12 Pointer

Back to the rutting field and the first thing I saw were two immature male red deer practicing their rutting skills in the oat field.  Frustratingly, with the crop still to be harvested as soon as their heads went down to engage I lost sight of their antlers, although I could clearly hear the clacks of engagement.

This 12 pointer was having none of it and soon came out on to the field which caused the younger males to make a hasty retreat.  Frustratingly he also saw me and headed straight back into the woodland, giving me this briefest of views framed and silhouetted against the misty conditions beyond.

As I was heading back to the car I came across a gentleman monitoring the herd.  He turned out to be employed by the local estate to manage the red deer population in the area.  We exchanged names and discussed the state of the herd and I was pleased that he acknowledged that there were an increasing number of mature stags around at the moment.  I asked if it were Ok to continue entering the land (there are no public footpaths though the areas is riddled with dog walkers paths).  He was Ok but gave me the requisite warning about getting too close to the stags during the rut.  He also pointed out that the hinds could be equally dangerous when they dropped their fawns in the spring.

I was able to share some information about the location of the older males when they separated from the hinds and young earlier in the year, which he seemed quite thankful to know.