> On the way, I saw some interesting things. There are a lot of wild peacocks in the area, for some reason, and I saw large numbers of them. There was quite a large flock in a cow paddock, and at several locations I saw single peacocks in trees or fields. They are so bright against the green grass -- their tail feathers were a bit ragged and tatty compared to the captive ones you see in zoos or parks, but the colours are just as vivid, and of course they're so *huge*. You don't expect to see them in the wild, so it has a lot more impact when you do. Leen would have liked this trip. Besides the peacocks, I saw a big parrot of some sort flying across in front of the car, and large numbers of pheasants and quail hurtling out of the undergrowth to cross the road, plus lots of other birds.
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Yes, sounds like a lot of good birding fun! :)


> Well, I stopped the car in the middle of the road and got out to take a photo. That's when the creepy thing happened. There were several hundred deer in the field, and when I got out, every single one of them raised their heads in unison and LOOKED at me with this creepy intense stare. There was a brief pause. Then, every deer in that field stopped what it was doing and the whole herd started walking towards me, slowly but purposefully, not taking their eyes off me the whole way.
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> This was great for taking a photo, of course, so I waited until I had all several hundred of them pressed against the fence and staring at me, and then I took their photo and thanked them and got back in the car and got the hell out of there fast.
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Ok, yes, that is freaky. And no, not normal. They are obviously born and bred on the farm, and used to people for their source of food (if they get anything other than the grass). Any deer here would turn and run really REALLY fast in the opposite direction if you get too close to it, standing still and as invisible as possible until the last possible second. One day when I went to find a cache, I stumbled across the hiding spot of a fawn, and he/she bounced right onto my path, no more than 5 feet away from me. It was so cool! Then it's mom and dad(?) came bounding through the woods after it. :) I still get excited when I see deer.

-Darleen