The Roe Deer Files: April to June

In his 76 image photo essay, wildlife photographer Alan MacKenzie tells the story of roe deer from an undisclosed location in West Sussex, United Kingdom. 

29th April 2026. By the time I arrived at the Angmering Park Estate in West Sussex for the bluebells, the season was nearly over, thanks to an unprecedented mild, wet winter and warm, dry spring. I would normally be photographing bluebell woods well into May, but there was already carpets of bluebells in Sussex on the 2nd of April. With two weeks off, I turned my attention to the lives of roe deer, as they transitioned from their bulky grey winter coats to sleek tan red over the month of May. I watched last year's twins, brother and sister, as they parted company with their mother. A mature buck is in a field with two does. He spends most evenings in a small field, next to a lodge in the woods. Two adult does accompany one another — in daytime, they remain hidden, but in evening the pair become different animals, way too preoccupied with eating to care much about me and my camera. 

 

 

 

Roe deer shed their winter coats in spring, with younger deer losing theirs earlier than older animals, like this mature buck. If you look at the pair of yearlings below, the buck nearly has his full summer coat in late April. I was lucky enough to spot the siblings in late-afternoon. The older buck did not appear until late evening, when the light was fading and I had to use ISO 6400 to get a usable shutter speed. The mature buck is not shy, unlike the young siblings. He fought hard for his territory and is not going to bolt just because a photographer is nearby.

 

 

 

4th May 2026. May is a very tricky month to photograph roe deer. I spent five hours quietly wandering the fields, seeing nothing. The bucks keep a low profile, while does look for quiet places to await giving birth. The extremely dry weather left the clay-rich soil rock hard, so there were no deer prints to lead me towards areas of activity. My second roe deer visit seemed to be destined for a long journey home empty-handed, but I was delighted to see the mature buck again in the 'Meeting House Fields' as I've called them for the last few years. Three small fields along a public right of way with a country lodge at the end attract roe deer of reproductive age.

 

 

 

 

 

7th May 2026. This was another visit with very little to see, until the last 30 minutes when the mature buck and his female companion appeared at the Meeting House Fields. The pair grazed for 20 minutes, affording me plenty of shots of him behaving naturally. The mature buck spotted the female leaving, so he pursued her onto a neighbouring sports pitch and they made their way back into the rewilded meadows for the night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9th May 2026. I must be walking past hundreds of antlers without realising it, but in my 15 years of visiting this site, I have only collected two naturally-shed antlers. I may have better luck in November, after they drop or any time when vegetation is shorter. The top antler, found in June 2019 (see below) is from an older buck and shows signs of abrasion from rubbing on wood. There are also fractures on the tips from a battle during the rutting season. The smaller antler (found in May 2026) is pristine and comes from a yearling buck. Think of it as collecting sea shells when they are hidden under layers of seaweed and only getting one find per decade. Pick up a recently dropped roe deer antler and you won't smell sea salt, but soy sauce.

The Meeting House Fields were empty in evening, but I did spot mature buck and a tuxedo cat there in late afternoon. The siblings were out at 8pm, but I decided to leave them alone and proceed into the neighbouring rewilded meadow, where I observed a pair of adult does as they grazed on oak leaves. The pair are very wary in daytime, but they a completely different during crepuscular hours.

 

 

 

 

 

  

When female roe deer of child-bearing age turn their backs on me, to groom themselves and observe other things, it is a sign that the animals regard me as non-threatening. Both does spotted me, but I remained still and allowed them to carry on with their activities, namely eating. If roe deer are distracted, by mating, food or conflict, I can spend hours in close proximity to them.

 

 

 

 

14th May 2026. There was a loud clap of thunder the second I alighted from the train. Minutes later, I spotted a car driving past the bus stop with a thick layer of hailstones over its bodywork. Very soon, the bus I was travelling on had rivers of hailstones sliding down the windows. With temperatures of just 9°C, down from 21°C on the 9th May, I was surely facing the worst weather conditions at this site in 15 years of visiting. I could see my breath condensing in the air. Temperatures rose a few degrees in the sun. I knew that I was far more likely to spot roe deer in daytime, as heavy showers followed by sunny spells means deer come out into the open to dry off. I realised that a young doe had sat down just 30 metres from me. To the north, over Surrey and south London, towering cumulonimbus could be seen. The cloud objects were so vast, that they appeared to be just a few miles away, but rainfall radar data showed them to be 25 miles. I knew the doe would get up once the rain began falling and right enough, she did. The weather revealed a large population of roe deer for the land area. I spotted five males and seven does.

