Hello and welcome to the 2nd post in my blog series!
As we say farewell to the autumn, I wanted to look back and reflect upon one of my favourite experiences from the season: The Deer Rut! I love all seasons, each for their own splendour, but there is something extra special about the autumn! Those beautiful crisp leaves crunching underfoot, the early morning mist rising from the ground, and of course the classic Deer Rut that occurs each Autumn too. I witnessed my first "Clashing of Antlers" in 2015, all be it very briefly when I attended a photography tuition day at Petworth Deer Park. This was also the first time I had ever used a superzoom lens too! I was now hooked on both! a few months later I got my own superzoom lens, and I also made a vow to try and capture the beauty of the rut each autumn too!
In 2016 I left my hometown of Eastbourne very early in the morning (Those who know me well know I'm not generally an early bird, much preferring my kip! !!) Arriving outside the gates of Richmond Park at 6.30am, the Car park wasn't even open yet! Dressed in a million and one warm layers, camera bag on back and my faithful Nikon around my neck, I headed into the park with my friend Gareth and my sheltie Benji.
"Bbbrrrr it's cold!!!! I could feel the chill on my bones with each footstep I took, but it was so worth the effort of getting up at stupid o'clock and freezing my little timbers off! The mist rising from the frozen ground surrounded us and was quite eerie!!!! The nearby stream looked quite daunting under a veil of fog too!
Thankfully it didn't take too long to start warming up a little once the sun had started to burst its way through the tree canopy just after 8am. Another Dawn breaking as the sound of birds around us fill the air!
Richmond Deer Park is home to both Red Deer and Fallow Deer, having had them in residence since the 17th century. There are now around 630 deer within the Royal Park and I got to see plenty of both species the day I visited! 22nd Oct 2016!
As a photographer, there are certain "captures" that you aspire to get! Being very active on many social media photography websites, I had seen many a photo of impressive stags caught in the beautiful glow of the golden hour. Naturally, this was a big pulling factor for me having left the comfort of my bed at around 4am! At around 8.45am I was fortunate enough to be in the right place and the right time! I got to admire a handsome Stag grazing under a glow of golden sunlight! Bingo!!!!! The image to date remains a favourite capture giving an impressive silhouette of a beautiful animal. The Stag then raised his head to give me a full upright profile too!
As the day wore on, i got to see some Red Deer in full daylight and i wasn't disappointed. Whilst I didn't witness any actual rutting on this occasion, I had seen so many other beautiful sights and really enjoyed my time in the park.
My quest to continue the search for rutting deer had to take a back seat during the autumn of 2017 as I was busy looking after my mother as she had just had major open heart surgery, but I have been back out there again this year!
On Oct 20th this year (2018), I was back within the grounds of Richmond Deer Park. The drive into the park itself was incredible as I got lucky with another beautifully misty but very chilly morning! Unfortunately, there were cars behind us as we drove in so we were unable to stop the car to get out and take photos. By the time we parked up, the opportunity had gone, however, I will never forget the beautiful sights before me of Deer grazing by the side of the road under a veil of thick mist! It was only something you can imagine in a movie or something!
I loved seeing all the dew and moisture on the ground as we walked across the fields. I don't think I've ever seen so many spider's webs in the one place!!!! I do love a bit of macro photography!
As the day wore on, I was beginning to regret having put quite so many layers on as it turned into a beautiful and very mild October's day! glorious sunshine too!!! It seemed to be a great day for the birds too! admittedly, I have always been a lot more excited by mammals than the feathery kind of animal, however that said, I can appreciate all of nature and my interest in birds has grown a lot in recent months! spending so much time in the company of a bird lover, it's hard not to be fascinated by their beauty and to have learned a lot from my good friend Gareth too!
"Listen!" can you hear that? "look!" over there! "It's a Greater Spotted Woodpecker!" Gareth said. "Really?" I replied! I do admire his ability and skill to spot the birds as it's not something that comes naturally to me! But, yes, he was right! I was chuffed to bits to see this beautiful bird in front of me! I took a few photos but even with my Sigma 150 - 500mm lens, it was that bit too far for me to get any decent pics as such! But it was exciting all the same and another tick on my list!
As we continued walking, we saw a few folk standing looking up into another tree. So, yes, we then went to join the folk. Before long I was craning my neck to see a rather relaxed Kestrel perched upon a branch basking under a sunny sky. "Wow! This bird really is chillaxed!" we must have stood there admiring it for a good half hour or more. One of the wonderful things about having a love and appreciation for nature is that you get to meet like-minded folk. As we stood gathered around this tree, we got chatting to other folks! Folk who I have now become somewhat better acquainted with!
"Hey, you look familiar to me.... were you at Whipsnade Zoo a few weeks back standing around the Tiger cubs with your mum on a scooter?" this chap asked me. Turns out his name is Steve and I'd been spotted! "Yes, that was me I replied back!"...... what a small world!
