Wild Red Deer Rut

The heaths and moors of the Peak District are an eerie exposure of peat covered moorland sitting about 600m above sea level. Large wind carved eroded rocks sit among vast plateaus and rock formations supporting a healthy population of wild Red Deer.

Red Deer are the largest land mammal in the UK, easily recognised by their magnificent antlers, stags (males) weigh in at up to 240kg and stand 1.3m high at the shoulder.

Hinds (females) are smaller and don’t have antlers. They’re territorial and large herds live wild in this part of the Peak District, which is where the stags head back to in September for the rut.

The autumn spectacle of the rut starts in mid-September and runs until mid-October. Males compete with each other for the choice of females to mate with. Their bellows can be heard resonating across the moors.

If the loudest roar doesn’t decide the dominant male, stags will size each other up with parallel walking. Equally matched males will occasionally lock antlers, aiming to use their massive strength to push the other male bodily out of their territory.

My one day workshops in this part of the Peak District are timed to coincide with the rutting season of these large mammals.  I’ll take you to those places I have found over time to be some of the best places to see and photograph these majestic creatures within their natural moorland habitat.

Green, muted  or camouflaged clothing is necessary due to the nature of these mammals. I will demonstrate and guide you through various proven fieldcraft skills and techniques that are really needed to get closer to these wild Red Deer. Which in turn will  enable you to get the best possible images.

One of the most important skills a wildlife photographer needs to learn is fieldcraft. When dealing with wild animals it can be the difference of getting your images or not it’s so important.

I will go through the correct camera settings, simplifying anything that you don’t understand. I will also show you important tracking tips that you can take away with you and implement yourself, improving and increasing your overall photographic opportunities and in turn images.

The day will last from dawn till dusk and I will pass on my very best skills learnt over many years to you so you can witness and photograph this spectacular event in nature’s calendar.

To book or to find out more information on these days and the dates that Im running in October of this year then click here, many thanks