Deer Rut - Cannock Chase

My first opportunity to visit the Chase to see (and hear) the fallow deer rutting this year. Conditions weren't great, hence an iso of 4000 to achieve sufficient speed to capture detail. I have to say the D800 handles noise well!

This is a young buck, perhaps in his 2nd year. He was posturing but unwilling to challenge the dominant male you can see in the background. I will get a better shot of his wonderful antlers when I have more time - this was on the way to a meeting and I had to rush in and out of the area they are rutting in, so very little field craft was used.

There were no clashes of antlers while I was there, but the distinctive roaring sound the male was making reverberated around the immediate area, which is an abandoned quarry. It is the height of the rut at the moment and it was a lot easier to get close to the deer. Whether the two things are connected I do not know.

anyway I will try to get some more images over the weekend, as well as visit the area where the red deer tend to congregate.