Summer in a fallow deer park.

Fallow deer are a pleasure to watch at any season, and one of the best places to see them is in a deer park, particularly in late June when most of the fawns are old enough to gambol together in the cool of the evening. Fawns spend much of the day trotting after their mothers and grazing, but are suckled several times a day. Many does suckle their fawns into the new year. The bucks cast their antlers at any time from late March to early June. They spend summer in a bachelor group while new antlers are developing. When the antlers are fully grown, towards the end of August  for older bucks- the soft covering, or velvet, is cleaned off by rubbing them against trees until they are clean and hard, ready for rutting in autumn. In winter, many park deer are provided with extra food, usually hay, which is placed in racks, or root crops such as swede, which are spread on the ground. From two years old a doe normally bears a fawn every years for perhaps ten years or so, herd sizes increase rapidly. To prevent overcrowding and disease and the destruction of their habitat, the deer are regularly culled, bucks from August to April, does from November to February.Animals of different colour varieties interbreed. A fawn is not necessary the same colour as its parent.

The cervidae family.

Part three the fallow deer.

Fallow deer were introduced to Britain by the Normans in the 11`th century. They were one of the first conservationists, due to the fact that although the Normans hunted them they still allowed enough numbers to breed and develop into a healthy population. Fallow deer can be found in woodlands and parks. They feed mainly on grass and shrubbery in mixed woodland. They will often be seen sheltering together in the undergrowth. The males are called bucks, the females are called does. The fawns are born singly in June, often being hidden in the grass. The bucks can stand up to one meter in height at the shoulder and can weigh up to eighty five kilometer`s. The bucks have broad bladed antlers that are quite distinctive amongst British deers. Rutting for fallow deer is between October and November. At the rut the male uses his antlers to rub his head against saplings to mark his territory, he also frays the bark. He will also thrash his antlers against various branches and bushes, the fallow will bellow out loudly aswell (their call is a big like barking noise) , he will also scrape the ground with his hooves and mark it with his urine. Rival bucks will fight fiercely  for the right to mate with the does, who will come into season for a short period. Away form the rutting stands the bucks will together happily in herds. Their summer coat is typically chestnut brown with white spots with a white rump, their winter coat is a darker colour, they also have a long black and white tail. Menil deers can be pale brown with white spots, but fallows may also be black or white in clour aswell.

Things to look out for in November.

The weather is now becoming much more Autumnal, The winds are becoming stronger, with all of the leaves that all have fallen to the ground blowing around. Most of the leaves from the deciduous trees have now fallen. Red wings and fieldfares have now made the long journey from Scandinavia to winter in Britain. They will be seen amongst hawthorn and apple trees, Finding the remaining hawthorn berries and apples. Their have been quite a few mentions of waxwings around Worcestershire. This bird is also a migrant that Winters in Britain. The fallow,sika and red deer will be finishing their rut by now. After the ruts the males, who don`t eat during the rut will feed well getting ready for the onset of winter. The females will also stay together during winter. The females will give birth during may or June of the following year. Chaffiinches and pied wagtails,linnets,bramblings and greenfinches may be seen in mixed flock species( i will be talking about this in a later blog). They are searching for food, which could be any leftover seeds that are still  in the hedgerow or even any late surviving nuts that may still be on the ground. Blue,coal and great tits will be seen on the feeders as they themselves are eating well,getting ready for the cold months ahead as well.  Seven spotted ladybirds will be attempting to enter our houses as they seek somewhere to hibernate over winter. Late migrant red admirals  and comma`s may still be seen amongst the ivy along with queen bumble bees, as long as we havn`t really had a cold snap yet. Wood mice,yellow-necked mice, bank and field voles will still be searching for hazel nuts to eat amongst the leaf litter. Protein rich hazel nuts are important food for a variety of creatures. You can tell what animals have been around by examining the empty shells. A woodmouse will leave a round hole on the side of the hazelnut, with marks of their upper teeth evident. A bank vole will leave a round hole on the top of the hazelnut, with a clearly delineated gnawed edge. A hazel dormouse will leave a round hole on the side of the hazelnut, unlike the woodmouse the edges will be smooth. Hedgehogs will be getting ready to hibernate during November. They use a process called gluco neogenisis to enable them to hibernate, I will be talking about this as well during a later blog. The hedgehogs along with the common dormice and our seventeen species of bats are the only British mammals that hibernate. With the onset of winter food can run short for certain species, so they face the simple choice to move with the food or hibernate and these three species choose to hibernate. Starlings may be seen in large roosts during November, We are not quite sure why they roost in such large numbers, possibilities include safety in numbers, increasing their foraging efficiency or simply for warmth. Its a wonderful sight as they fly around, moving all the time like a shoal of fish in the air then suddenly all descending onto the ground.

Things to look our for in august

A slow worm

Roe deer`s are very territorial in the summer and rut during August, They are not as aggressive as the red and fallow deer ruts. The two male (bucks) roe deers do not normally fight they just normally walk around in circles which are called roe rings. They then win the right to mate with the female (doe) who will decide when they mate. The kids are born in June because the does have delayed implantation of the embryo which i will talk about in a later blog. Grass snakes and slow worms have their young during august, The grass snakes hatch out of their eggs and slow worms break out of the membrane that they are born in. Rough grass lands,heath and woodlands are some of the places they may be seen. Look at the oak trees you will see a second growth of the year. New fresh stems and leaves at the tips of the branches. These are known as the lammas growth. They are called the lammas growth because it ties in with the pagan festival of lammas. By the end of August toads will be heading back to their hibernation sites. These sites could be as close as the rockery in the back of your garden. August is a great time of the year to look out for cinnabar moths.Their caterpillar's have been enjoying life on common ragwort but now its time for the adult`s to take over. They may be seen in meadows and espeicially on knapweed. Crickets and grass hoppers can be seen and heard during August. Grass hoppers have short antennae and crickets have long atennae. The common green grass hopper can be heard during August if you have a keen ear.(all the crickets and grasshoppers have different calls) The common green grasshopper is smaller and greener than common field grass hopper and can be found in grassy areas throughout Britain. Rowan berries ripen this month and their distinctive red colouration brightens up our countryside and tells us all that Autumn is around the corner. Longhorn beetles, Woodmice, Bumble bees, Common wasps and speckled wood butterflies enjoy the splender of blackberries that are amongst our hedgerows during August. When you go out blackberry picking remember to leave some for our friends in the hedgerows. Willow herb flowers are full of lovely colours this month along with may weeds. Listen out for shrews while taking a stroll in the country side, Shrews have a high pitched squeak and they can often be heard as they run through the tunnels in the long grass searching for earthworms and invertbrates. Because shrews have to find almost their own bodyweight in food everyday to survive they are always on the move looking for prey to eat. Look out for brimstone butterflies as they look for food on sunny days before they get ready to hibernate. The brimstone butterfly is the only member of the white (pierinae) family to hibernate, All the other member which also includes the yellows (coliadinae) and a sub-family (dismorphiinae) of which the wood white is the only British member hibernate as chrsalises. House martins and swallows may be having late broods this year as they were quite late arriving. They will be fine though, They will start migrating along with swifts during late September and early October.

A muntjac deer.