The Red Deer rut

I’m lucky to live so close to Richmond and Bushy Park which are very known locations for Red Deer and Fallow Deer photography. Richmond Park is a very large area with a number of big ponds and wooded areas. Bushy Park is a smaller area and is the area where I tend to spend most of my time photographing the deer. I know Bushy Park a lot better than Richmond and I find it a lot easier to find the deer and I know most of their favourite hang out spots now!

The main attraction is the yearly rut which happens each Autumn, usually September, where the Red Deer bellow their loud huffs and roars across the park, this attracts a lot of photographers! There are many big male Red Deer dotted around the park and if you stand in the middle during the rut you’ll be surrounded by distant, and very close, roars. The deer here are so used to humans walking around that they tend to pay no attention however at times the Deer can get very close to humans during rutting and its always a good idea to stay aware and never be caught between two rutting Deer. I always make sure to never get close to any male at the time and ensure I’m always next to a tree to provide me with a bit of cover if needed. Theres no way I could out run these Deer and I don’t fancy being squashed by two of them!

You can usually tell when two Deer are about to clash antlers as they parallel walk next to each other, sizing each other up, then when one suddenly bows his head the other will respond and the outcome is always crazy, loud and terrifying!

Through the autumns of 2022 and 2023 I spent a few days photographing the Red Deer as they clashed with each other and ran around the park looking for a brawl! Some of the photos I’ve taken over these trips are below and hopefully they capture some of the intensity of the rut.

Unfortunately the big males always seem to rut in the middle of the ferns where I can’t get a photo! So inconsiderate of them! However I do have a few of one particular instance where the two males suddenly appeared by the car park pond and starting rutting right in front me.

In 2024 I will back to get some photos of these giant beasts clashing together.