Rutting stag

Today I decided to get up early to photograph the red deer herd that live in Wentworth Park. It turned out to be rather intimidating after this chap turned up. He stood and watched me for about ten minutes, and then decided that I had overstayed my welcome, and steadily walked towards me. He was probably about four hundred yards away when it occurred to me that deer are considerably faster than people, and I made a hasty retreat. Eventually he sharpened his antlers on the tree I was originally stood next to (there are no fences in this area of the park). This was taken at the maximum end of the zoom range, which I decided was quite close enough! When 700lbs of armed venison decides it has right-of-way, it?s probably best not to argue. I caught the smug grin as he walked past me.

Nikon D300; Tamron 18-270mm @ 270mm; ISO 500; F/8; 1/200 second. VC on.