Red deer on the Isle of Mull

Red deer on the Isle of Mull are probably the easiest of the “Big Five” for visitors to see. The others they are often hoping to see are White tailed eagle, Golden eagle, Otter and Seals. Although Red deer on the Isle of Mull are probably the easiest to see, there are times throughout the summer when it may be a little harder as they tend to stay higher up the hills and in remote glens at this time.

The Red Deer migrated to Britain from Europe approximately 11,000 years ago and is the largest land mammal in the UK. It was the Neolithic man who developed agriculture and cleared many forests to make way for fields. As a result there was a decline in the population of Red deer as many became confined to higher ground, particularly in the Highlands.

The adult Red Deer can weigh anything between 90 to 190kg and hinds between 63 and 120kg, their life span is approximately 18 years. Their coats during the summer months are a rich red-brown turning to a brown-grey colour during the darker months of winter.

Isle of Mull nature – Top Ten in 2010

A selection of Isle of Mull nature photography images prepared after a very busy 2010. Our commercial, stock and wedding photography business continues to grow and we also had a record breaking year with our personalised Isle of Mull photography workshops.

We are now looking forward to 2011 with high expectation and will be striving to maintain our achievements. The start of a new year would not be complete without a quick look over our shoulder at 2010 so we have selected 10 of favourite Isle of Mull nature images taken throughout the past year. Another post in scheduled within in the next couple of days to show our “Top Ten in 2010 – Isle of Mull landscape images”.

Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo)

Large Heath (Coenonympha tullia)

Red Deer (Cervus elaphus)

Eider (Somateria mollissima)

Golden-Ringed Dragonfly (Cordulegaster boltonii)

Broom Seed Pods (Cytisus scoparius)

Otter (Lutra lutra) with crab

Beautiful Demoiselle (Calopteryx virgo)

White Tailed Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla)

Red deer stag – Isle of Mull

This image of a very obliging Red Deer stag was taken last night about a mile from Lochdon on the Isle of Mull. The well formed antlers are now starting to loose their ‘velvet’ covering and the deer are really starting to look very impressive. The fur is starting to take on the strong ‘red’ colouring and before too long they will be at their best in readiness for the rut in October.

This particular stag was taken with a 500mm lens and is a little large in the frame because there was no chance of moving further back. Close inspection shows a good example of a well blood gorged deer tick just to the left of its front leg .

Early morning Red deer – Photography

This Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) was taken in early morning light near to Pennyghael on the Isle of Mull and clearly shows the newly formed antlers in velvet in readiness for the autumn rut.