

I managed to sneak up pretty close to this one, considering it had already clocked me a few minutes earlier.

Deer, Forest of Dean


Deer, Forest of Dean, originally uploaded by Ben909.

Busily munching, unaware that I'm slowly creeping closer :)

Tortoiseshell butterfly


Tortoiseshell butterfly, originally uploaded by Ben909.

He was a second away from an unfortunate death as I very nearly trod on it, but noticed just in time. Despite that, he happily posed for a photograph.

Deer, Forest of Dean


Deer, Forest of Dean, originally uploaded by Ben909.

I managed to get quite a lot of shots of the deer today before they spotted me. Once spotted you don't get much longer until one decides to run, and when one goes, they all go.

Deer, Forest of Dean


Deer, Forest of Dean, originally uploaded by Ben909.

The deer are often pretty hard to distinguish from each other. This dark/black one though stands out every time I've seen him. I saw roughly 15 or so deer, but the most I managed to get in one shot was about 10. Unfortunately it was from behind as they all gathered to collectively run as a herd.

Deer Deer

Sawn log


Sawn log, originally uploaded by Ben909.

Um, it's a log.

New photos on Flickr

Pictures of the Severn Bridge and Tintern Abbey have been added to Flickr. They're outside the Forest really, so I won't be adding them to this site, but if you're interested they can be seen here. I will be going out later to hopefully capture some deer or wild boar.

White deer sighted again

Sweltering hot day today :) Have been out and about in the forest, and spotted the (only?) white deer again. He was in much the same place as the last sighting, and in broad daylight, but I didn't manage a photo unfortunately. Nice to see he's still alive and well though. Maybe next time...

Deer in the Forest of Dean


Deer in the Forest of Dean, originally uploaded by Ben909.

I was lucky enough to get a number of shots of these, but none of them were that great - so I cheated and stuck them all in one picture :)

Bluebells at sunset


Bluebells at sunset, originally uploaded by Ben909.

Taken in the Forest of Dean on the high ground above Parkend. It's a bit of a random shot, as I just put the camera near the ground and clicked. It was too wet to get down there and look through the viewfinder!

Parkend, Forest of Dean


Parkend, Forest of Dean, originally uploaded by Ben909.

http://www.fweb.org.uk/dean/towns/parkend.htm

Parkend sunset


Parkend sunset, originally uploaded by Ben909.

Early sunset


Early sunset, originally uploaded by Ben909.

Taken somewhere between Parkend and Speech House. Nice clouds this evening.

Early sunset


Early sunset, originally uploaded by Ben909.

I wanted much wider shots of the sky this evening, but was only carrying the telephoto lens. Only after leaving did I remember I had another camera with me as well :) Duh.

Plump Hill Pond, Forest of Dean


Plump Hill Pond, Forest of Dean, originally uploaded by Ben909.

Although relatively shallow, between 2 - 4 feet deep, it contains a large head of Carp, Skimmers, Roach, Rudd and Perch as well as Eel. This picture was taken from the side that is a designated nature reserve. The other side is used by anglers.

Soudley Ponds


Soudley Ponds, originally uploaded by Ben909.

Between the wind, the rain and the hail, it was actually ok at times.

Soudley Ponds


Soudley Ponds, originally uploaded by Ben909.

Forestry Commission link

Dandelion


Dandelion, originally uploaded by Ben909.

Could have been anywhere, but this was taken at Soudley Ponds between the wind, rain and hail.

Sus Scrofa


Sus Scrofa, Forest of Dean, originally uploaded by Ben909.

This wild boar emerged from the undergrowth pretty much where I'd hoped it would. It's bigger than most of those I've watched lately, but I think I've met this one before. Only 20 minutes prior to this sighting, there was a herd of 5-6 deer, but they didn't hang about to pose for any photographs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_boar

Wild boar Wild boar

Pine logs


Pine logs, originally uploaded by Ben909.

Taken in Cannop. The logs have been there for a while, but the smell of pine is still strong :)

Pine logs


Pine logs, originally uploaded by Ben909.

Taken in Cannop. The logs have been there for a while, but the smell of pine is still strong :)

Forest Bluebells


Forest Bluebells, originally uploaded by Ben909.

Bluebells near Cannop in the Forest of Dean

Sunset in the Forest


Sunset in the Forest, originally uploaded by Ben909.

I didn't capture it particularly well, but the sky looked good tonight.

Culvert, Cannop


Culvert, Cannop, originally uploaded by Ben909.

Taken during a walk around the Cannop area today in the Forest of Dean

Wild Boar scratching tree


Wild Boar scratching tree, originally uploaded by Ben909.

This tree is right next to a wallow used by the Wild Boar in the Forest of Dean. The boar wallow to keep cool and remove parasites, then rub themselves against the tree.

Wild boar in the dark


Wild boar in the dark, originally uploaded by Ben909.

Once again it's no masterpiece, but I'm afraid all boar pictures get uploaded! (they've been extinct in the UK since medieval times until they were 're-introduced' in the 1990's, so it's always a privilege to see one - who knows how long they'll be allowed to continue to exist here).

Deer in Forest of Dean


Deer in Forest of Dean, originally uploaded by Ben909.

I managed to watch these for a minute or so before they spotted me. I was looking for wild boar at the time. There was at least one very close, but I guess it must have got my scent as it didn't want to show itself.

Deer in Forest of Dean


Deer in Forest of Dean, originally uploaded by Ben909.

Wild boar again :)


Wild boar, Forest of Dean, originally uploaded by Ben909.

Still not great pictures, but they're my best yet. This one showed up a little earlier than I expected, and the light wasn't as bad as usual. I managed to hide for quite a while to give it time to get closer. It's difficult to know where to draw the line before being forced to make your presence known. I've alarmed wild boar at close range before, and try to avoid it now! This one was close enough for me. This one posed for these photos before 'barking' at me then headed in to the trees. It's really not the ideal place to see them... It's very much off the beaten track, and something of a dead end. It can be a bit nerve-wracking when the boar are between you and the way out :)

Bluebells Bluebells

Lydney Harbour


Lydney Harbour, originally uploaded by Ben909.

The last of the pictures from the harbour today.