Deer Rut recommendations in the South

keety

keety

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Morning,

Lazy post this, i'm after some advice on good spots for getting some deer rut shots..

So far on my radar i've got Richmond park and Bushy Park.. and I'm leaning towards Bushy as it's smaller so easier to locate the deer (i'm aiming for dawn shots).. that said, I live in the New Forest! So weirdly I have loads of the buggers on my front doorstep, but it's kind of tricky to find them out in the wild (Except for Bolderwood)

Are there any other locations in the south that are good for this?
 
The best deer are easy to find in either. Just follow the crowds of photographers at this time of year :(. Seriously there are nearly double the number of deer in Richmond so you'll have no problems in either. Rut has started quite early in both parks, both stink at the mo
 
I will just add, there is a hell of a lot of satisfaction going out and finding them for yourself, especially the wild ones

I'm guessing at those 2 parks you mention they are what i would call semi-wild/managed herds, so are generally easy to find

Where i live up in Yorkshire/Derbyshire, i am lucky enough to have both right on my door step, i have a Moor near me that has fully wild Red Deer, plus, if i'm feeling a bit lazy, i have a managed herd at Chatsworth Park, but i know which ones i have more fun shooting, and less people to contend with ;)
 
You're right. Both are managed herds and deer from each are very easy to find. Infact they can be hard to avoid sometimes.Of the two, Richmond has IMHO a more wild feel. Bushy is very flat and I think that helps. There are silly numbers of photographers in both. Sadly not always realising the damage they can do and danger they put themselves in. Last Saturday I was talking to a bunch who'd travelled from Paris for it. Apparently its not unusual to travel that sort of distance for the rut
 
boyfalldown said:
You're right. Both are managed herds and deer from each are very easy to find. Infact they can be hard to avoid sometimes.Of the two, Richmond has IMHO a more wild feel. Bushy is very flat and I think that helps. There are silly numbers of photographers in both. Sadly not always realising the damage they can do and danger they put themselves in. Last Saturday I was talking to a bunch who'd travelled from Paris for it. Apparently its not unusual to travel that sort of distance for the rut
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Wow, i feel even more lucky having what i have so close to where i live, and luckily neither place gets as busy as what it sounds like down there

I have a healthy respect for the Wild ones that i visit every Autumn, and had a couple of close calls myself over the years when Deer meets person walking up different sides of the same hill

Still to actually witness a Rut in progress though, one day i will get that perfect shot :)
 
rpsmith79 said:
Wow, i feel even more lucky having what i have so close to where i live, and luckily neither place gets as busy as what it sounds like down there
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Not just the rut, but Richmond Park gets around 5m visitors year round. Its a fantastic place, but best avoided on summer weekends.


rpsmith79 said:
Still to actually witness a Rut in progress though, one day i will get that perfect shot :)
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I've seen it twice in the last ten days :woot:. On neither occasion did I have my camera with me and I really don't care. Sometimes some things are best just enjoyed. I did move fairly quickly when one of the losers headed my way


rpsmith79 said:
I have a healthy respect for the Wild ones that i visit every Autumn, and had a couple of close calls myself over the years when Deer meets person walking up different sides of the same hill
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Feel for this chap in Bushy a couple of years ago
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_yybqlzjWQ
You can find all manner of photos in the same vein from the parks
 
I do find the fallows far more fun to watch the the reds, more energetic
 
Keety, whereabouts are you in the NF? I'm in Lyndhurst, and yes Boldrewood is great, but don't disregard New Park - I recall going early one morning and witnessing a lot of sparring bucks, well out in the open in Longmeadow
 
Denny Wood, the deer normally congregate in the fields behind the two houses, located on the track into the forest....

I used to do a lot of camping at Denny Wood, and we'd always take a stroll up during the night to watch them, I stayed in Minstead this summer, so tempted take a drive over, but alas we had the dogs with us...

But we did go over to Bolderwood, very crowded at feeding time, but did manage to get a couple of decent shots.... But not the same when stood of a viewing platform, and lady dumping feed for them.
 
popped along to Bushy yesterday morning and really enjoyed it, despite the forecast sunshine not appearing! As I suspected it was a hell of lot easier to find the deer than wandering around the new forest for hour son end... I basically got out of my car at 6:30am and you could hear the Stag's grunting away...so I walked to where the grunts were coming from and they were everywhere!

Spoke to a chap there from Hampton and he said that the rut hadn;t started in earnest yet and it would need to be a bit colder for it to properly kick off...


Coming from the forest I can safely say I've never been that close to deer before without them running off... was quite amusing to watch the stags walking at the crowds of photographers and them all scattering away (I chose to go off and do my own thing away from the crowds by the car park)

Going to head back asap!
 
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keety said:
Spoke to a chap there from Hampton and he said that the rut hadn;t started in earnest yet and it would need to be a bit colder for it to properly kick off...
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Excellent. I glad you had a good trip.

I'm pretty sure the rut is in full swing though. I think your chap is wrong
 
keety said:
No idea on that, I know nothing about deer so you may be right!

