Photo Blog Week 27 - Wed 25 June 2014
Life is moving on apace at Lyme Park, trees beginning to be loaded with seeds and the Red Deer babies are arriving! Ranger Craig tells me there are now about 20 calves down in the Red Deer sanctuary in the Park. At the moment you are unlikely to see any as they will be hidden away in the dip but, up on Park Moor, I did see at least one calf with it's mother albeit with binoculars and telephoto lens.
Fewer shots than usual this week as my camera battery went flat! ("Thank Goodness", do I hear you say?) Embarrassing and annoying as late in the day I was among Skylarks and then closer than I have ever been to a group of mature Stags and would have got some wonderful photo's.
Later pictures are on my old phone with its tiny lens.
In the afternoon I picked up again on my developing Park Circular walk completing the final section from Bowstones Entrance back to East Lodge Drive.
route: Car Park; North face of Hall; Green Drive; up to The Cage; [lift with Ranger Craig to The Stables]; Timber Yard (for lunch)
Green Drive living up to it's name
Seeds on a Sycamore tree
Looking back along Green Drive toward Hall
Manchester from Green Drive
The Cage - Roof and Interior
The morning brought an unexpected opportunity to go onto the roof of The Cage which felt something of a privilege though it could have been a clearer day for it.
Display of Red and Fallow Deer antlers.
A deer's antlers are a good indicator of health and genetic consistency. When culling has to be carried out to maintain the herd at a size that the habitat can support, the antlers are one of the indicators used to decide which animals are to be shot. The small set at front right show a clearly unhealthy animal with one antler under-developed and severely deformed. Less obvious on the photo, the large set behind it has a spur pointing down in front of the animal's face.
Roof view across Cheshire toward Wales
Roof view over Lyme Hall and Park Moor
Roof view - red deer by Coalpit Wood
One of the four towers and balustrades.
The bar going across is one of four supports for the central flag pole.
Now that's a Key!
Staircase 1st floor to roof
First Floor
Ground Floor from the staircase
Ground Floor and door to staircase
route: Timber Yard; Main Car Park; Drinkwater Meadow; Knightslow Wood; Park Moor; to Bowstonegate Farm entrance
Grass on Drinkwater Meadow is thick and long after the wet and warm weather
These apex frames make a great base for young den builders
The sun above a Beech Wood lights up the canopy with a vivid green over the barren floor and imposing trunks which are staved of sunlight by the leaf cover.
This clearing in the wood shows how when sunlight can reach the floor seedlings flourish
Heading up the track to Bowstonegate Farm
Passing the winter deer feeding station which looks cleaner at this time of year
Red Deer Moor Herd - next Generation
Too far away to clearly see with the naked eye and even difficult with zoom on camera but watching carefully I saw at least one Mother and Calf.
First sight of the Moor Red Deer Herd
Mother and Calf close by (1 of 3)
Mother and Calf close by (2 of 3)
Mother and Calf close by (3 of 3)
Young Deer are known by a variety of names but generally, offspring of larger varieties are 'Calves' and smaller varieties 'Fawns'. The Fallow Deer would definitely be a Fawn but for the Red Deer I have opted for 'Calf'.
Bush (Purple) Vetch (Vicia sepium)
Ridge to Sponds Hill
Centre through grasses, I think I got a Skylark.
At this point my camera battery failed. Appropriately, the next few minutes were full of Skylarks and Butterflies but I retain no proof of that :(
Remaining photo's taken on phone.
route: North along Boundary Wall; High View Point; Lantern Wood; Caters Slack; East Lodge Drive; Stables; Hall North Face; Main Car Park
360 degree from High View Point
Delightful woodland path through edge of Lantern Wood
Difficult to believe that I was on the roof of that this morning.
Stags - Park herd
With my camera unusable, I encountered this group of Red Stags closer than I have ever been. It was a fantastic photo opportunity which I've done my best with an old low spec' HTC phone camera.
Taken as video in error. May delete
These mature stags are growing spectacular antlers
End of day as I return to the Estate Office in the Hall to sign off and return kit
Deer Protection
You will see trees around the Park with pailing fence tight around them. These are not as some people think fences left from when the tree was a sapling but protection from the Red Deer.
The Stags currently have a coat of velvet on their developing antlers. When fully developed and hardening the process of losing the velvet is irritating to the deer and they will scrape their antlers on trees scarring the bark, sometimes to the point where the tree will die if the damage is to enough of the circumference. These skirts of fencing protect vulnerable trees.
