Deer Friends are new Neighbours

As the towns sprawl ever further into the countryside, I've noticed that the wildlife is beginning to adapt, seeking refuge in the suburbs. The foxes have accustomed well to this environment often living right under our noses unnoticed. More and more I come across signs that deer too are our new neighbours. You might be unaware of their presence but the evidence is there. Food missing from bird tables, choice plants or blooms nibbled away, or the minute little hoofs marks in a soily border. The culprit? The tiny Muntjac deer. The ability to breed all year round, remain hidden in the undergrowth of the most modest garden, and to exist a solitary lifestyle causing little impact to its environment, has meant that it's spread across the country has been inconspicuous.

Although I've come across them during the day in the countryside, in the suburbs they wisely use the cover of darkness. Usually I only spot them in the distance as they cross the roads between parkland and gardens. Their eyes reflect the car headlights, and combined with the pale part of their ears, they can take on the appearance of a Hyena when viewed head on!

Fruitless attempts to film them in an urban setting have left me frustrated, so it was ironic that, after many hours of searching I managed to video this chap just a few hundred yards away from my house.

Their call is very similar to a fox and easily confused (hear it here), but it is slightly harsher, more metallic and less 'musical'. So if you hear what you think are foxes calling in the night, the roses aren't flowering too well this year, and the garden birds are looking hungry... then maybe you have a deer friend too!

Skeleton in the Woods...

It was way too cold to go kayaking, so I opted for a walk instead, choosing to visit some of my old haunts. The windchill under the leadened skies persuaded me to leave the high open ground and seek the comfort of the woods.

Amongst the trees I stumbled across an old friend. The skeletal remains of a once loved shelter. Although now bare, the framework had survived well, still able to support my full weight.

It was over three and a half years ago that I built this bivi as a bolt hole from bad weather. It had been a great place to stop for a nap or to cook a snack, but I abandoned it after it became apparent that a local Muntjac deer was using it as a rest up. There are no tracks, or signs of use, so maybe come spring I might re-thatch it and move back in.

The wind dropped and the sun emerged with a surprising warmth, luring me out onto a sunny snow covered bank.

Settled in the sunshine I felt it was definitely time for something to eat.

You can't beat Camp coffee and some of my favourite Clam Chowder soup when it's cold out.

Feeling full, I was content to stretch out and absorb as much sunshine as I could while watching the snow slowly melt off the Gorse flowers.

The blue skies departed as the lowering sun heralded the end of the day. I followed the meandering stream along the valley, homeward bound...

Deer and mice, somewhere nice......

Not far from home, where the suburbs meet the countryside, is an area of old farmland. Once a mixture of pheasant woods, arable and grazing for horses, it is now abandoned. I don't know why this valuable land has been left unattended for so long, it's in the green belt so can't be built on, so maybe it's simply a small part of a wealthy portfolio, neither needed or noticed. Still, I don't mind as it's become a haven for nature and for me alike.

Here in the new woods lies a derelict plant nursery. A good size plot with rows of greenhouse, boiler houses and offices. It seems strange, as if one day without warning everyone got up and left, never to return. Natures taken over, but in the greenery, exotic escapees lurk in the undergrowth.

Out in the open grassland of what was horse pasture, lies the remnants of a trotting track laid out with old police cones.

There must be at least twenty of these, each one has a resident mouse.

The yellow hue is caused by the colour of the cone and gives the dry, sheltered interior a cosy feel.

A screech from the buzzard up in the nearby oak sends the little chap to huddle in the corner. Too small for a buzzard to be bothered with, the kestrel hovering in the distance is probably more of a threat, along with the obvious presence of owls, from the amount of pellets around.

Inside the cone it is safe, dry, warmed by the sunshine. A little nest of fine grass occupies the corner, a secreted larder of seed in another....life is good in the police cone.

My main reason for being here is to track a Muntjac. Small pockets of land such as this are perfect territory for these small deer. They are loners (or occasionally in small groups) and so can survive where larger deer and herds can't. About the size of an Alsatian dog, they love this mix of woodland with its undergrowth and tall grassland.

They are both secretive and elusive. Tracking them involves finding the extent of their territory and establishing their feeding routine, (they are creatures of habit, following the same route daily).

This track is recent, it was still today, but windy yesterday, so the small twig across the print would indicate that it is probably a day old.

Muntjac are active day and night. They feed mainly at dawn and dusk, but can be found out and about at anytime. In the grassland there are many trails, ending in a circle of flattened foliage. These are lying up spots where they settle to ruminate.

This track is a little older, the sides have fallen in and is partly filled with bits from the overhead trees.

Reeves's Muntjac/ Chinese Muntjac aren't indigenous. They were first brought into the country in 1840 at Woburn Abbey. Many escaped later from Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire and they have slowly established themselves across the country. The Midlands seems to particularly suit them, with it's mix of habitat.

