Out and about
Jon Snowdon was delighted to hit the trail again following the easing of lockdown restrictions and curious to see what Lotte made of it
In these dark times there was a glimmer of light when the guidance for the COVID-19 lockdown was eased and the management on one of my permissions was relaxed to resume deer control.
The guidelines stipulated only one additional person could accompany me, there was to be no sharing of vehicles and we must adhere to hygiene guidance. This was not going to cause us too many difficulties as we mostly work alone while stalking.
When I say alone, my partner Dean and I had pleasure of having two young dogs with us. We had been training them for tracking and this would give them their first experience of the real thing, provided we were successful, which is never guaranteed with the elusive roebuck.
First light
So off Lotte I went to the area of moors on the estate that, along with heather, has several sizeable plantations dotted around. The plan was to stalk to a wooded area across the moors at first light, around 3.30am in Northumberland. The route in meant that the wind was unfavourable as it was behind me until I reached the plantation.
I was not expecting any immediate action, so was surprised when a large buck leaped out of the bracken. He stopped to take a good look before sauntering off. He was in no hurry and did not even utter a bark. That’s the confidence bordering on arrogance of a mature roebuck for you.
He surely wasn’t to know that he was safe from my attentions. This particular buck had been around for some time and was not on the dreaded list. He is a wonderful specimen in full territorial flow, not quite out of summer coat. He has been left so that he can pass on his qualities.
As you read this, which will be during the rut, he will be adding to his numerous progeny. It is always a marvellous sight
watching such a beautiful animal confidently going about his business. I remember many such encounters and they have always given me an adrenalin rush that lingers. The ‘boss’ says I need therapy and she could be right.
Anyway, Lotte and I carried on and saw two does but no more bucks.
Due to the lack of control during April and early May, this is an important time to make up for lost time. When choosing a deer to cull there are numerous considerations, including:
• What sex is it and is it in season?
• Does it meet the cull criteria, including size, age and condition? Of course, to be able to do so you have to be able to see the beggars
Scared off
Around late May into early June, the larger more dominant bucks spend their time frightening the life out of the youngsters, which until that point had enjoyed a free pass. The younger animals, especially the yearlings, wisely get out of the way and keep to the less favourable edges of the territory. In many cases they are chased off altogether, only to return much later in the season when the big boys’ testosterone is dying off and they are more sociable.
Due to the restrictions of movement this year we have been unable to catch up with those younger deer and if we did they are no longer as visible as they would have been early in the season. This is likely to put pressure on the woods from browsing damage once the youngsters have returned and it may too late for us to be able to control the numbers by then because it will be out of season.
Still, at least we are out there again.
• The roebuck season is from 1 April to 31 October.