The Cervidae are in town!

[Prawnster]

I live in St.Helens on the outskirts of Merseyside, a very built up, urban part of the UK. Opportunities for observing and tracking wildlife have been limited to garden birds, bats and the welcome sight of an occasional fox. Tracking larger animals was limited to holidays and days out.

Not any more! My local newspaper carried this story this week http://www.sthelensstar.co.uk/news/9417158.Rangers_search_for_roe_deer/

This woodland is only a few miles from my house so I'm really pleased. I've walked here a lot but never seen any sign of deer. Nor have I seen sign of hare or ptarmigans. It just shows that you shouldn't close your mind off to the possibility that there will be something more unusual in a place you consider too urban for wildlife.
The article says that deer are moving around from place to place using railway embankments to travel. I'd never thought of that before but it seems obvious now that that is what they would do.
We've just had a light flurry of snow today so I'm off out looking for tracks


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[Toddy]

I like that light snow it's a great way to wander and see tracks
It's surprising just how much wildlife lives a lot closer to us that we expect.......nice having ptarmigan and hares though

cheers,
Toddy

 

[John Fenna]

I once heard railway lines being called "linear wildlife refuges" - which apears fairly accurate!

 

[Dougster]

I saw Birds Britannica and it claimed railway and motorway embankments saved some of our predator birds. There is a lotto be said for those hinterlands.

Embankments also make great back stops.....

 

[Rod Paradise]

Do you mean Partridge when you say Ptarmigan? I'd be shocked at Ptarmigan being so far south & so low an elevation.

Nice to have deer close to you though - always a buzz to see them. There's a herd of roes right in by Glasgow City Centre in the Necropolis - but when I was living about 1/2 mile away I never managed to see them.

 

[Prawnster]

Do you mean Partridge when you say Ptarmigan? I'd be shocked at Ptarmigan being so far south & so low an elevation.

Nice to have deer close to you though - always a buzz to see them. There's a herd of roes right in by Glasgow City Centre in the Necropolis - but when I was living about 1/2 mile away I never managed to see them.

I've been looking in my bird book and you're right, it can't possibly be Ptarmigan. It must be either Partridge or perhaps someone has gotten confused with Willow or Red Grouse.


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[nuggets]

Its says `partridge ` in the press story ,, have they edited it or have you read it wrong ???

 

[Prawnster]

Haha it's me getting confused then, doh!!


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[Bowlander]

Urban deer.....Fenton!!

 

[Prawnster]

Urban deer.....Fenton!!

Funniest thing about that video for me was that my wife thought the dog was called Satan!
So it went 'Satan!'
'Oh Jesus!'
'Satan!'
'Jesus Christ, no!'




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[Geoff Dann]

Glad to hear they've got as far as Merseyside. They are my constant companions in the Sussex countryside, and regularly fill my freezer with roadkill. In Sussex, they were there before humans chopped all the forests down but if they can find food in the outskirts of Liverpool then good luck to them. Watch out for your roses! Adorable.

 

[Mesquite]

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