This morning I went for a walk round the National Trust's Ashridge estate, which lies on the northern edge of the Chiltern Hills on the Herts/Bucks county boundary (although my walk would remain entirely in Hertfordshire). I walk round that area quite often (together with Berkhamsted and Northchurch commons, it extends over about 16 square miles), but today I went for two particuar reasons - to see the beautiful trees in their autumn colours and to see the Fallow deer. It was a bit early to see the trees at their best (many were still largely green) but I was not disappointed in my second objective - I had more sightings of Fallow Deer than on any previous 2-3 hour walk there.
From the car park by the Bridgewater monument, I went a short way back down the drive and turned right by a footpath sign. It was a lovely walk through the trees, and after about a third of a mile I reached a point where there was a large pasture on my left. Suddenly I noticed a Fallow buck wander across the path ahead of me, and a few yards further on there were a few Fallow hinds a short distance to the right of the path. Sadly the lighting conditions meant my photos were disappointing, but I managed to get a long-distance shot of some deer in the pasture (as well as cattle, there are often large numbers of Fallow deer here, as I would see on my way back).
I carried on, crossing over a road (I saw a Nuthatch just before the road) and continued through the trees - soon I could hear a large buck roaring or bellowing in the trees over to my left, but I couldn't spot it. I eventually reached the hamlet of Norcutt Hill - the up-and-down path along the edge of the woods between there and the road into Berkhamsted is somewhere that I frequently see deer, and today was no exception. At one point I came to a short but steep slope, and at the top was a large Fallow buck staring down at me! It moved off into the bushes too quickly for me to get a photo. A bit further on I saw a solitary hind, and further still a young buck (which I did manage to photo).
When I reached the road, I followed it a short way to the left. I glimpsed the tops of a mature buck and a young buck as they moved through some bracken a short distance to my left. I crossed the road and followed a path to Northchurch Farm. Beyond that, the path crossed what I believe is a polo pitch, and then followed a hedgerow down into a small valley - I noticed movement in the field to my right, my presence had disturbed a buck and about a dozen hinds there, though I was several hundred yards from them.
The path led on to Coldharbor Farm, where I followed a path back into the beautiful trees again. At a path junction I stopped, looking and listening to a mixed flock of various birds around me (Great, Blue. Coal and Long-tailed Tits included). I also heard another buck roaring, so decided to take the path heading in that general direction. I was soon walking close to the edge of another large pasture, where I have seen large herds of 80-100 deer in the past. Soon I could tell there was more than one Fallow buck roaring. I couldn't see any deer in the pasture, until I got close to the corner - there was a mature buck and a young buck. I finally managed to get some half-decent photos of a large Fallow buck.
There was a slightly unnerving moment as the large buck came towards me, but once it got under the wire fence round the large enclosure it just crossed the track ahead of me, followed by the young buck. I continued on my way, now walking down a lovely avenue of beech trees (you've probably seen photos of it, it's often on calendars and in wildlife magazines!). When I came to the road again, there was a gate opposite in the corner of other large pasture that I'd passed near the start of the walk. There were 30-40 deer there now.
I followed a bridleway through the trees to the left of the field, and at a crossroads turned left, rejoining my outward route. As I passed close to the side of the field again, I took another photo, just to show the number of deer in the field.
I was really pleased. It was a beautiful morning, and had been a very pleasant walk for two and a half hours. I knew that I'd see some Fallow deer there (I always do, it's hard not to really!), but I was very pleased that I'd seen (and heard!) so many. I'd deliberately visited the areas where I most regularly see the deer, but even so I was surprised how frequently I came across them. And I was delighted to finally get a photo of a Fallow buck with my Panasonic FZ18 camera!