Staking His Claim

 This time of year the normally placid herd takes on a  different air as the stags vie for position as the rutting season gets under way.

I came across this magnificent beast in a small clearing with a group of about 10 females for company. He was strutting around and grunting at the top of his voice asserting his dominance. Most of the time he was pacing slowly and checking the hinds to see if they were in season, his advances were clearly unwelcome.

Moments before these pictures were shot the peace was disturbed by another young stag coming into the clearing and then being chased off noisily by this chap before he returned to keep a watch over the herd.

Standing Proud

Here is another shot of one of the Dunham Massey stags. It really is such a beautiful creature and I was so lucky to be able to get close and appreciate how truly beautiful it is.

It is easy to forget seeing them so close that these are wild not domestic animals. Because they live in a large estate where there are lots of visitors they have become used to people but while they are not as timid as deer that truly live wild for example in the New Forest or Forest of Dean or in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland they can still be skittish and need to be treated with just as much respect.

I think that herds like this are an important part of our nations wildlife and really are a national treasure.

At Rest

I have called today's post "At Rest" but really while this stag was resting quite peacefully he was constantly on alert watching out for the small of herd of doe's that were feeding nearby. What I didn't realise at the time I was taking this shot was that inside the "den" of branches and wooden stakes next to the stag there was a young fawn exploring.

I haven't been out with my camera for a couple of weeks due to poor weather and also feeling under the weather so I am hoping for a good spell this weekend. In the meantime I am really grateful that I have had some good opportunities earlier this year to keep me going.

I'm Watching You

So I will be swapping and changing themes over the next few days, after all I have been busy in recent weeks and I want to share the best of those days out.

Today I have gone back to Dunham Massey for this shot of a magnificent stag. It was wonderful getting so close to this wonderful creature but as calm as he appeared to be he never let his guard down and I knew that he was always keeping a close eye on where I was and what I was doing. Every now and then he would lift his head and sniff the air as in this shot. I could sense that he was warning me not to get too close and I had to remind myself that this is a wild animal and it was best to keep at a safe distance.

A Stag Do...

The sign said "do not approach our deer, they may seem tame but they are wild animals".

They may be wild but they are obviously accustomed to the many visitors to Dunham Massey and so it was possible to get quite close for these shots. 

I think you will agree these are great shots of these beautiful Fallow stags. They seemed to be enjoying the early autumn sun but I imagine that in a week or two when the testosterone kicks in things will be a bit more hectic in the park. If you catch my drift...