White does - 2nd Dec 07

Managed to get out late this afternoon when we had a break in the weather. I also grabbed my parents dog on the way up.
I started from Blackwater car park in the New Forest & walked east through Poundhill Inclosure towards Queens Meadow. It was windy even here so as I walked through the Inclosure I only saw a Marsh Tit, Coal Tits, two Great Spotted Woodpeckers & a flock of Crossbills flew over head.
Out the other end of the Inclosure & over the heath to Queens Meadow about 20 Fallow does were led down in the front corner of the meadow.
The plan was to walk through Brinken Wood, along the Highland Water from here, but the stream had burst its banks & was impassable, so I walked back into poundhill Inclosure & took the first grass track that heads north & came out at the southern end of Warwickslade, a strip of heath that runs up to the A35.
All was quiet & the sun had gone behind some dark clouds. I walked east again, with the wind through the Birch & Oak into Brinken Wood & then up the stream to a footbridge.
The mushrooms along the way had become unrecognisably mushy except for a few Sulphur Tuft, a few Razor Strops & Stereum hirsutum.
It was getting dark now. Instead of going over the footbridge I headed west through the trees until I hit Warwickslade Heath & then walked south, just inside the tree line. As I ambled along I could see some dark shapes on the heath & a couple of pale ones against the tree line the other side. Another two herds of Fallow. The pale shapes were two white Fallow does in amongst a young buck, pricket, fawn & a few more does.
I managed to get a couple of pics of that herd but it was 4pm so the light wasn't great & I couldn't get too close with the dog.
The left white doe is obvious as she contrasts with the scrub behind her. The second white doe is on the far right.



A closer shot of the left-hand doe with the pricket, fawn (behind her) doe & young buck.



I left them to it, walked further down & then cut across the heath & went into Vinney Ridge Inclosure. It was starting to spit big drops of rain now & I just managed to make it back to the car before the heavens opened.