This is a track from today, clean and crisp, I'm slowly figuring out the route this chap takes.

As you can see these hoof prints are quite small.

Muntjacs are one of the oldest known deer, appearing nearly 30 million years ago. They are unusual as they have no rutting period and will breed at any time of year, this must lend to their success at spreading across the country as it allows them to be flexible in their territories.

It looks as if this individual has taken peoples back gardens into its territory, (they'll often browse bird feeders).

I'd just switched my camcorder off and then there it was. I had to wait for the camera to fire back up which seemed to take an age. The wind was in my favour, luckily. This is a doe, you can tell by the lack of antlers, just little tufts instead. Bucks lose their small antlers in May/June but by now they would have been replaced. They spend a lot of time in scrubby woodland with a lot of undergrowth, large antlers would be a hindrance. Rather than using them to fight, they are used to overbalance the opposition and then the tusk like canines are used aggressively.

Keep your eyes open these little chaps are all around us. They can be mistaken for a dog or a fox crossing a field in the distance. If you suspect that they are coming into your garden, put some finely raked soil around where they might feed and look for tracks.

The Muntjac Quest...

The weather is warm, T-shirt weather in fact! Spring is definitely here. Time for a good walk to immerse oneself in nature. After a 2m drive & parking at Manorial Wood (recently fenced off after 30 years public access...those fences are just so flimsy, seem to get blown down by the wind almost every week!!!) I proceeded north to the woods at Moneymore, as it was known before the M6 Toll ripped through it! I stopped briefly to watch the Land Rovers etc go around the newly dug off road course. The tank is there to recover any stuck vehicles. "Can I help you?" the muddy man aggressively asked, he seemed to think I was there to complain. I was polite, (after all he did have a tank!). After a few words he realised that I was a fellow petrol head and went on his yomp jumping way.

On a familiar path I came across one of my favourite trees. Photos don't do it justice as its scale is lost. Sycamores, the much maligned British tree and often considered a nuisance or weed rarely gets the opportunity to do its stuff. When given the space and time they transform from that ungainly sapling with continually wet slimy bark to become a majestic tree, silver flaking trunk and a broad permanent girth. This one has a hollow that the sheep hide from the rain in.

I love this bit of countryside. It used to be "outwoods" (land beyond cultivation where you could freely forage & hunt), but during the "inclosures" of the 1800's many of these trees were planted as boundaries of the newly laid out fields. Left undisturbed this ivy growing on an Ash tree has reached epic proportions.

I came across the 'real' "My Little Pony". This one comes with horse blanky and interchangeable hooves!

Why do horses always follow me? They never seem to leave me alone. Perhaps that sandlewood soap I got for Christmas is really just saddle soap. This one followed me the length of its field (receiving several shocks off the electric fence) I had to give it a pat on the nose just as compensation.

The storms this winter have left loads of trees in this perilous state. I have to try hard not to go and give them a shove. My destructive nature often gets the better of me!

At last signs of Muntjac....no, this is deer but too big.

Badger tracks. I used to try and follow these, badgers leave really good pathways that look just like human paths, but after tracking them for a mile or so you enevitably end up in a tangle of undergrowth. I'm 6 foot plus, badgers 1 foot minus; how many times have I ended up in brambles on hands and knees determined to see it through!

It's most defineately spring! At last! I used to like winter when we had one. Snow and ice, something to skid your car around on. But now, nothing, it's gone a bit dark, Oooh..a frost how will we get to work? Global warming, if petrol was cheaper I would leave my engine running overnight!!

I keep finding these. Walking along, in happy world of your own, whats this? Looks like the back of a sign, I'll go and see what it says. Why am I always on the wrong side of them? I suppose it explains why my feet are so muddy and my legs so very tired!

This tree has rescued me so many times. The "quarry people" keep on pinching hills. A useful landmark like a hill just can't be relied on anymore! One week it's there, the next week it's a 200 foot hole filled with silt. How am I meant to find my way home? This Beech tree has such a distinctive shape and has survived the wrath of quarrying for nearly two hundred years. It is really up high and I can always get home from here.

It's really starting to green up in the countryside now, but the trees are still bald..roll on summer.

Still haven't spotted any Muntjac. Time for a cunning disguise! (my head isn't that pointy)
Strange... they can still see me!

That's it, ...COMPLETELY invisible!
This mask is really warm and comfortable, to the point where you forget you're wearing it. Only when you say "Morning" to the frightened dog walker do you realise you're mistake!

This where the Muntjac hang out. On the silt beds. They like the new growth that springs up from here as the water evaporates.

Of course there's none here today, but that's because I've brought a camera!
Best go home then......