Oh Deer!

A Fallow & Roe Encounter

The past few nights have been encouraging and although I was actually out tracking wild boar, I did manage some nice fallow deer shots and a fleeting roe encounter.

I did stumble (literally) upon two young male boar sleeping, but before I could raise the camera they were bolting through the forest, weaving through the trees like two torpedoes.
If you have ever seen a wild boar run you will understand that when they take off, they can reach speeds up to 20-25mph within a second or two and in dense woodland, all you can do is watch them fade away into the shadows.
Another encounter was of a sow, but yet again it was of her bum disappearing into some dense plantation. There is no point following as it is too dense and you would just disturb them for no purpose.

Moving on and covering approximately 5 miles in total I did find some handsome fallow bucks, which were a little more accommodating.

I never tire of seeing deer, but there is one species that I adore and that is the roe deer, Britain's true native deer species.
There were 5 in total and although I get a massive buzz every time I see them, I couldn't have picked a worst location as they were right next to a old, half collapsed Forestry fence and the sun was in my face. 
Unfortunately you can't predict when and where you are going to have your encounter, so I made the best of it that I could.

Roe Buck

Here we have forest ecology at work; wild boar diggings deep in the forest. To some, this looks unsightly when it appears on the road verges, but I dare anyone to prove that this is actually bad for the forest?
This activity unearths dormant seeds and cultivates the soil, revitalising and regenerating it after centuries of being compacted.
The wild boar are partly responsible for creating our living landscape, from when they lived wild throughout Britain centuries ago. 

Boar Rooting, Deep in the Forest

And what better than a natural fertiliser! There were absolutely loads of boar turds like this strewn throughout the boar diggings, with most already trodden into the exposed soil.

Ask any farmer what muck spreading does for their land as this is what is naturally happening throughout our forest every year. 

Wild Boar Turds

I couldn't leave you without showing a cute humbug shot!

Oink Oink!

And finally, it may feel like we have missed spring this year, but the signs are still out there!

Spring Lamb

Rob