One of the things that the BBC do very well indeed is wildlife programming. Currently, BBC2 is running a daily programme called Autumnwatch, which, as the name suggests, covers the changes occuring in nature as Autumn fades and Winter approaches. The breadth of coverage is amazing, and the photography is excellent. [It is a shame that RTE don't do something like this, even on a smaller scale.]

One of the more spectacular natural events that the programme has covered is the rutting of red deer on the Scottish island of Rum. Unfortunatley, most of the video clips are restricted to the UK, but this video gives an idea of the coverage.

Having watched the deer in Scotland strutting their stuff last week, I got a chance to see some local fallow deer in Portumna Forest Park strut their stuff last Saturday. I didn’t much time in the park, and I hadn’t gone there to take pictures of deer, but there is no problem seeing them. The deer are wild, and therefore very shy, but if you stay still for any length of time, you’ll get a chance to see them.

I spotted a large stag with a great set of antlers through some trees and I tried to sneak up on it. The stag was marking the ground on a small hillock, and I was hiding behind a tree about 12/13 metres away. After about 30 minutes, I had to move back a bit to collect my camera bag. I sneaked back to the tree to see if the stag had moved out of cover but I couldn’t see him at all. Next thing – it exploded from cover about 3 metres from me. The stag had probably followed me when I went for the bag.

Even after the stag had broken cover, he didn’t go far – he ran back to his original spot, spun round to face my position and did a bit of defiant bellowing in my direction. He did that for a few minutes, then got bored and wandered off. By then, my heartrate had nearly returned to normal after its surprise appearance, and no, I didn’t get a picture of it.