Much smaller than a deer, however living in the similar habitat and having a similar behavior. Follow deer, just like deer, shed their antlers annually in spring, however the re-growth of new even more impressive size antlers takes place before the next mating season. Hollow deer mating season is called ‘bekowisko’ in Polish and it falls on a little bit later than deer mating season (generally in October). ‘Rykowisko’, which means deer rutting season, falls on about the end of September (when the first hoarfrosts occur) and it lasts a couple of weeks. Doe weights range from several dozen kilograms to about 100 kilograms. When it comes to Bucks, they are a little bit heavier and their weight may exceed 100 kilograms. Fallow deer are not native species in Poland but they assimilate quickly to new habitat conditions. Due to their cheap upkeep, we can see them more often in the roadside enclosures as a tourist attraction.
Last minute news – 05/2013
I guess I will need to wait until the rut to take good pictures of Fallow deers. Those added in May still do not give justice to the beauty of those animals, however comparing to the modest achievements so far, are very enriching. And again a coincidence, driving to the place where Barred Warbler occurs you could see a flock of Fallow deers from afar, sitting idyllically at the edge of a forest. Pity, it wasn’t an Autumn outdoor, as the antler of a shapely males would present themselves superbly. So, again fortuity, like with photographing Barred Warbler, undeniably I was able to hear a Corn Crake. In this case it is a bar raised high up for someone wanting to photograph it as it rarely comes out from the grass and flies up even less.
Last minute news – 08/2017
Finally there is an improvement in the fallow deer gallery on my website. For several years now, there has been no opportunity to take better photos of fallow deer, to this day. From time to time fallow deer can be seen and what is more important photographed on the outskirts of Poznań. Of course such meetings do not happen by chance. Robert (best regards!) got to know the habits of these animals, knows places where it is worth waiting for them. And here we have some new pictures, so far the most interesting in my gallery. We had a situation either surprising and funny. About 10 o’clock the sunlight was already too intense so we packed our lenses and left the forest. On its outskirts was a meadow, surrounded on two sides by the road with cars and cyclists. Less than 100 meters away there were numerous antlers of the fallow deer sticking out of the grass. It was impossible not to take the advantage of the situation. I could easily approach them and  take some pictures of the beautiful magnificent males. It is not yet a 5-star gallery but the changes are already significant enough that the gallery has been rebuilt.