Margam Park Deer

This afternoon, I made a trip to Margam Park, a large country park near Port Talbot. The most prominent building in the park is Margam Castle:



I was hoping to spot a few rutting deer, and hopefully capture some of the action. However, four hours of wandering the fields revealed no sign of rutting at all. Either I was in the wrong place, or I was too late. Oh well! Anyway, I managed a few pics. The most unusual of the three species of deer in the park is the Chinese native, Pere David's Deer. Here are a couple of shots of stags:

And one of a female:

In their native land, they are said to prefer marshland, and they certainly seem to favour the damper areas of the park. Here are a couple wallowing in the mud:

And a youngster of the same species:

There were large numbers of Fallow Deer roaming the grassland:

The third species present is the native Red Deer. Here is a young stag:

And two young chaps looking curiously in my direction:

And a group of nervous-looking hinds, some watching me, and others watching a man with a dog to my left:

Finally, one of the larger stags I saw today - peeing in the rain:

So, not the action shots I was hoping for, but - there's always next year!