#killarney-national-park — Public Fediverse posts

Run! A Stag Defends His Harem

Last October we spotted a herd of deer, both stags and hinds, in a field. It wasn’t long before another stag wandered in and decided to break up the party. After running around for a bit, the stag ran through the group of hinds and then walked away, trailing 3 of them!...

https://inphotos.org/2026/02/23/run-a-stag-defends-his-harem/

#Autumn #deer #Ireland #Kerry #KillarneyNationalPark #Nature #Photo #Photography #RedDeer #rut #stag #WildlifePhotography

Run! A Stag Defends His Harem

Last October we spotted a herd of deer, both stags and hinds, in a field. It wasn’t long before another stag wandered in and decided to break up the party.

After running around for a bit, the stag ran through the group of hinds and then walked away, trailing 3 of them!

Killarney’s Red Deer Decoration

A stag digs up the grass to decorate his antlers in Killarney National Park a few weeks ago.

Antler entanglement with vegetation is a common occurrence during the red deer rutting season and is primarily caused by a behaviour called “thrashing,” where stags violently shake their antlers against trees, shrubs, and ground vegetation. This behaviour serves multiple purposes: it helps remove the dried velvet that covered growing antlers earlier in the season, it deposits scent from glands near the eyes onto vegetation to mark territory, it demonstrates strength and aggression to rival males, and it creates visual displays that attract females. During peak rutting activity, stags may thrash vegetation dozens of times per day, and the force involved can uproot small plants entirely, strip bark from trees, and break substantial branches. The Irish name for red deer, “fia rua,” literally means “red deer,” and historical Irish texts frequently reference the autumn roaring season when stags’ bellowing calls could be heard echoing across valleys. The physical demands of rutting are so intense that stags typically lose 10-20% of their body weight during the season, as they spend most of their time and energy on reproductive behaviours rather than feeding. Killarney’s native red deer population represents Ireland’s only surviving indigenous red deer herd, genetically distinct from Scottish red deer introduced elsewhere in Ireland, making behavioural observations like this particularly valuable for understanding the ecology of Ireland’s original red deer. The autumn rut typically peaks in October, which means stags spend about 4-6 weeks in this heightened state of activity, after which successful males are often exhausted and in poor condition heading into winter, requiring the entire spring and summer to recover condition for the following year’s rut.

#2025 #antlerEntanglement #autumnWildlife #CountyKerry #deerBehaviour #Ireland #IrishFauna #IrishWildlife #Kerry #KerryNature #Killarney #KillarneyDeer #KillarneyNationalPark #nativeIrishSpecies #Photo #Photography #redDeer #redDeerStag #ruttingSeason #SonyA7RV #wildlifePhotography #wildlifeWelfare

A Killarney Stag’s Portrait

We were lucky to spot this stag and a number of hinds as we entered Killarney National Park a few weeks ago. The light was terrible. It was just after sunrise and we were walking through a wood. I'm thrilled with this photo of a magnificent stag.

https://inphotos.org/2025/10/30/a-killarney-stags-portrait/

#photo #photography #Killarney #ireland #Kerry #KillarneyNationalPark

A Killarney Stag’s Portrait

We were lucky to spot this stag and a number of hinds as we entered Killarney National Park a few weeks ago. The light was terrible. It was just after sunrise and we were walking through a wood. I’m thrilled with this photo of a magnificent stag.

Here’s another photo of this stag.

#antlers #BlarneyPhotographyClub #CountyKerry #deerPhotography #Ireland #IrelandWildlife #IrishFauna #IrishPhotos #IrishWildlife #Kerry #KerryNature #Killarney #KillarneyNationalPark #KillarneyStag #nativeIrishSpecies #nativeRedDeer #Photo #Photography #redDeer #stag #wildlifePhotography #wildlifePortrait

The Tiered Beauty of O’Sullivan’s Cascade

One of the highlights of a recent trip to Killarney was discovering O’Sullivan’s Cascade. There’s a 1.7 km walk from your car to the falls, but it’s worth it as the area is lovely.

#Autumn #BlarneyPhotographyClub #cascadingWaterfall #CountyKerry #Ireland #IrishNature #IrishWaterfall #IrishWilderness #Kerry #KerryTourism #KerryWaterfalls #Killarney #KillarneyLandscape #KillarneyNationalPark #LakesOfKillarney #mossCoveredRocks #naturePhotographyIreland #OSullivanSCascade #Photo #Photography #waterfallPhotography

The Forest Guardian

Early Saturday morning a few weeks ago we gathered to photograph deer as the sun rose. Walking through the forest in Killarney National Park we spotted a group of deer. The light was terrible. I’m sure this was shot at ISO 12800 to get a crisp image and I’m really happy with it.

This group of deer stayed in the forest away from curious humans for the rest of the morning, though we could hear this stag bellowing several times off in the distance.

#antlers #CountyKerry #deer #deerPhotography #forestPhotography #Ireland #IrelandWildlife #IrishNature #IrishWildlife #Kerry #KerryWildlife #Killarney #KillarneyNationalPark #KillarneyWildlife #naturePhotographyIreland #Photo #Photography #redDeer #stag #wildDeer #wildlifePhotography

When Stags Find Their Voice

I travelled to Kerry this morning to photograph the rutting in Killarney National Park there. There weren’t many stags to be seen but this fellow was lying in the middle of a field I suspected would have a stag or two. After a few moments he stood up, digging his antlers in the grass and tossed his head from side to side with grass flying everywhere.

