Ceding

Certain places have been favoured by deer in the early mornings earlier this spring and in previous years. Often quite large numbers have been present and one got the impression they could have been there occupying that patch for much of the night. Their body language and general relaxation spoke of it being their territory. Now that same part of Blacka is regularly occupied by the imported farm cattle. Since the cattle appeared in early June the deer seem to have retired from view with only the occasional sighting of one or two in the more secret parts. The larger groups are just not there. I’ve noticed this before when cattle have been brought onto the land. Larger groups of deer which anyway are not always on Blacka, seem even less likely to be found when cattle are in occupation. The deer seem to cede dominance and territorial possession and vacate their spot to the intruders, themselves retiring to fringes or less easily accessible areas. I don’t think I could be dogmatic about this at this stage and I’m looking back over my photos and notes to check whether this might be more than a coincidence. My feeling is that there is something in it and that only very small groups and individuals stay around when the cattle are here.

Today’s deer were well hidden by bracken, a single hind plus a young stag whose velvets were a bit odd. They watched us very carefully while some distance away the part most favoured by larger groups of deer was in the possession of the cattle. Having watched for some time I was rewarded with a sight of the hind walking away head-in-air showing a beautiful red coat.