On a cool, but dry and clear dawn in West London, on Saturday 11 October, 13 LNPN members from
across London and the South East gathered at Bushy Park to photograph a wide range of wildlife, but
mostly the rutting dear. They were immediately surrounded by the hubbub of bellowing stags, the
clashing of antlers and, as the dawn light strengthened, after mantling their kit, the members split
into smaller groups and set off across the park. What first became apparent was the number of
photographers that had arrived to capture the rutting. Then, following the sound of bellowing,
several stags were quickly found, defending their territory, clashing with rivals and rounding up
hinds and juveniles. There were also grey herons and egrets, several species of gull, Cormorants and,
as the sun rose, even an occasional dragonfly!
Sadly, the mist of the Network’s previous year’s fieldtrip to Bushy Park was missing, But, as the
images below suggest, this was a very successful field trip. It even attracted three new members to
LNPN.