When Stags Find Their Voice

A red deer stag with large antlers decorated with vegetation stands in a grassy field with his mouth wide open mid-bellow, displaying typical rutting season vocal behaviour.
A red deer stag with impressive antlers decorated with grass and vegetation stands in a grassy field, having just tossed plant material into the air which is suspended mid-flight above its head during rutting season behaviour.

I travelled to Kerry this morning to photograph the rutting in Killarney National Park there. There weren’t many stags to be seen but this fellow was lying in the middle of a field I suspected would have a stag or two. After a few moments he stood up, digging his antlers in the grass and tossed his head from side to side with grass flying everywhere.

Despite the dramatic behaviour, he looked over at the human photographers again and lay down, chewing some grass and ignored us once more.


Apertureƒ/6.3
CameraILCE-7RM5
Focal length387.6mm
ISO12800
Shutter speed1/640s