How do you track Roe Deer?

[Lynx]

I often go for a three hour hike at the weekends across open countryside and land that I have walked for many years. Last weekend I got huge shock. As I was walking along the side of a small copse I felt something move to my right and as I turned to see what it was I found myself staring directly at a beautiful Roe deer with a lovely rusty coloured coat. It could not have been more than fifteen feet from me.

Now I have walked this land for the last 40 years and have never seen any deer on it and so I am now keen to identify their tracks and evidence that they are around and where they have been. So, what sort of things do I look for that confirm the presence of Roe deer please? Is there a good time of the day to see them perhaps and in certain habitats?

It was a female by the way; at least I assume it was as it had no horns!

 

[Silverback 1]

Have a look at this great site, would have posted in greater detail but just on my way out, this is packed with info and should keep you busy, i have been stalking deer for a good few years and the fact that you were within 5 yards is no surprise, Roe deer in particular are like ghosts sometimes.

www.bds.org.uk

 

[JonathanD]

Horns!! Horns!! They be antlers ya big moomin.

Now you know they are there, go out where you saw them and look for sign. Droppings and tracks are usually prevalent. And then you follow the obvious runs they follow and you'll find more sign. It's an adventure of discovery. I'd advise you to go and look and then research what you've found, rather than the other way around. It's much more fun and rewarding that way.

 

[Lynx]

Thanks guys, great feedback and I'm looking forward to stalking one to photograph one day!

 

[widu13]

Keep down wind mate- Roe deer have notoriously poor eyesight.

 

[JonathanD]

Keep down wind mate- Roe deer have notoriously poor eyesight.

Good advice. Keep quiet, keep low and if you know a well used area... keep still and sit. They will come to you. Mask your hands and white face too. They are like beacons. If you do that, you can get quite close and get great pics.

 

[horsevad]

Thanks guys, great feedback and I'm looking forward to stalking one to photograph one day!

When you stalk, be very observant of the head and the ears of the deer.

When the deer is grazing it has its head down among the tall grasses. This means that it is dependent on either hearing or smelling advancing predators (you!).

The deer moves the ears as to focus on sound it registers. To some extent you can therefore see whether or not the deer can hear you.

If you step on a twig the deer will hear the sharp crack. It will raise it's head and try to focus both its ears and eyes on the origin of the sound.

Observing this behavior is quite central to stalking deers.

Whenever the deer is grazing you can move closer. Keep low (as to not let your body present a sharp contour to the background), and move slow and deliberate. Only transfer the full weight to the front foot when you are sure you are not going to step on a twig or similar.

When the deer has been alerted and raises its head you must keep perfectly still. The deers are dichromate and have trouble seeing the contours of shapes which are close in colour. So if you have masked you face with a hat (or even a small camouflage net) and wear gloves the deer will not be able to see you if you do not move. Do not show your teeths - they are the signs of a carnivour!

When the deer has assured itself that there are no danger present it will go back to grazing. Then you can advance a couple of steps further.

Be patient. Very patient and move very slowly. To advance the last 10 meters will take the better part of an hour - maybe more.

When you have trained the techniques a little you can actually stalk so close that you can touch the deer. (It is not recommeded though, they can deliver quite a kick when the get massively startled!)

I have beginners on the courses I teach consistently get to within 1 meter of both deer, beaver and otter. It its certainly possible for most anyone to learn; but it requires patience!

//Kim Horsevad

 

[Shewie]

Great post Kim

 

[Mistwalker]

Horns!! Horns!! They be antlers ya big moomin.

Now you know they are there, go out where you saw them and look for sign. Droppings and tracks are usually prevalent. And then you follow the obvious runs they follow and you'll find more sign. It's an adventure of discovery. I'd advise you to go and look and then research what you've found, rather than the other way around. It's much more fun and rewarding that way.

I agree here. If you know where you saw them then go back and check out the area. There is a reason they are drawn there...usually diet and water so as long as you don't get carried away with scenting up the area you won't scare them away for long. Look for open patches of dirt in the area and look for signs of cloven hooves.. There scat will look much like rabbit scat except in larger pellets. In late summer you should find small trees with the bark all roughed up from where they have rubbed the velvet off their antlers. That horns comment was funny lol.

Thanks guys, great feedback and I'm looking forward to stalking one to photograph one day!

I love stalking and photographing deer. This is one of the pics of a Buck I encountered a while back. He wasn't scared of me at all, but the doe I ambushed (with a camera) ran like the wind. There are a few more pics in the last thread I posted.

Definitely approach from down wind and on damp days if possible so the sounds will be softened and covered by drips and drops to help drowned out your sounds. The deer here have excellent hearing.

 

[Lynx]

When you stalk, be very observant of the head and the ears of the deer.

When the deer is grazing it has its head down among the tall grasses. This means that it is dependent on either hearing or smelling advancing predators (you!).

The deer moves the ears as to focus on sound it registers. To some extent you can therefore see whether or not the deer can hear you.

If you step on a twig the deer will hear the sharp crack. It will raise it's head and try to focus both its ears and eyes on the origin of the sound.

Observing this behavior is quite central to stalking deers.

Whenever the deer is grazing you can move closer. Keep low (as to not let your body present a sharp contour to the background), and move slow and deliberate. Only transfer the full weight to the front foot when you are sure you are not going to step on a twig or similar.