I saw two females who are obviously still pregnant, which is a relief given temperatures recently dropped to 1°C at night. Temperatures are forecast to increase next week, which is set to be far more clement for newborn kids, which I have not yet seen.

 

 

 

 

 

I was delighted to find a second mature buck (see below). He is younger and has smaller antlers compared to the dominant back and last year's conqueror of territory and females (above). The dominant buck is now becoming harder to see now that he has established his territory. I would expect both males to be in competition for mates later in the summer. I will of course, be around for the rutting season. In August 2025, I photographed courtship and mating for the first time. I would like to see two bucks locking antlers this year. Like many older bucks, he did not seem nervous being photographed. After looking at me, he raised his back in an arch to stretch his legs and walked away.

 

 

 

23rd May 2026. Today's visit unfolded in temperatures a full 20 degrees centigrade warmer than the 14th May. One week unseasonably cold, the next like a summer heatwave, as if the transition from February to July had been compressed into just ten days. When you think about it, the baby deer are having to cope in their ten day existence with a 29 degree centigrade variation in temperature, as I referenced a low of 1°C on the 14th May. If humans struggle with the effects of a warming climate, think about the baby deer and their mothers who only have a north-facing hedgerow to keep them alive. In hot weather (29.2°C), roe deer seek shade to conserve energy and as expected, most deer remained inactive until 19:30. Mature buck in Meeting House Fields did not reveal himself until 20:30 and kept his distance. The two pregnant does are now mothers to one baby each. They were active in mid-afternoon, but I left them alone, as they were struggling to remain cool in the heat. Two other females, presumed childless, took it upon themselves to approach me out of curiosity, at one point standing just 20 metres from me. I simply stood still in the open and they came over to investigate.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The question I have been asking myself is why are these two does not pregnant? The pair are certainly not behaving like wary mothers guarding their offspring. It could be that in August 2025, there was only one mature buck and a second male a few years younger who picked up a leg injury during a battle and was therefore unable to participate while he recovered. Does are only in heat for less than a week, so perhaps the dominant buck mated with two females and the other females stopped producing pheromones before he had the chance to find them?

If only I lived nearby and could spend much more time gaining the trust of these females. The potential is there, as the two does spent ten minutes investigating me without the tell-tale signs of alarm, namely raised white fur on the bottom and barking. Returning home is always part of my schedule and despite not wanting to admit it, the imperative to avoid leaving empty handed is always at the back of my mind. 

28th May 2026. Every visit to the meadows is different and Friday was no exception. I spotted a doe in the Meeting House Fields. At such a close distance (10 metres) I took a few steps backwards to avoid causing alarm and manually focussed the lens through the foliage to obtain impressive blur. The resulting photos were unusually creative, similar in style to Frans Lanting's photos of rainforest animals. The doe looks supernatural, like an apparition of the forest. The spring heatwave continued, with a 31°C maximum, cloudy humid conditions and scattered light showers. Temperatures rose to 33°C on Tuesday, which means I have revised the lifetime temperature range for the newborn deer to 33°C. That's it. The baby deer will have struggled acclimatising to 1°C at night and 33°C in the daytime over such a short period. I was pleased to find that at least one baby is still with us and has grown significantly in a short period. Roe deer are great parents.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The population of Roe deer at this site are remarkably accustomed to a human presence respectful of their habitat. Over the years, visitors have gone out of their way not to create any disturbance when they spot me training my lens on deer. This is such a reliable site for roe deer and I would not want it to change. I had to vacate roe deer territory near Brighton ten years ago, when young adults from the city's sizeable trustafarian and petite bourgeoisie demographic arrived in an 'Earth Vehicle' carrying an expensive sound system, a generator and large amounts of psychoactive substances. They were there for a rave.

