Autumn means it’s time for the red deer rut, and here in South Staffordshire I’m lucky enough to have a rut happening only about half an hour away from home. After a slightly frustrating first visit to the rut, with the deer seeming to insist on hiding in the trees, it was on only my second visit this season that I was lucky enough to be met with one of those rare occasions when everything seems to come together, with the wildlife fairly easy to find and in a photographable location, plus with some amazing early morning light.
Sunlight beams through the mist and the trees to create an atmospheric image of this big stag.
A stag tastes the air to find out if this hind is in season. Either that or he really didn’t want his photo taken!
The mist gives an ethereal backdrop, with the first light of the day just catching the deer.
The misty diffused sunlight highlights the dew-covered cobwebs as this stag struts his stuff.
The unmistakable sound of autumn as this stag bellows his heart out.
Before long the sun had fully risen, burning off the mist to reveal a lovely sunny day.
This is what the rut is really all about, as the big stag mates with a hind.
Mornings like this don’t come along very often, but when they do they suddenly make all of the previous unproductive wildlife photography trips suddenly seem worthwhile. It’s still difficult getting out of bed this early at the weekend though!