When the deer has been alerted and raises its head you must keep perfectly still. The deers are dichromate and have trouble seeing the contours of shapes which are close in colour. So if you have masked you face with a hat (or even a small camouflage net) and wear gloves the deer will not be able to see you if you do not move. Do not show your teeths - they are the signs of a carnivour!

When the deer has assured itself that there are no danger present it will go back to grazing. Then you can advance a couple of steps further.

Be patient. Very patient and move very slowly. To advance the last 10 meters will take the better part of an hour - maybe more.

When you have trained the techniques a little you can actually stalk so close that you can touch the deer. (It is not recommeded though, they can deliver quite a kick when the get massively startled!)

I have beginners on the courses I teach consistently get to within 1 meter of both deer, beaver and otter. It its certainly possible for most anyone to learn; but it requires patience!

//Kim Horsevad

This an excellent article and I thank you for taking the time to write it. It reminds me of my shooting days way back in time when I used to practice my stalking technique on rabbits and I would end up standing still in a field with them feeding on the ground right next to me. I have stood completely still for an hour or so doing this in my youth. just for the enjoyment of being able to get so close. It's the body language that is useful to know about with deer.

 

[Lynx]

I agree here. If you know where you saw them then go back and check out the area. There is a reason they are drawn there...usually diet and water so as long as you don't get carried away with scenting up the area you won't scare them away for long. Look for open patches of dirt in the area and look for signs of cloven hooves.. There scat will look much like rabbit scat except in larger pellets. In late summer you should find small trees with the bark all roughed up from where they have rubbed the velvet off their antlers. That horns comment was funny lol.





I love stalking and photographing deer. This is one of the pics of a Buck I encountered a while back. He wasn't scared of me at all, but the doe I ambushed (with a camera) ran like the wind. There are a few more pics in the last thread I posted.

Definitely approach from down wind and on damp days if possible so the sounds will be softened and covered by drips and drops to help drowned out your sounds. The deer here have excellent hearing.

More great advice thanks and a great picture. The ground was wet where I was walking and so the sound of dripping rain from the trees would definately have masked the sound of my approach (Like every other day we have had this summer). Anyway, weather permitting I will check out the area this weekend and see what I can find.

 

[Bushwhacker]

Plenty of sign here.
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=75244

Approaching them "face-on" shows up 2 eye's, 2 arms, 2 legs - a classic profile that they will recognise and fear.
If you approach them sideways (turn at 90 degrees and side-step) you alter your profile - they can only see your leading leg as opposed to seeing a gap/daylight if you were to walk face-on. You can turn your head to the way you're facing, raise your leading arm/shoulder, tuck your hand into your armpit and mask a fair part of your face. You don't even need to worry about camouflage gear really, so handy if you're just out and about.

You will look silly doing this, but only to humans!

 

[Mistwalker]

More great advice thanks and a great picture. The ground was wet where I was walking and so the sound of dripping rain from the trees would definately have masked the sound of my approach (Like every other day we have had this summer). Anyway, weather permitting I will check out the area this weekend and see what I can find.

Wet days are good for tracking. Tracks don't show up well on hard dry surfaces, though they will show up in sand, mud makes nice casts of prints.

 

[slowworm]

I often see roe deer in my woodland while working there and can approach tracking from a different perspective, i.e. I've got to notice what damage they do to my trees! Over the last year I've got to know them much better and it's become quite easy to know when they've been around.

As has been said, footprints and droppings are often the most obvious signs. Damage caused by browsing is also easy to spot once you know what you're looking for and can help to identify what type of deer you have, young tree shoots and brambles are often browsed around the 1m mark. Roe bucks actually fray bark early in the season, in Spring, although the damage can be seen long after. Bucks also scratch around trees to scent mark. Also keep an eye out for patches of trampled grass as deer often lay down to ruminate - i.e. chew their food. Again at this time of year you may be lucky enough to see their young about, there's two roe kids on my land at the moment and I'm often stumbling across them!

 

[Ian "max" Maxwell]

Well done, the closer the deer gets to you, the better your concentric circles are! Sometimes slots are difficult to see, however compression shapes in the woods on pine needles etc might be easier to spot, and have a scout around for track traps.
My best advice to track your deer is get into doing ZIZOs ( zone in, zone out). You will be amazed how close they will come to you, if you are relaxed. We have had deer virtually stand on people during the ZIZO.
Next is stealth, the deer will play you, and move so that they can keep you up-wind, and know where you are. Take your time and have fun.
In terms of spoor, look for the scat( green is fresh) lay-ups and scrapes.

 

[Lynx]

Plenty of sign here.
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=75244

Approaching them "face-on" shows up 2 eye's, 2 arms, 2 legs - a classic profile that they will recognise and fear.
If you approach them sideways (turn at 90 degrees and side-step) you alter your profile - they can only see your leading leg as opposed to seeing a gap/daylight if you were to walk face-on. You can turn your head to the way you're facing, raise your leading arm/shoulder, tuck your hand into your armpit and mask a fair part of your face. You don't even need to worry about camouflage gear really, so handy if you're just out and about.

You will look silly doing this, but only to humans!

Your link here is superb and just what I was looking for. Thanks!

 

[Colin.W]

There are deer in the woods where I walk my dog, I have a antler that I guess was shed by one of them that I plan to make a bow stand from. as for getting close hmm unless I go out without the puppy not a chance. in her mind if it moves it wants to play. no matter if it is animal or plant any movement is a signal to play she's a 9 month old blue merl collie she has started to calm down but we still have a long way to go before we can do any stalking