Took some pics at Studley Royal Deer Park this Saturday. The light was not great (heavily overcast) and I had to bump up the ISO at times but still a good day, got to see the deers in rut. The first stag and his harem I saw were nice and placid:
Then I turned a corner and came to a red deer stag 10 yards from me, I backed off slightly as he gave me a not so friendly look:
Which he let me know in no uncertain terms:
If you haven't heard a red stag roar during the rut, I can tell you it certainly makes you take note and realise who is the boss. It sent a chill down my spine!
I also saw plenty of hinds
Saw a fallow deer get too close to a red stag
The fallow deer were far more shy
During the rut the stags often scrap their antlers into the ground, against branches and wallow in the mud:
And sometimes they start to parallel walk, which can be a prelude to a fight.
These two stags were parallel walking for c 10 minutes, roaring at each other, walking straight in front of a car, then the smaller of the two decided that discretion was the part of valour and left, which was a bit disappointing as I'd have loved to have seen it although from the deers' point of view it was probably for the best.
Two other shots of the day that I like
Anyone who lives close to a deer park then I'd def recommend going around this time of year, seeing (and hearing) the stags during the rut is amazing imo