Valle Moru, Asturias – The Deer Rut

September in Asturias is our favorite month. The tourists are few and far between. The temperature is pleasant but you won’t overheat in the high mountains.

Fernando and Belinda

It also see’s the beginning of the deer rutting season.  When a friend invited us so stay at his cabaña for the weekend, we were excited to say the least. The cabaña is located near the abandoned village of Valle Moru in Ponga, a perfect location for us to witness the deer rut (‘berrea’ in spanish). Surrounded by dense beech and oak forest, the rut can be heard several kilometres away, particularly at dawn and dusk.

A very early start is needed to get a good chance of seeing some action.  So armed with cameras, scope and binoculars we headed to good viewpoint each day walking in the dark by torchlight.

The stags roaring and belching creates a unforgettable atmosphere.  We were lucky to witness the stags locking antlers although they are incredibly difficult to spot against the mountain side.

N.B.  Not much success with the Bushnell Trophy Cam over 4 nights but we managed to catch one clip of large wild boar.

Dawn at Valle Moru.  The warm southern winds the previous day produced a beautiful red sky.

View of the valley.  We saw golden eagles, griffon vulture, egyptian vulture, bonelli’s eagle and chamois from this position.

A stag in action!