Intruders in the Woods

The rut last year coincided with some fine mornings and the deer were sometimes out in the open making them easier to see, but also easier for them to see us. The mornings this year have been dark and often wet and the animals have been in the woods. Although it's harder to find them and photograph them it can be possible to get closer with care.

Yet no shortage of noise from the chief male of the herd. And his voice sounds even more commanding close by in the trees than across the moor. One challenger had been rebuffed with excitable charges and  vocal threats and was biding his time for the moment. To him we were the intruders.

 Younger deer were looking bemused or alarmed while hinds stood by eating and grooming.

They were easier to see than the top stag who was hidden apart from his headgear.

The Village

In the case of Dore it's The Village. Blessed with many advantages not found in other Sheffield districts and a streak of independence, being apart yet part of. There are certainly some fine houses there but to me one of its greatest advantages is that there is no through main road with traffic blight to  hustle through it separating one side from another. Its other unbeatable asset is of course Blacka Moor and those lucky residents are privileged who can pull aside their curtains in the morning and look up here imagining the woods and secret places harbouring wildlife.

They may even be looking in my direction as I explore those secrets as the sun rises. This morning the heavens provided some lighting effects to flatter Dore when its residents were rising from their beds. I don't look towards Fairthorn apartments if I can help it and hope that King Ecgbert's School is not too conspicuous but most other aspects are enough to maintain premium property values.

Looking Down

One thing about mushrooms; when they're around it gets you looking at the ground and seeing things you might otherwise miss.. And that's often where some of the most attractive patterns are found. Small leaves like those of birch usually look better than larger ones such as sycamore, more so when the latter are covered with black tar spot fungus. Birch have another advantage in that they turn more attractive colours in autumn. Though this rather fine specimen of an Ugly Milk Cap here finds this is a great place to blend in.

Rival

The only roar was fairly restrained but still resonant. Walking in the deep shrubs with deer tracks being the only course to take. Even those are hard to follow and you're likely to have problems with partly hidden boulders covered with moss. Still no sign of him nor of his followers. This is not like last year when all was clear to see with the large fellow marching around daring any rivals to come near his group of hinds. Then this one appeared just ahead lying down.

He's big as can be seen from the antlers. But his position suggests that he's a potential challenger waiting his chance.

Woolly Business

It seems the breakout of sheep referred to in this post was connected with a change in grazier on the Eastern Moors as a result of the ending of the Countryside Stewardship Scheme. The Eastern Moors managers and the grazier who put his sheep on the moor didn't see eye to eye so the arrangement was terminated leading to a new grazier taking over when the CSS ceased and a new HLS started on the first of October.

It's interesting to speculate why this should coincide with sheep going out of control and invading other territory: so here's some speculation. Anyone seeing themselves as better informed is welcome to correct me. Despite some upturns in recent months sheep are not profitable for graziers and hill farmers. What makes the money is subsidies and Single Farm Payments which they get just for using the land for grazing according to the number of hectares. So there's no money in looking after your livestock and no incentive to go in for compassionate husbandry. That would explain why we see so many instances of sheep on the road and sheep looking less than healthy. I've referred before to the common practice of livestock being provided by a farmer living many miles away therefore in no position to adopt a caring role for the animals who we all thought were his livelihood. Despite news items in the media planted by PR people working for the farming industry about sheep being dug out of snowdrifts in a freeze up, reality is quite different. Because the main source of income for the farmer is the grants they care precious little for the animals themselves; and theres' no shortage of evidence for this; do they even count their sheep when they move them? Because, as in the present case, there are often a number left behind. If the animals themselves are not the key source of income then looking after them is not a priority. That's business. So much for all the faux outrage about dogs worrying sheep. All leads to not caring much about fences and whether every one of them has been accounted for something some local farmers were hardly famous for even when the old subsidy regime gave them £17 or so per sheep.

Anyway I've not seen the left-behind sheep for a few days so perhaps they have been caught or wandered off down the lanes into some rough pasture somewhere. The view expressed to me from the managers was that it might be weeks or months before they could be rounded up.

Now it looks like a fresh  batch of them has been legitimately dropped off on Blacka's enclosure.

These also will be financed via Single Farm Payment and Higher Level Stewardship. These welfare payments never seem to be the subject of a crackdown by Mr Duncan Smith. And what a sorry bunch these are to be representing the vogue for Cultural Landscapes, smeared all over with blue dye and as miserable as a bunch of disaffected teenagers with their trousers half way down their bums. And several of them were clearly lame. Does nobody in the conservation industry seriously question this process?  I thought not - not while the subsidies keep rolling in.

Mellow and Patterned

It takes a bit of autumn sun to bring out the best of bracken among the mellow wild fruits. There's no doubt that it's infinitely preferable as a patterned backcloth for wild animals to anything farmed, cut, sprayed or burned. It would look good on a tapestry;  a project for the cold winter months?

One of the more mature stags was quietly accompanying a hind and her calf this morning. But over in the secret parts of the woodland the best of this season's bellows could be heard a long way off. Something tingles on the back of your neck.

Not much chance of getting a good view of this undoubtedly large stag among the birches. Just enough to glimpse his bulk and understand why the noise is so resonant. This really is the greatest sound to be heard in the whole Sheffield region, deep in the woods away from human activity and bringing more than a taste of what wild countryside should be like. Why is there not more of it?
One of his entourage was the first to spot me.

Novices

The serious stuff was going on elsewhere.
These were apprentices busy on the practice ground.

Ready for some more?

Someone has to win.