red deer

Bushy Park rutting season

With the commencement of autumn comes the rutting season and great opportunities for photos of deer. One such opportunity I took recently one early, cold, misty Saturday morning. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the atmosphere promised to be really special.

After arriving at Bushy Park, I wondered how successful I would be in locating the deer. The park is nowhere near as large as Richmond Park, but still quite a large space to cover on foot.

This was one of the first shots of a buck in the distance as the sky started to brighten before sunrise.

It wasn't long before I stumbled across small numbers of fallow deer. I was dressed in camouflage colours to try and be less conspicuous, but I still got their attention.

As the sun rose, the fun really started, with the super lighting and atmospheric conditions.

This has to be one of my favourite shots. I was following this buck back and forth through the ferns, when he moved into the perfect position, with the sun lighting him up as he paused to bellow.

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This was an interesting experience! As I slowly followed this buck at a distance he turned and started to walk towards me. With my camera at the ready, he stared straight at me and started bellowing. Some very special memories this early Saturday morning.

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