I'm determined to watch and capture some rutting action this year. I can hear the Fallow buck from my bedroom at night. It's a spooky bellowing which is strangely enticing even though I'm not a doe!
The buck does this to surround himself with a harem of does, calling them in so he can pick and choose. The bellowing is accompanied by scraping the ground around his stand and rubbing his antlers against trees to mark territory and leave his scent. He flays the surrounding vegetation and struts aggressively, warning off any pretentious youngsters.
If there are young bucks about, they generally keep their distance, but if a similar sized or similar aged buck happens to challenge, a fight ensues and an eerie clash of antlers can be heard vibrating through the wood.
On Saturday, I went into Poor Park to see if I could catch any of the action. It was a bit windy but dry. Last week's rain had made the woodland floor damp, making it easy to track.
As the video shows, I picked up plenty of evidence and stalked a couple of does. I identified a couple of stands but even so, the bellowing, when it came, was from another area in the wood and I had to scurry from one end to the other just in time to see a large, shadowy figure disappear from view.
Better luck next time. Hope you enjoy the short video.
Pablo.
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