Pixiq

From September until the end of October the deer in mating season become territorial and fill the air with special sounds to attract females. I am following them to document this season.

The roar of a stag rips the silence of dawn and echoes through the valley. Guided by the sound I walk towards where I think the animal is and I am lucky. Right in front of me a proud male is claiming his territory. The day starts with a promise. But the stag soon is gone, over the hill and far away. Then another groan fills the air, from another direction.

This happened yesterday and it started the mating season for deer living within the confines of Tapada Nacional de Mafra, a nature reserve just outside Lisbon, in Portugal, with a population of about 80 red deer and 200 fallow deer living on more than 800 hectares of a fantastic scenery.  Created by King D. João V as a playground for the royal family and court, and also as hunting ground, the Tapada Nacional de Mafra is a unique legacy from the past that needs to be seen to be understood.

Deer, wild boars, foxes, birds of prey and many other species live within this wildlife sanctuary. Boars and fallow deer and easily spotted while they move across the area, but red deer are more elusive and keep away from the more visited areas, hiding in the top of the hills and some woods within the Tapada. But during mating season they seem to care less about human presence, so there’s a chance to photograph them. You can always see some of the animals kept temporarily in fenced areas, but it’s seeing them roaming free that really makes it even more interesting, as you can see and understand the animal behavior.

That’s what I am trying to do with some photo tours running this period of the year, from September until the end of October. So I was scouting the area yesterday. Fallow deer had just announced the start of their mating season the day before, and I was lucky enough to be on the right place when the red deer started their groans. Stronger than those from fallow deer, the sounds represent that males are willing to fight to defend their territories and ladies, as feudal lords in battles. And sometimes they will come to terms, but mostly what one hears are the sounds and the deer moving ahead of us. Sometimes within the reach of a 300mm lens.

The experience is unique and is part of the various experiences one can have within this area. And is also the reason why I am so much in love with the Tapada that I am calling it “home” for much of my photography interests. With the people responsible for the reserve I am setting a series of tours and photography workshops that intend to give people interested a solid base into nature photography and the importance of taking pictures to understand the need to protect all this. That is, I think, a major task for photographers: to make, through theirs images, more people aware of the importance of wildlife close to home. In fact, Tapada Nacional de Mafra is just some 30 minutes by car from Lisbon, and many people have never been there and are not aware that wild animals roam free within the area, and of all the richness natural and historical available. Even travelers and tourists I meet in Portugal are, sometimes, surprised that such a place exists so close to Lisbon and that not many touristic guides make more that a few lines mentionning it.

The images published with this article were all taken yesterday, so they’re a good example of what can be seen on a regular six hours trip within the park, starting very early in the morning. In fact I did photograph much more, from scenery to frogs (there are lots of them in the water areas here) but these are enough to show you what you can see and photograph on a “normal” day  following the mating deer at the Tapada Nacional de Mafra.

I am running photo tours and photo workshops there all year round, either for watching the seasonal changes of nature (Autumn, just starting is a unique period there, as is Spring) or after specific themes. We’ve plans to set up some observatories for birds, big and small (Bonneli Eagles live within the reserve), but just wandering around everyday of the week one finds so many interesting things, from the woods to the creek crossing the whole area, that if you’re really into it you’ll find that you could spend day after day there. For now, though, I am going after the mating deer, and I’ll be walking the paths of Tapada Nacional de Mafra as much as I can for the next two months.

If you come to Portugal and this program interests you, contact me. And if you’re in Portugal on the 1st October 2011 and want to have a small experience of what the Tapada Nacional de Mafra is, I’ve a walk there that runs as part of the Scott Kelby Worldwide Photowalk 2011 (you just pay the price of the entrance ticket) that let’s you discover a small area of Tapada Nacional de Mafra.