Crepuscular Preferences

Roe Deer are known to have certain  fastidious tendencies. They are also described as crepuscular: twilight is their preferred activity time. It's possible to see them closer to the middle of the day but to have a better chance you should be around the wood edges in the hours around dawn and dusk.

Their fastidiousness shows itself in a distaste for farm livestock. They feed on a range of vegetation but are particularly fond of moist succulent grasses. Enclosures where sheep or cattle have left their mark hold no appeal for them however grassy so off they go to cleaner pastures usually found in woods.

Red Deer may have be similar in both respects. Once again your best bet when wishing to see them is around dawn.

But I've also been interested to notice that in the years when cattle have been put on the moor in spring there's been  a sudden decline in the number of sightings of the deer. That comes after normally a regular presence in early to middle spring. From then on the appearances declined to almost none from late June to whenever the cows are removed. That has not happened in years when cattle did not appear and when they were removed early in August last year it was not long before the deer came back.

This is amusingly consistent with the way most of us see the different animals. Deer are a class act, elegant and independent, with an intelligent awareness characteristic of wild animals. Cows and sheep in contrast are stupid and dependent They are also vulgar, smelly and with incontinent habits: somehow you would not be surprised to see them lounging on the sofa with crisps, a 6 pack and a packet of fags while watching some of the direst offerings on the box.