I was soooo impressed with myself when I spotted some Green Parakeets. I had known about these birds being very popular in London parks and had seen them on other visits to the park too. They are known locally as "Kingston" or "Twickenham Parakeets" as they are very abundant there. They don't go down too well with the locals either as they are rather noisy as I found out for myself!!!! They are actually "Rose-ringed Parakeets" native to Africa and the Indian subcontinent. Whilst their origin here isn't clear, it's thought that they have been bred from birds that have escaped from captivity.
I'd been in the park a good few hours now and other than on arrival, I'd only seen one deer! Whilst I was enjoying seeing all the birds, I had come primarily for the deer! As we got chatting to many local folk and other photographers, I was beginning to despair as it seemed that few folks had seen many deer! It's such a big park covering 2,500 acres that it's possible to spend time there without seeing them. Still, it was nice to see dogs having fun in the water, ducks, and geese on the pond and horse riders enjoying the sunshine too!
I learned something too! Apparently, there is a muddy wallow that the deer like to spend time in! I went to take a look but didn't spend too much time in wait.
By about 2.30pm having spent a good 6 hours or so in the park, we decided to start making our way back towards the carpark. Tiredness was starting to catch up with me! It had been another early start! As we walked across the fields, it became apparent that there were fallow deer in the distance! must have been a good 50 or more of them!!!!"Yay!!!"... I've finally got to see my deer, I thought to myself!".... but that was only the starters!!!!
As we got nearer, not only were there deer, but I could hear bellowing too! "omg, mega excitement!.... now Fi, I know you're excited but remember these are wild animals in full rut and you have to be sensible too!" i said to myself!!!! And this is why i soooo love my long lens!!!! I lay down flat on the floor as low to the ground as possible for a while. I watched happily for a good hour or more thankful that Benji was being cared for by my friend so not in any potential danger.
So what's it all about then? ok, so you're all heard of a deer rut but why do they do it? is it the same in all species of deer? .....
The first known use of the word Rut dates back to the 15th century and comes from the middle English word Rutte and the Latin word Rugire, to roar.
"An annually recurrent state of sexual excitement in the male deer; broadly: sexual excitement in a mammal especially when periodic".
So let's look at it like this! you're a male deer and you want to be the daddy! you want to be "THE" one to pass your genes on to the next generation. So to do this you need to make sure you get noticed and can win mating rights. Of the 6 different species of deer, both the Fallow and Red Deer have similar rutting times, from late Septemeber through to Novemeber. From what i understand by listening to a keeper talk at the British wildlife Centre recently, it appears that male Fallow Deer (Bucks) won't necessarily always fight in a bid to establish dominance. If they can establish hierarchy by other means, i.e. by bellowing or sheer size than they will do so. The clashing of antlers only occurs when a battle needs to be settled. Apparently, bellowing can last a few days and during this time the males don't eat as this can be seen as a sign of weakness. When Fallow Deer rut, They congregate in an area known as a "Lek". This is the territory they are defending. The female Doe will then choose a mate best able to defend that Lek.
Red Deer stags will begin to start rutting at around 2 years of age when they reach sexual maturity but as size matters (in this instance!) they are unlikely to win until they are around 5 years of age. Again, they will only fight if they can't establish dominance by other means. Whereas a female Fallow Deer will have a fawn every year, female Red Deer (Hind) may only have a calf every 2 to 3 years.
By about 3.30pm, tired and hungry, we headed back to the car to offload our gear. We had parked by the Roehampton Gate exit so grabbed a very healthy bite to eat in the cafe before departing for the day. Wow, what a day it had been!
My deer adventures don't end there though as I really have been determined to max out this year's rutting season! I have ended this season's deer photography session with a trip back to the place it all began for me! Petworth Park! Oct 27th, 2018.
It was another early start but this time there was no mist. It was bitter cold though and very frosty! We only remained in the park for about 3 hours but it was a beautiful way to spend a crisp morning! I really loved seeing the deer bathed in golden light first thing in the morning!
I didn't see any Red Deer on this visit, only Fallow Deer. I did, however, get to see lots more rutting and heard a whole lot more bellowing! One male, in particular, was being extremely vocal!!!
During my short visit to the park, I saw at least 4 different ruts taking place! 2 of these were taking place within the same vicinity! I was rather transfixed watching them! It was like watching sparring partners in a martial arts tournament: They would eye each other up and then bow at their opponent before charging in heads down! and the sheer stamina and strength each must have is awe-inspiring!
Another thing that male deer to try to attract a female is to decorate their antlers. I hadn't realized this until recently. This explains why I have seen many photos of Deer with adornments on their antlers. Their is actually logic behind this and not just them getting their heads stuck in a bush or something!
