How and where to see deer in the UK

Head out to your local park for a chance to see a herd of our largest land mammal - the red deer.

Observing deer in the wild, where they can exhibit natural behaviour, is a wonderful and rewarding experience. For many however, the opportunity to see deer can only be achieved by visiting parks where deer are managed in a herd and often become used to the presence of humans.

The best deer hot spots in the UK

You don't have to travel to the Highlands to catch a glimpse of these beautiful creatures, many of our local parklands and estates have herds that can be visited.

Find out if there is a park near you with the British Deer Societies guide to parks, estates and wild places.

Watching deer

David Kenyon, from the British Deer Society (BDS), explains how to get the most out of watching deer without intruding.

To achieve a memorable yet safe deer encounter, it is crucial to ensure that the deer are unaware that you are there. A few simple rules of field craft can help you:

• The best time of day is either in the early morning or the late evening when deer are moving about in search of food.
• Move slowly and quietly.
• Use binoculars or even better a telescope on a tripod - to avoid disrupting the normal behaviour patterns of the deer which is very detrimental.


Photographing deer © The British Deer Society

• Hide your approach by using the lay of the land and the undergrowth.
• Walk up wind if you can - although park deer are used to the scent of man, wild deer will be gone before you knew they were there.
• Look for the signs of deer presence such as hoof prints (slots), droppings (crotties or fewmets), and hair caught on barbed wire fences. With experience you will also be able to spot where the deer lie down at night known as crouches, and where they have caused damage to trees by browsing, bark stripping and fraying.
• Carry a camera - there is always a chance of that once in a lifetime photograph. If you are lucky enough to get a snap add it to the Autumnwatch Flickr group.
• Keep your dog on a lead - especially during May and June when there are a large number of newborn deer hiding in the undergrowth.
• Rutting season is generally between late September and early November. During the rut the stags and bucks develop sharp and dangerous antlers, and are likely to demonstrate aggressive behaviour. It must not be forgotten that even park deer are wild animals so keep a distance.

Deer are iconic creatures - our largest land mammals. Do enjoy watching them but please remember to give them space to behave normally and naturally.

Think you know your red from your sika deer?

There are six deer species that you might stumble across in our parks, estates and in the wild; however only two of these species are truely native - red and roe deer. The other four species have made their way into the countryside through deliberate release or have escaped from parks.

It can be very difficult to identify deer from a distance so we've put together a quick guide of striking features to help you spy on deer from afar.

Red deer

Red deer: Find out more in Wildlife Finder

The red deer is the largest of our deer species. The iconic male stag can reach up to 137cm to its shoulder, whilst the females (hinds) are a little smaller standing up to 122cm at shoulder.

The red deer has dramatically distinctive antlers which can branch many times, with the main beam and the brow line cutting at more than 90 degrees. A stag with 12 points is considered a royal stag.

These magnificent weapons can be used to distinguish them from sika deer which are slightly smaller in size and have a main beam to brow angle of less than 90 degrees.

Roe deer

Roe deer: Find out more with Wildlife Finder

Our other native deer is the smaller roe deer which can be distinguished from other smaller deer by their short antlers and black noses.

Like many deer these mammals go through a colour change from summer to winter, sporting a reddish brown coat in the warmer months that turns grey or pale brown for winter.

These bouncy deer have a relatively early rutting season running from mid-July to mid-August. Widespread throughout the UK, the roe deer can be spotted bounding around woodland and occasionally in fields if the population is large.

Sika deer

Sika deer: Find out more with Wildlife Finder

The sika deer was first introduced to the British landscape in 1860 from its native home in Asia. Currently there is only one 'wild' species in the UK, the Japanese sika. However, there are a number of other species managed in parklands and estates.

The Japanese sika stands between the roe deer and red deer in height with a reddish brown to yellowish brown coat and dark dorsal stripe with spots.

Their antlers are similar to red deer but with fewer branches. If you spot the characteristic white gland on a deer's back leg then you know it is a sika deer.

Fallow deer

Fallow deer: Find out more with Wildlife Finder

The fallow deer hitched a ride to the British Isles with the Normans. Now relatively widespread these deer can be spotted in open conifer woodland, broadleaf woodland and grassland.

The fallow deer goes through many costume changes throughout the year, with the most common variety predominantly tan/fawn and white in the summer and grey in winter.

Fallow deer are very distinctive with their striking antlers that are broad and flat with several lobes.

Muntjac deer

Muntjac deer: Find out more with Wildlife Finder

The muntjac deer is a relatively recent introduction to the British landscape. The first population was imported from China in the early 20th century to managed parks across the country. Escapes from these managed estates have now meant that there are a number of 'wild' muntjac deer populations across the UK.

The muntjac deer is a distinctively small stocky deer with short antlers. Its haunches are higher than its forelegs giving it a lopsided almost hunched look.

Chinese water deer © The British Deer Society

The Chinese water deer

The Chinese water deer is a small deer, standing between the muntjac and the roe deer, but it has a rather unusual decoration. Instead of carrying a set of antlers these teddy-bear like deer have oversized ears and a set of tusks.

It is believed that within deer, tusks were evolved as weapons before antlers, making the Chinese water deer a primitive deer species.

Rear of the deer

Watch: Simon King explains how to identify deer by their rumps.

But what happens when they turn the other way? Which deer have short tails and which have long? Do all deer have stripy haunches?

Join Simon King as he explains how to identify deer by their behinds.