roe deer

[jonnie drake]

Hi guys! I was wondering if any of you have seen a lot of roe deer around lately? I was out for walks in three small woods that are close to one another on consecutive days last week, the first time a buck and doe, the second a buck and doe, and the last a solitary buck. Is it a busy time of year for them?

The first pair I spotted were late on in the evening around 9.30pm in the first relatively small wood. The second pair were spotted at a smaller wood around 6.30pm, a few hundred yards from the first wood. The lone buck was spotted around 3.00pm at a much larger wood, that was perhaps a mile at most from the second. There are no ther distinct woodlands nearby.

Is it possible from this to say that perhaps the deer move through these woods during darkness? that they use the larger wood for cover during the day? the larger wood is the only one to have dense areas of pine, although they have recently brought in machinery to remove the trees, they have probably already removed the best part of 1000 square metres

thanks for shedding any light.

 

[jonnie drake]

I tell a lie! there is a distinct woodland that lies south of the first, the other two follow a rough line going west.

 

[JonathanD]

You'd be surprised at the places Roe deer get to. I have them in the woods at the back of my house which is small and surrounded by roads and fields, but if you tell any of the local dog walkers there are deer around, they'll think you're mad. I've had this conversation with loads of locals who've been using the woods for decades. It's amazing and a testament to the secretive nature of these deer in small pocketed areas.

 

[Bowlander]

Roe are really struggling (dying) around here due to liver fluke burdens, the wet weather has been ideal for transmission of fluke.

Don't be concerned about the felling of the forestry, the regeneration will be great forage for the deer. Probably better habitat than over mature trees.

 

[Filterhoose]

Roe deer around where I live are dying of spotlightngun syndrome


Windy

 

[Uthred]

Certainly doing Very well round here! Numbers Very Stable,being an ex Stalker (Deer! befor anyone....)We have A trio...In the Garden alot this time of year..and the Snow was great for recording 'Comeings and Goings
'It's a common misconception for'Townies' to think everything is on the Brink of exstinction in the Countryside.I'm sure alot of people on here know differently.

 

[Bowlander]

'It's a common misconception for'Townies' to think everything is on the Brink of exstinction in the Countryside.I'm sure alot of people on here know differently.

Badgers are really rare, you hardly ever see them!

 

[blacktimberwolf]

Roe deer here usually die from lead poisoning :AR15firin


I've heard it said that you could have a roe deer living in your garden & not know it

 

[TurboGirl]

We have a few muntjac around us but the roes are all in the NW of Leicestershire. They're very acclimatised to people up there and don't bother themselves to walk off slowly unless you gatecrash within 50m or so

We picked up a RTA muntjac a few years ago and had the finest roadkill barbeque ever I think the roes would go through anything under 3.5 tonnes though!

 

[Lynx]

I posted a thread a few months ago after stumbling across a roe deer in an area I have walked for years and never seen one before. I was within fifteen feet of it. Very secretive animals indeed.

 

[Niels]

There's like 8 of them in a forest the size of a soccer field here. Loads and loads of tracks but only the really crazy like me(who knows the right places and times) ever see them.

 

[Bushwhacker]

They're always about, I see them pretty much daily throughout the year.
Maybe you're noticing them more because there's less cover at this time of year.

 

[wicca]

I posted these back in the summer when I took them. I'd spent a few nights in the wood and was walking out with a fully loaded Bergan, I had stopped for a breather on one of the steep slopes and he suddenly appeared. The breeze was in my favour and I'd been still for a few minutes so it fooled him, plus I had the camera round my neck otherwise I would have missed him.

Second click and he was gone..

 

[HeltorChasca]

Lots of Roe round these parts. Although they cause lots of damage there is something quite spectacular about their ability to magic out of sight, silently into the woods almost without trace..................hc

 

[Niels]

I posted these back in the summer when I took them. I'd spent a few nights in the wood and was walking out with a fully loaded Bergan, I had stopped for a breather on one of the steep slopes and he suddenly appeared. The breeze was in my favour and I'd been still for a few minutes so it fooled him, plus I had the camera round my neck otherwise I would have missed him.

Second click and he was gone..

That's not a roe deer is it? Looks like a fallow deer to me.

 

[wicca]

That was my first reaction when I saw him Niels, but the spotted red/brown coat is not uncommon amongst the younger Roe Deer round here. There is a pure white one which I hope to catch with the camera one day, and also some which are almost chocolate brown colour.
His size was about right too, smaller than he looks there in the photo.
If you look at this website you'll see a range of coat colours in Roe..complete with spots..
http://www.fotosearch.com/photos-images/roe-deer.html

 

[Bowlander]

I've just asked my little lad and he reckons its a Roe as well. I'd have said Fallow as a first impression.

 

[wicca]

I'm fairly certain it's a quite juvenile Roe, antlers still in velvet. The only other thing I could mention is that I've never ever seen Fallow Deer at all in those woods or the surrounding area. Since Niels mentioned it I've cheated and looked on the web...loads of spotted Roe..

 

[Geoff Dann]

That's not a roe deer is it? Looks like a fallow deer to me.

Doesn't look like a roe deer to me, and I see them all the time. Nose is the wrong shape.

 

[Mick w.]

I originally thought fallow, but look at the antlers. Also, I'm sure Wicca, who was there at the time, knows his roe from his fallow!