So, if you've enjoyed reading this blog and would like to follow my next adventures, I hope to get pics of those decorated antlers next time!
Thanks for reading!
As we say farewell to the autumn, I wanted to look back and reflect upon one of my favourite experiences from the season: The Deer Rut! I love all seasons, each for their own splendour, but there is something extra special about the autumn! Those beautiful crisp leaves crunching underfoot, the early morning mist rising from the ground, and of course the classic Deer Rut that occurs each Autumn too. I witnessed my first "Clashing of Antlers" in 2015, all be it very briefly when I attended a photography tuition day at Petworth Deer Park. This was also the first time I had ever used a superzoom lens too! I was now hooked on both! a few months later I got my own superzoom lens, and I also made a vow to try and capture the beauty of the rut each autumn too!
In 2016 I left my hometown of Eastbourne very early in the morning (Those who know me well know I'm not generally an early bird, much preferring my kip! !!) Arriving outside the gates of Richmond Park at 6.30am, the Car park wasn't even open yet! Dressed in a million and one warm layers, camera bag on back and my faithful Nikon around my neck, I headed into the park with my friend Gareth and my sheltie Benji.
"Bbbrrrr it's cold!!!! I could feel the chill on my bones with each footstep I took, but it was so worth the effort of getting up at stupid o'clock and freezing my little timbers off! The mist rising from the frozen ground surrounded us and was quite eerie!!!! The nearby stream looked quite daunting under a veil of fog too!Thankfully it didn't take too long to start warming up a little once the sun had started to burst its way through the tree canopy just after 8am. Another Dawn breaking as the sound of birds around us fill the air!
As a photographer, there are certain "captures" that you aspire to get! Being very active on many social media photography websites, I had seen many a photo of impressive stags caught in the beautiful glow of the golden hour. Naturally, this was a big pulling factor for me having left the comfort of my bed at around 4am! At around 8.45am I was fortunate enough to be in the right place and the right time! I got to admire a handsome Stag grazing under a glow of golden sunlight! Bingo!!!!! The image to date remains a favourite capture giving an impressive silhouette of a beautiful animal. The Stag then raised his head to give me a full upright profile too!
As the day wore on, i got to see some Red Deer in full daylight and i wasn't disappointed. Whilst I didn't witness any actual rutting on this occasion, I had seen so many other beautiful sights and really enjoyed my time in the park.My quest to continue the search for rutting deer had to take a back seat during the autumn of 2017 as I was busy looking after my mother as she had just had major open heart surgery, but I have been back out there again this year!
On Oct 20th this year (2018), I was back within the grounds of Richmond Deer Park. The drive into the park itself was incredible as I got lucky with another beautifully misty but very chilly morning! Unfortunately, there were cars behind us as we drove in so we were unable to stop the car to get out and take photos. By the time we parked up, the opportunity had gone, however, I will never forget the beautiful sights before me of Deer grazing by the side of the road under a veil of thick mist! It was only something you can imagine in a movie or something!
I loved seeing all the dew and moisture on the ground as we walked across the fields. I don't think I've ever seen so many spider's webs in the one place!!!! I do love a bit of macro photography!
As the day wore on, I was beginning to regret having put quite so many layers on as it turned into a beautiful and very mild October's day! glorious sunshine too!!! It seemed to be a great day for the birds too! admittedly, I have always been a lot more excited by mammals than the feathery kind of animal, however that said, I can appreciate all of nature and my interest in birds has grown a lot in recent months! spending so much time in the company of a bird lover, it's hard not to be fascinated by their beauty and to have learned a lot from my good friend Gareth too!
"Listen!" can you hear that? "look!" over there! "It's a Greater Spotted Woodpecker!" Gareth said. "Really?" I replied! I do admire his ability and skill to spot the birds as it's not something that comes naturally to me! But, yes, he was right! I was chuffed to bits to see this beautiful bird in front of me! I took a few photos but even with my Sigma 150 - 500mm lens, it was that bit too far for me to get any decent pics as such! But it was exciting all the same and another tick on my list!
As we continued walking, we saw a few folk standing looking up into another tree. So, yes, we then went to join the folk. Before long I was craning my neck to see a rather relaxed Kestrel perched upon a branch basking under a sunny sky. "Wow! This bird really is chillaxed!" we must have stood there admiring it for a good half hour or more. One of the wonderful things about having a love and appreciation for nature is that you get to meet like-minded folk. As we stood gathered around this tree, we got chatting to other folks! Folk who I have now become somewhat better acquainted with!
