I have been growing ever more curious about the occasional deer sightings on the reserve. We know that we have three species moving around and through Coombes and Churnet valleys, but it's very rarely that they're actually seen.
The carpet of snow deposited in recent weeks gave me new insight into their movements though. I then had a pretty good idea of where to put my camera trap. Eventually I managed to capture these clips, showing a red deer and then a muntjac.
Still though, I felt that I wanted to discover more about them. How come I've never seen them around the place myself? Where do they spend their days?
After finishing work on Monday I headed down to the point near the brook where my camera trap has been located. From there I started following tracks. I was sure that I wouldn't actually happen upon any deer, but maybe following their tracks would give me an insight, and if nothing else, somewhere new to set up my camera.
I climbed to one of the top boundaries of the reserve and found an area well away from the public trails with plenty of space between the trees. To my (very) inexperienced eyes this place looked good. I thought 'if I was a deer, this is where I'd hang out'. Then, to my left, three big red deer crashed through the woods, following the reserve boundary downhill. They were gone as quickly as they came; It was a fleeting but brilliant encounter.
So now I've seen them....but that was only the start.
On Tuesday, I wasn't actually working but called into the office with a mate who I was out for a bike ride with. Over a cuppa, I told him and Holly about where I'd seen them, and not two minutes later, through the office window, he picked out six red deer heading down the other side of the valley, one stag and five hinds. We watched them for a good few minutes before they headed out of view and into the woodland.
Two good sightings then in the space of two days. It would surely be a while before I was so lucky again? Would it?
Tonight (Friday 19th), Holly and I went out for a walk. We headed towards the area where I'd seen the deer on Monday. They weren't there, but there was plenty of evidence of them. We headed back, moving back down the hill. A couple of interesting bird sightings had the pair of us stalking around, treading really carefully. We didn't realise that we were being watched.
The sound of sudden movement made us both turn quickly. It was another deer! We're not sure which species this was as we saw it so briefly, but our opinion of it's size as it started away from us suggests that again it was a red. Again it was pretty close to the area that all the recent sightings have been in.
So that's 3 out of 3. I'm on a bit of a roll :)
I don't pretend to be any sort of expert, but the signs are definitely there if you take time to look for them.
If you fancy a bit of amateur deer spotting, then next time you visit, stop for a moment on the patio area near the bird feeders and scan the other side of the valley. Keep your eyes open when you're walking round the reserve too. Have a look for trails and prints heading off into the woods, and for droppings. Take your time, listen out, and you never know.....
I'll keep you all updated if I see any more myself.