Any idea how long it typically goes on for?
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It'll normally last till the end October or so (varies by year). The stags are in the best condition at the start of it. They don't eat so lose a lot of condition by the end.

Did you notice the smell?
 
A quick tip - remember tuck the end of your trousers into your socks in order to deter loose deer ticks being accidentally being picked up & getting onto your flesh ( the bite carries a possible danger of Lymes disease)
 
Another top tip. Don't disturb stags resting in the bracken. They don't like it. I know from experience your heart beats a lot faster and you think a lot of interesting words. Not seeing him doesn't really wash as an excuse either
 
keety said:
Morning,

Lazy post this, i'm after some advice on good spots for getting some deer rut shots..

So far on my radar i've got Richmond park and Bushy Park.. and I'm leaning towards Bushy as it's smaller so easier to locate the deer (i'm aiming for dawn shots).. that said, I live in the New Forest! So weirdly I have loads of the buggers on my front doorstep, but it's kind of tricky to find them out in the wild (Except for Bolderwood)

Are there any other locations in the south that are good for this?
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Petworth Park - West sussex has some very active rutting deer! Not a million miles from you. I was there last weekend, Its a beautiful place for a walk as well.
 
keety said:
Spoke to a chap there from Hampton and he said that the rut hadn;t started in earnest yet and it would need to be a bit colder for it to properly kick off...
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Conversely I got the impression (in Richmond atleast) things have settled down a bit from the peak of the rut. The stags seem to have gathered all their hareems around them and much of the pacing/fighting/bellowing has calmed down. Im not saying its over, just a little more relaxed then at its peak
 
Dave-o said:
Petworth Park - West sussex has some very active rutting deer! Not a million miles from you. I was there last weekend, Its a beautiful place for a walk as well.
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boyfalldown said:
Conversely I got the impression (in Richmond atleast) things have settled down a bit from the peak of the rut. The stags seem to have gathered all their hareems around them and much of the pacing/fighting/bellowing has calmed down. Im not saying its over, just a little more relaxed then at its peak
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They seem to have peaked very early this year :(
 
boyfalldown said:
I thought that as well. All of the milestones for deer seem to have passed early this year for some reason.
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Strange that because it's normally triggered by the colder weather, will be annoyed if I've missed the fallows at Petworth :banghead:
 
Gremlin said:
Strange that because it's normally triggered by the colder weather, will be annoyed if I've missed the fallows at Petworth :banghead:
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Its odd. atleast in Richmond and Bushy everything has been over early this year. The first stags dropped their antlers very early, the hinds gave birth early, and the stags rubbed the velvet off their antlers early. As well as starting the rut early. This is also the first year I can remember being worried by a fallow stag
 
boyfalldown said:
This is also the first year I can remember being worried by a fallow stag
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Been chased by a red, first time I'd climbed a tree in years, getting down was interesting :LOL:, but never been worried by the fallows at all and got some cracking pictures
of them throwing each other about, they really do a far better display
 
Gremlin said:
Been chased by a red, first time I'd climbed a tree in years, getting down was interesting :LOL:, but never been worried by the fallows at all and got some cracking pictures
of them throwing each other about, they really do a far better display
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;) I was chased by a Red this year. My own fault for not looking where I was going.
 
Either the rut has been underwhelming this year, or it hasnt really got going. Also the stags, in at least Bushy, have been much more active in the afternoon than the early mornings. I am in Bushy Park most mornings for a couple of hours around sunrise, and it has been quiet compared to previous years. Sure there has been a few mornings where many stags have been bellowing, but these have been few and far between. Maybe the presence of large numbers of photographers, particularly at the weekend, has changed the way the rut takes place,

Cant really speak for Richmond Park, as have only been a couple of times this year, but it was quieter than the same period in previous years, and other photographers I have spoken to have said the same.
 
redfan said:
Either the rut has been underwhelming this year, or it hasnt really got going. Also the stags, in at least Bushy, have been much more active in the afternoon than the early mornings. I am in Bushy Park most mornings for a couple of hours around sunrise, and it has been quiet compared to previous years. Sure there has been a few mornings where many stags have been bellowing, but these have been few and far between. Maybe the presence of large numbers of photographers, particularly at the weekend, has changed the way the rut takes place,

Cant really speak for Richmond Park, as have only been a couple of times this year, but it was quieter than the same period in previous years, and other photographers I have spoken to have said the same.
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I think its been underwhelming. Its exactly the same story in Richmond. There were a couple of weeks mid-September when the stags went for it (although I tend to keep out of the parks at sunset and sunrise. Big crowds of photographers annoy me ;) and gathered their hinds rounds them. All seems quite quiet now and they seem to have got the displaying over. I'm still seeing the odd display, but most of the time its aimed at cheeky youngsters trying to sneak in. Maybe its cause its not been really cold. Who knows.
 