Despite the dramatic behaviour, he looked over at the human photographers again and lay down, chewing some grass and ignored us once more.

#animalBehaviour #antlers #autumnWildlife #deerBehaviour #deerStag #Ireland #IrishFauna #IrishWildlife #Kerry #KillarneyNationalPark #naturePhotography #Photo #Photography #redDeer #ruttingDisplay #ruttingSeason #stag #wildDeer #wildlifeIreland #wildlifePhotography

Rode to the top of #MollsGap from #KillarneyNationalPark. My wife was running in the half marathon there, and I left right before the race started. My route started at the begining of the race, so I had the road pretty much to myself for most of the ride and the day was perfect once the mist cleared out. I was smiling the whole time 😁 #cycling #ireland

[07:00] Decades-long battle to clear rhododendron in Killarney

New machinery is tipping the balance in the decades-long battle to clear rhododendron in Killarney National Park, according to the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

https://www.rte.ie/news/munster/2025/0418/1508250-killarney-national-park-rhododendron/

#decades #KillarneyNationalPark #theNationalParksandWildlifeService

I visited the National Park in Killarney, Co Kerry, today to photograph the deer with other members of Blarney Photography Club, and a few friends.

There weren’t many stags or deer to be seen, apart from in a field up a hill beyond the Castlerosse Park Resort golf course. We found this stag near the Torc Waterfall side of Muckross House. No other stags nearby, they were all calm and relaxed. I think the stag was slightly worried about the silly humans pointing long lenses at him from some 300m away. He needn’t have worried.

https://inphotos.org/2024/10/06/a-stag-and-his-hinds/

#2024 #deer #Ireland #Kerry #Killarney #KillarneyNationalPark #Photo #Photography #SonyA7RV #stag

A few photos of the deer in Killarney National Park a year ago when I visited there with Blarney Photography Club. These have been sitting in my “Unpublished” collection since then, so I might as well make them public.

https://inphotos.org/2024/10/04/the-deer-of-the-rut/

#deer #gallery #Ireland #Kerry #Killarney #KillarneyNationalPark #Nature #Photo #Photography #stag

On a trip with Blarney Photography Club to the Lakes of Killarney a year ago, we photographed the water as the sun rose over the mountains in the distance.

https://inphotos.org/2024/03/29/sunrise-by-the-brickeen-bridge/

#BlarneyPhotographyClub #Ireland #Kerry #KillarneyNationalPark #LakesOfKillarney #Photo #silhouette #SonyA7III #sunrise

A stag and his grass

A stag buries his head in grass, to decorate his antlers and make himself more attractive to female deer.

Killarney National Park, October 2023.

https://inphotos.org/2023/11/09/a-stag-and-his-grass/

#photo #photography #Kerry #KillarneyNationalPark #Deer #Stag #Ireland

Lower Lakes, #killarney, so peaceful!

#photography #travel #ireland #KillarneyNationalPark #smartphonepic

Castlerosse Park Resort Cottage

Situated at the edge of the woods behind the Castlerosse Park Resort golf course is this small cottage. We walked by it a few weeks ago when we were in the area to photograph the rutting.

There was a car parked directly outside, so it’s occupied, but it’s so solitary and in a secluded area, it was like finding a magic cottage in the wood.

https://inphotos.org/2023/10/27/castlerosse-park-resort-cottage/

#Kerry #KillarneyNationalPark #Killarney #photo #photography #BlarneyPhotographyClub

Mushrooms cling to an old tree trunk in Killarney National Park.

https://inphotos.org/2023/10/23/mushrooms-on-an-old-tree/

#photo #photography #mushroom #MushroomMonday #KillarneyNationalPark #blarneyPhotographyClub

To be a stag in October

We went to Killarney National Park this morning to photograph the annual rutting. This is when stags come down from the mountain and look for romance and court any nearby female deer. And they’re quite vocal about it.

Story in the blog post … :)

https://inphotos.org/2023/10/14/to-be-a-stag-in-october/

#photo #photography #deer #rutting #stag #Kerry #KillarneyNationalPark

When you visit Muckross Abbey in Killarney, one thing that immediately catches your eye is the magnificent tree that grows right in the middle of the building. The tree is so large that it almost looks like it’s part of the abbey, as if the building had grown around it over time.

Taking a photo of this tree is an absolute must if you’re a photography enthusiast. As you stand there, camera in hand, you can’t help but marvel at the sheer size of this tree, as its branches extend high into the sky. It’s truly a sight to behold. And if you’re lucky enough to visit on a sunny day, the way the light filters through the leaves is simply magical.

Apertureƒ/8CameraILCE-7M3Focal length16mmISO100Shutter speed1/160s

• Mastodon
• Email
• Tumblr
• Facebook

#ireland #kerry #killarney-national-park #muckross-abbey #photos #sony-a7iii

https://inphotos.org/2023/03/29/the-tree-in-muckross-abbey/

Horse and Cart in Motion

As I was strolling through the serene beauty of Killarney National Park, a horse and cart leisurely passed by. I couldn’t resist capturing this moment, and so I snapped a photo of the horse and cart using a slightly longer shutter time.

It's a bit too blurry, but I love the sense of motion in it!

https://inphotos.org/2023/03/16/horse-and-cart-in-motion/

#photo #photography #Killarney #KillarneyNationalPark #Horse #Ireland #Kerry