Wednesday, May 30, 2007

fawn at Carlos Avery

I know this is supposed to be a bird blog. I also know that an overload of cute is not every one's cup of tea. Remember the goslings (scroll down to May 10)?
Also, there is danger that too much cuteness can make your camera sticky. But, in spite of all this, I could not resist this fawn. It was so tiny -- I wanted to pick it up and bring it home.

I almost ran into it (literally) as I was leaving Carlos Avery early this afternoon. As I was driving slowly with the car windows open I heard this strange loud cry - like a large bird in distress, but I couldn't identify it. Since it seemed so close, I backed up the car to the point where I thought it came from. Then I heard it again, but somewhat softer. It seemed so very close, yet I couldn't see anything unusual. I opened the car door, got out, and to my surprise spotted this little creature in the weeds only a foot or two off the road.
I looked around for the mother, but didn't see her; a minute or so later I heard a loud snorting and crashing in the brush on the other side of the road. I would have gotten back in the car, but the mom was running away from us. My next dilemma was how to take a picture of the fawn - the only lenses I had for my Canon were the 300mm and 400mm. But then I remembered my trusty old Nikon Coolpix 995 which I usually keep on the floor in front of the seat. The battery had a charge and so I was able to get these pictures.
The fawn wasn't scared at all, just anxious to have his mom back, I'm sure.

(a few bird pictures will follow)