30th May 2026. A quiet Saturday in the meadow and the last day of the spring 2026 heatwave. Having personally acclimatised to the heat, 29.2°C did not feel particularly hot any more. The baby deer were nowhere to be seen. Mature buck and his female companion appeared in the Meeting House Fields, but at the furthest end from the gate. The best opportunity came from the second mature buck, whose territory consists of one large rewilded meadow. I spotted him in bright sunshine in early evening, but he didn't notice me at all, despite coming within 15 metres of me, keeping his head down for the entire time. He re-appeared at the same spot at 19:45. I decided to leave him alone and go down to the Meeting House Fields, as the buck was starting to look tense. He was much more relaxed when I returned to him for the third time at 20:15. He raised his head in response to birds suddenly taking flight in the trees behind me, their wings frantically colliding with tree branches. The rewilded field is his territory — it will be marked with his scent, he will have driven the male yearling away and the buck is not going to waste energy running away just because a mysterious figure with a large eye on sticks keeps appearing in late evening.

  

 

 

 

 

2nd June 2026. The wait for summer is finally over, but in typical British fashion, it began with 32-38mm (localised) of rain and thunderstorms. South-east England can experience heat intensity comparable to continental Europe, but the northerly latitude and shifts in the jet stream also lead to spells of turbulent weather. The deer meadow is 22 miles from the coast and so experiences more extremes than in Brighton, which has a microclimate moderated by the South Downs and coastal waters. The deer meadow is hotter in summer, colder in winter, experiences a higher frequency of thunderstorms and has more extreme rainfall. 

A female roe deer came out to dry off, following a heavy downpour, but the rainless interval was short-lived. I could see a bank of cumulonimbus clouds approaching from the north-west and heard thunder getting closer. For safety reasons, I stood along a hedgerow, avoiding proximity to mature oak trees. There was a flash of lightning, followed a split second later by a very loud thunderclap, indicating a nearby strike. In the first second of my video, you can see a jolt, which is me responding to the thunder. I have to admit, I was a little scared, so was a newborn foal, which was running in circles. Speaking of babies, I finally managed to photograph a baby deer and I am delighted to report that one of the does gave birth to healthy twins! I only had a few minutes to photograph a single kid, before the mother took the twins away. I was extremely lucky to photograph them undisturbed. 

No other deer could be seen in any part of the meadow, even during the time when I most expect them to appear. When looking at the reason for this, the location of the baby deer provides a clue. The mother had taken her twins to dry off in a small patch of land with brambles, short grass and oak saplings. The intense rainfall had left the meadow grasses and clay soil completely saturated. Facing nightfall, the roe deer population had probably decided to stay dry by feeding inside the woodlands rather than browse saturated grassland and face an entire night with soaked fur. I myself walked for six hours in wet grass, but my Decathlon walking boots kept my socks bone dry for the entire visit. The roe deer files is proving to be as much a story of weather extremes as it is a diary of wildlife photography.

 

 

 

 

 

5th June 2026. A bumper evening in the meadow, with the females all out in the sunshine. We might not be experiencing the heat of late May, but fine conditions this evening were much more conducive to roe deer activity compared with the dreadful rainstorms on June 2nd. The mother of twins spends most waking hours eating, to fuel milk production and remain vigilant for predators. The mother seems to be getting used to me being nearby. I managed to spot the babies sprinting through the long grass. 

Two (presumed) childless does emerged at the unusually early time of 7pm. In early June, I am noticing that the increasing height of meadow grass is beginning to obscure roe deer, which are a small species. I therefore used the out of focus meadow grasses to my advantage, creating images with a colourful bokeh. Mature Buck is keeping a very low profile. I spotted him in a horse field adjacent to his usual haunt, but he didn't want to reveal himself. The other buck was nowhere to be seen. The does are stealing the show!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9th June 2026. I have said before that no evening at the deer meadow is ever the same. It was lovely to bear the fruits of a careful and gentle approach to fieldcraft. The smaller mature buck first spotted me in early May, but he unfortunately panicked and ran away. Over the subsequent weeks, he has decided that I am not a threat. I found the buck dozing this afternoon. He opened his eyes and went back to sleep again. I saw him again at 9pm and he displayed much more aggressive behaviour, barking and rubbing his antlers on a tree to mark his territory. Half-an-hour before this, I spent time with one of the mothers in a far corner of the site, as she grazed on bramble flower heads. Her rusty coat looked particularly distinctive. It reminded me of the orange external fuel tank on NASA space shuttle launches. Depending on the light, their summer fur can look drastically different, ranging from a Cotswold sandstone to vivid rusty orange. The doe looked up briefly, when she heard the camera shutter (in 'silent' mode, so great hearing) but as I stood completely still, the mother did not realise she had company. I nearly walked into a young doe along a muddy path, but I slowly walked backwards to avoid causing panic. From such a close distance (5 metres) it became clear just how small roe deer are. They are like little fairies. The body, the head, the legs. Everything is in miniature.

