The Rut

Maybe through novelty and the access to new territory, the recently unenclosed Reinfield’s Sandy’s has become a Mecca for deer. The rut is most certainly on. Walking along the central track to my right I could hear hidden antlers clashing, off to my left deep in the stands a stag barked his guttural call, whilst ahead of me a group of fallow does cross the track watching Geoff and I hesitantly, before hastily disappearing into the safe darkness of a coniferous stand. A young white fallow stag stands clearly silhouetted against the dark greens and browns of autumn; I imagined him ironically saying 'you can’t see me, right', but I can, they do tend to stand out some. White fallow deer are a far more common sight that they were 20 years ago. The deer are everywhere, we see dozens, even when I can’t see them, I know their eyes are watching me pass.

Change

 

Change is about in the forest, you can feel it. The wheel is turning and the inhabitants of the forest know it. Invisible amongst the bracken choked stands of Brinken Wood a stag grunts, a precursor to autumns rut.

In a rut

The roars of stags showing off echo through the forest, a show of dominance, we hear him long before we can see him. Strutting around his well established rutting ground, a fair harem around him, he's alert for any challengers, he needs to be, it's a winner takes all game.

Pigs!

 

This morning the forest appeared quiet on the surface, although underneath that quiet there was a lot of natural energy amongst the stands. We could hear stags growling, barking and clashing racks somewhere off deeper in the woods as they vied for mating rights; cattle watched us pass with suspicion as they mooch and graze the open woodland; a stampede of a dozen or more ponies thundered through the Rise towards us, only veering off at the last moment; whilst a troop of pigs eagerly at pannage grubbed up the woodland and riverbank with their noses in search of acorns and mast, only pausing briefly to investigate us and say hello. It's fascinating to watch the pigs at pannage and their antics, they're real characters. This is natures last hurrah before our current cycle ends, and the welcome rest until the new suns' birth when the cycle begins again.    

The Boys

 

Change is afoot in the forest. No matter how stuffed our weather is the wheel still turns, and as we fast approach rutting season the deer are on the move, the stags are getting frisky and you're beginning to hear their barking echoing through the stands. This morning as we followed Fletchers Water near Queen Bower (site of a Medieval hunting lodge) we crossed a group of seven or so youngish looking stags engaged in boisterous activity; who disappeared off single file across Fletchers Green when they realised they were being watched, periodically pausing to look back and ensure we weren't following.

Quiet returns

What a difference a week makes, last week the forest was alive with deer participating in the rut; every thicket rustling with does, whilst the calls of stags echoed through the stands and out over the open heath. Today, not a sight, not a sound; we've not seen or heard a deer so far this week. In nature everything has it's time. I imagine the successful stags will no doubt be sleeping it off somewhere before they try and regain the weight they've lost before winter sets in; then both stags and does will herd together mostly in single sex groups until next rutting season.

I see ya

Rutting season continues and although we stay well clear of the rutting grounds, deer can be found skulking everywhere; Geoff's ears prick up at every clump of bracken we pass, often with good reason as a deer will usually break cover bolting off only to disappear again as quickly as it appeared. Geoff and I watched the stag above for a minute or two as it watched us before trotting off deeper into the woods. It's a busy time of year out here in the forest as the inhabitants conclude their year and prepare for winter's closing.

Rutting time

Rutting continues in the forest and this year I'm seeing scrapes in parts of the forest I've not traditionally seen them. I don't know why that is. Maybe they're due to an increased number of competing stags this year? I considered whether it was a sign of a growing overall deer population, though quickly dismissed that as the current population is held at around 2000 (Fallow, Roe, Red, Sika and Muntjac) by regular culling. Then I thought, maybe it's a sign of displacement due to increased numbers of visitors the forest has seen over Covid. A couple of years ago I commented to a ranger that I felt I saw more deer these days than I remember back in the 90's, and she told me it was more a change in deer behaviour driven by the increase in visitors. That said, I've noticed a huge reduction in people out in the forest over the last few months, since 'freedom day', their effects may still be rippling through the forest though. Mind you we tend to keep away from the honey pots. 

Brinken Wood

 

The deer are becoming skittish as rutting season begins. Although for the most part near invisible, Brinken Wood was alive with deer. Like Mythagos you might catch one out of the corner of your eye as they move deftly through the clutter of juvenile trees and waste high bracken, though you can hear their movement all around you, and the roar of competing stags echoes through the stands. An exciting time in the forest calender.

You ain't seen me...right.

You ain't seen me...right. We're coming towards the end of the rutting season in the forest, and the demeanour of area's near 1500 Fallow Deer community is beginning to become calmer. You can still see evidence of their well used rutting stands and rubbing stumps, although the roars of their throaty barks are becoming far less frequent. Their business done, they've melted back into the woodland. Though they're still there...watching.

You lookin' at me?

You lookin' at me? You lookin' at me? You lookin' at me? Then who the hell else are you  lookin' at? You  lookin' at  me? Well, I'm the only one here. Who do the f*** do you think you're  lookin' at? Oh, yeah? Ok. This stag was clearly a De Niro fan.

Stag party

Although moving across open ground this stag with his harem were still well camouflaged amongst the bracken, heather and of Spy Holms, well, some of the lighter ones are easier to see, but if stationary you'd easily miss them. Rutting season must be winding down soon, I think it peaks around the end of October or the beginning of November.

In a rut.

So many deer in the forest right now, more than I can ever remember, their population appears to have mushroomed in recent years. At the moment they're very visible. It's rutting season and throughout the woods the Fallow stags roar and bellow at each other, and occasionally lock antlers in displays of prowess, as they go through their mating rituals. Today I was in Amberwood again and you could hear the bucks bellowing wherever you walked, you could tell they were all around you, all staking their claims and shouting their worth. Throughout the enclosure bucks with small groups of does, bucks with harems and lone bucks show out. The stands they choose to rut in are worn bare and muddy with activity, the bigger the group the more extensive the damage. The rutting stand in the photo is quite a large one, you can see another one behind it, and all through the wood are small rutting platforms where lone bucks call. Usually around these rutting stands are stumps which have become the focus of antler rubbing, being mostly coniferous stumps their bright orange inner punk wood sticks out amongst the muddy stands. It's quite a spectacle out there at the moment.