"Hey, you look familiar to me.... were you at Whipsnade Zoo a few weeks back standing around the Tiger cubs with your mum on a scooter?" this chap asked me. Turns out his name is Steve and I'd been spotted! "Yes, that was me I replied back!"...... what a small world!I was soooo impressed with myself when I spotted some Green Parakeets. I had known about these birds being very popular in London parks and had seen them on other visits to the park too. They are known locally as "Kingston" or "Twickenham Parakeets" as they are very abundant there. They don't go down too well with the locals either as they are rather noisy as I found out for myself!!!! They are actually "Rose-ringed Parakeets" native to Africa and the Indian subcontinent. Whilst their origin here isn't clear, it's thought that they have been bred from birds that have escaped from captivity.
I'd been in the park a good few hours now and other than on arrival, I'd only seen one deer! Whilst I was enjoying seeing all the birds, I had come primarily for the deer! As we got chatting to many local folk and other photographers, I was beginning to despair as it seemed that few folks had seen many deer! It's such a big park covering 2,500 acres that it's possible to spend time there without seeing them. Still, it was nice to see dogs having fun in the water, ducks, and geese on the pond and horse riders enjoying the sunshine too!I learned something too! Apparently, there is a muddy wallow that the deer like to spend time in! I went to take a look but didn't spend too much time in wait.
By about 2.30pm having spent a good 6 hours or so in the park, we decided to start making our way back towards the carpark. Tiredness was starting to catch up with me! It had been another early start! As we walked across the fields, it became apparent that there were fallow deer in the distance! must have been a good 50 or more of them!!!!"Yay!!!"... I've finally got to see my deer, I thought to myself!".... but that was only the starters!!!!As we got nearer, not only were there deer, but I could hear bellowing too! "omg, mega excitement!.... now Fi, I know you're excited but remember these are wild animals in full rut and you have to be sensible too!" i said to myself!!!! And this is why i soooo love my long lens!!!! I lay down flat on the floor as low to the ground as possible for a while. I watched happily for a good hour or more thankful that Benji was being cared for by my friend so not in any potential danger.
So what's it all about then? ok, so you're all heard of a deer rut but why do they do it? is it the same in all species of deer? .....
The first known use of the word Rut dates back to the 15th century and comes from the middle English word Rutte and the Latin word Rugire, to roar.
"An annually recurrent state of sexual excitement in the male deer; broadly: sexual excitement in a mammal especially when periodic".
So let's look at it like this! you're a male deer and you want to be the daddy! you want to be "THE" one to pass your genes on to the next generation. So to do this you need to make sure you get noticed and can win mating rights. Of the 6 different species of deer, both the Fallow and Red Deer have similar rutting times, from late Septemeber through to Novemeber. From what i understand by listening to a keeper talk at the British wildlife Centre recently, it appears that male Fallow Deer (Bucks) won't necessarily always fight in a bid to establish dominance. If they can establish hierarchy by other means, i.e. by bellowing or sheer size than they will do so. The clashing of antlers only occurs when a battle needs to be settled. Apparently, bellowing can last a few days and during this time the males don't eat as this can be seen as a sign of weakness. When Fallow Deer rut, They congregate in an area known as a "Lek". This is the territory they are defending. The female Doe will then choose a mate best able to defend that Lek.Red Deer stags will begin to start rutting at around 2 years of age when they reach sexual maturity but as size matters (in this instance!) they are unlikely to win until they are around 5 years of age. Again, they will only fight if they can't establish dominance by other means. Whereas a female Fallow Deer will have a fawn every year, female Red Deer (Hind) may only have a calf every 2 to 3 years.
By about 3.30pm, tired and hungry, we headed back to the car to offload our gear. We had parked by the Roehampton Gate exit so grabbed a very healthy bite to eat in the cafe before departing for the day. Wow, what a day it had been!
My deer adventures don't end there though as I really have been determined to max out this year's rutting season! I have ended this season's deer photography session with a trip back to the place it all began for me! Petworth Park! Oct 27th, 2018.
It was another early start but this time there was no mist. It was bitter cold though and very frosty! We only remained in the park for about 3 hours but it was a beautiful way to spend a crisp morning! I really loved seeing the deer bathed in golden light first thing in the morning!I didn't see any Red Deer on this visit, only Fallow Deer. I did, however, get to see lots more rutting and heard a whole lot more bellowing! One male, in particular, was being extremely vocal!!!
During my short visit to the park, I saw at least 4 different ruts taking place! 2 of these were taking place within the same vicinity! I was rather transfixed watching them! It was like watching sparring partners in a martial arts tournament: They would eye each other up and then bow at their opponent before charging in heads down! and the sheer stamina and strength each must have is awe-inspiring!Another thing that male deer to try to attract a female is to decorate their antlers. I hadn't realized this until recently. This explains why I have seen many photos of Deer with adornments on their antlers. Their is actually logic behind this and not just them getting their heads stuck in a bush or something!
So, if you've enjoyed reading this blog and would like to follow my next adventures, I hope to get pics of those decorated antlers next time!
Thanks for reading!
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