I noticed tree damage from severe gales along a public bridleway. Weighted down from heavy rain, a sycamore tree in full leaf could not withstand 50mph winds on June 6th and broke off at the base. The weather saga continues: 1°C. 33°C. 32mm of rain. Hail, thunder and lightning. 50mph gusts. The tree fell on the spot where, in 2025, I photographed a doe in buttercups and two deer mating. When you think about it, any photographer standing under that tree would have been extremely lucky not to have been killed to bits.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

14th June 2026. It appeared that my luck was running out today, as the railway network issued a 'Do Not Travel' warning (due to a bridge requiring emergency repairs) just as I boarded the outward train, severely limiting my return journey options. More on that later. The meadow grass is getting very tall, making it difficult to spot roe deer and tailor a careful approach to prevent causing panic. I was beginning to ask myself if this two month project had run its course. With just 20 minutes remaining of usable daylight, my only option was to focus on 'Small Ears' at the Meeting House Fields. I call her that, because the doe has unusually small ears for a roe deer. The owners of a neighbouring house approached me, telling a story about witnessing the birth of Small Ears. The birth was apparently completed in a few minutes, with the mother eating the placenta, cutting the umbilical cord with her teeth and the baby getting up quickly and being escorted by her mother into the woods. The man said roe deer are frequent garden visitors. It must be lovely owning a large, bay-windowed house with its own roe deer meadow and woodland. Perhaps I can make them an offer?

With a tight deadline to get home, I set up an alarm on my watch for the latest time I could stay before I had to catch the bus, which was inexcusably late, but happily did not cause a missed train. There were so few trains running, all overcrowded, that it raised the possibility of waiting overnight, but in all honesty, I could think of worse things than being trapped in my favourite deer meadow! There is a very handsome young newcomer in the second rewilded meadow. Bizarrely, over a period of two hours and four passes, the young buck was standing in exactly the same pose and location. He will be targeted by the mature buck, who 'owns' this territory. There are three adult bucks, one yearling buck, two mothers, three kids and seven childless does, two of which are yearlings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

20th June 2026. Saturday evening marked the 13th and final session of my two month roe deer project. The first thing I noticed on entering the site was a group of about ten teenage boys riding petrol and electric mopeds. What was to happen later came as an unpleasant surprise, when a group member approached at high speed and accused me of photographing them. The boy, who was probably in nappies when I first started coming here, threatened to "do something about it" if I took any photos of the group. Last Sunday, I noticed tyre treads in the mud and coupled with an absence of roe deer, I suspected the use of mopeds. I really ought to report this as antisocial behaviour. The nature reserve is a peaceful place for wildlife, not a racetrack for insolent teens. I suspect their pre-emptive aggression was motivated by the youths having something to hide. Articles and substances of a certain nature perhaps. I have spent two months gaining the trust of roe deer, so much so, that they sleep in my presence or approach me out of curiosity. Now, many of the roe deer are uncharacteristically nervous or very late coming out to graze. I will be returning in four weeks to photograph the rutting season. I don't care about the boys. Perhaps by then, they will have been jailed for setting fires during a Tommy Robinson march. 

I have enjoyed the last two months and can't believe the volume and quality of the images. I love having a story to tell. My plan is to photograph the roe deer over a 12 month period, with a focus on interactions between deer and behaviour.  Before I departed, I left a note for the couple I spoke to last Sunday, about where to find my work online. If you enjoyed my photo essay, please leave a comment and bookmark this page. Now, for a real ale or three. See you in July!