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Gremlin said:
Strange that because it's normally triggered by the colder weather, will be annoyed if I've missed the fallows at Petworth :banghead:
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Ingrid I don't think you will have,fallow bucks have been back with us for around 3 weeks now,but as of yet we have heard no bellowing or antlers crashing ect. I think most of our lots ruting takes place in the woods ,so sound is the bigger key for me than sight,although as you know we are yet to see a full scrap. We are off in a little while to chase them we have a specific buck we know(he's got a crocked face) haunting one spot,he is a monster, I'm so hoping for some luck this time with him in particular as we have a bit more info being our second year chasing them. Good luck with your lot I hope I am right in this if I've missed it I'll be gutted,we have spent so much time on this massive heard of wild as hell deer,i'd be crushed if i've simply missed it all. But these last weeks we have been about as much as I can muster i'm sure I'd have heard at least something if they had really started.

Good luck to all though captive or other wise it will be cool seeing how folks get on.


'Ere anyone know if a wild fallow has ever attacked a person,sure I can see the humanised park deer with no fear of man having a pop,but truely wild is there any recorded cases?? We tripped over the aforementioned fella holed up in some brambles,frankly I was utterly gobsmacked something so big hid so well,caught both of us out,right by a footpath too,which is why I asked .
Keety cheers for the thread

take care

Stu
 
redfan said:
Either the rut has been underwhelming this year, or it hasnt really got going. Also the stags, in at least Bushy, have been much more active in the afternoon than the early mornings. I am in Bushy Park most mornings for a couple of hours around sunrise, and it has been quiet compared to previous years. Sure there has been a few mornings where many stags have been bellowing, but these have been few and far between. Maybe the presence of large numbers of photographers, particularly at the weekend, has changed the way the rut takes place,

Cant really speak for Richmond Park, as have only been a couple of times this year, but it was quieter than the same period in previous years, and other photographers I have spoken to have said the same.
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I think I was stood near you on Tuesday morning, photographing the deer..!
 
Don't know if they lock the walk through gates, can't say I've ever been thought about it when I've parked outside and walked into the park
 
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redfan said:
Either the rut has been underwhelming this year, or it hasnt really got going. Also the stags, in at least Bushy, have been much more active in the afternoon than the early mornings. I am in Bushy Park most mornings for a couple of hours around sunrise, and it has been quiet compared to previous years. Sure there has been a few mornings where many stags have been bellowing, but these have been few and far between. Maybe the presence of large numbers of photographers, particularly at the weekend, has changed the way the rut takes place,

Cant really speak for Richmond Park, as have only been a couple of times this year, but it was quieter than the same period in previous years, and other photographers I have spoken to have said the same.
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My local rut started to get going last weekend. Much more activity than previous weeks. Im thinking the warm weather has put things back a couple of weeks. Early October it was 18C which is crazy for this time of year.

I have wondered if large numbers of visitors and photographers has an effect.At my local park you have to keep to the few footpaths there are, it's quite hit and miss but there are plenty of areas the deer are not disturbed and limited access means less photographers. I saw photos of the number of photographers at Richmond the other day, in one I counted 43 people around one deer which is crazy.
 
I went to our local deer park on Tuesday, and the rut was in full swing. It is very much in contrast to Richmond which sounds awful. In five years I have seen one other photographer, and the deer are very flighty and need stalking to get closer than 150 yards, which makes getting a decent photo both challenging and very satisfying. I just can't imagine how anyone would derive pleasure from crowding around deer like at Richmond.
 
New Forest very quiet this year ,a few Fallow roaring this morning ,must have walked 6 miles but very little to see. Over the last three weeks I have only spotted two Reds ,very poor this year.
 
MadWoman said:
I went to our local deer park on Tuesday, and the rut was in full swing. It is very much in contrast to Richmond which sounds awful. In five years I have seen one other photographer, and the deer are very flighty and need stalking to get closer than 150 yards, which makes getting a decent photo both challenging and very satisfying. I just can't imagine how anyone would derive pleasure from crowding around deer like at Richmond.
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Sue, how are you mate,oh and another cheers for the kindness shown to us as we tried to sort out our latest camera.:) Thanks Sue really lovely of you and not forgotten !! We are fairly local to each other,what species are you referring to please??

Guys just a brief insert of : we saw our first buck groaning last night in the wild herd of fallow we visit,This is the first real sign of the rut starting for us apart from the recent reapperance of bucks,whom appear to be absent for the summer months on our patch say 2 or 3 weekends back. My hopes are somewhat low for actually catching any action as big mature bucks seem very thin on the ground,but we'll see how things pan out

Bex could one get 43 togs around a wild deer or for that matter a deer that didn't want them there?? It's not really for me Bex I'm completely with Sue,I do like the thought of folks going to see all this though especially city folk and try to be open minded to how anyone gets their fun in photography as long as the beasties wellfare is accomodated. Bexx I'm not at all comfortable with this level of pressure,but do feel that these deer are very much humanised at these parks so maybe just maybe this isn't as bad for them as we might believe.,


Haha I started posting this a few hours back since then we have seen to bucks having a scrap and an onlooker for good measure,our very first sighting of wild fallow rut,rock and roll,a few grab shots but nowt of consequence,still damn cool though,so coupled with more roaring it seems things are picking up here too

rock'n'roll

Stu
 
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