General Chat

got a big shock yesterday when I went out my back door and saw a deer lying in the corner of my garden .It was there for a few hours and only left when I moved towards it .

Well half an hour ago I had another one eating my heather !!! Looked smaller than yesterdays one .

Been here over 30 years and that's the first time I have seen them in my garden .

Kathy

You have been lucky up to now.

Make the most of it while you still have a garden.

Probably muntjack Kathy,

We get them in the garden and as Sharon says they will eat anything and everything. I thought it was rabbits at first because of their droppings. They are a nusance although quite sweet to look at.
We have lived here for 13 years but its only the last two or three that they have been in the gardens. Maybe lack of food or that they are getting like the foxes and less scared of humans.

Teresa

where are you Kathy?

We have loads of Muntjak here they originally escaped from the Woburn Abbey estate which is not too far from here. They are now a very common sight in the fields around here

Reeves's Muntjac has been introduced to England, with wild deer descended from escapees from Woburn Safari Park around 1925. Muntjacs have expanded very rapidly, and are now present in most English counties south of the M62 motorway and have also expanded their range into Wales. The British Deer Society coordinated a survey of wild deer in the UK between 2005 and 2007, and they reported that muntjac deer had noticeably expanded their range since the previous census in 2000. It is anticipated that muntjacs may soon become the most numerous species of deer in England and may have also crossed the border into Scotland with a couple of specimens appearing in Northern Ireland in 2009; they have been spotted in the Republic of Ireland in 2010, almost certainly having reached there with some human assistance.



Hope they don't scare Smokey, Kathy, and they don't eat all your plants.

We get them around Norwich city centre at times, they have been found trapped in fencing etc and had to be rescued.

Lizx

For those who asked I live in a housing estate in Aberdeen but we are quite close to a large open area of wasteland .

My neighbour was away hill walking in Aviemore for a week and didn't see one deer .When she was driving home she saw one in a neighbours front garden .

The snow has been bad here for a long time and I think they are hungry .

Liz ,smokey didn't seem very interested in it so I think he has met them before

Kathy

Just had a Fox walk past the window,had them here before but not at this time of day,His Nibs (Sebastian) went berserk trying to get out at him.he chases them away when he sees them.**M**,

Had my resident deer here for most of today again .We have quite deep snow and I think it just likes to come some where to shelter .

Did start eating some of my other bushes but since I am no gardener I don't really care .

Just wish it would start on my neighbours at least 100 ft high leylendii trees

Kathy

l Would love to see one close up, lucky you:)

jude

with spring arriving late this year, deer will move into peoples garden looking for food, as they are finding it hard to find food. . so our wild life just needs a little help at the moment

Can you get any photos of him/her, Kathy? I hope it will survive the winter, I think you are due more snow yet?

Take care,

Lizxx

Hi Liz

Had 2 virsus on my pc and impossible to get onto my email . Nephew came yesterday and hope it is sorted now .

My deer came for 4 days and I haven't seen him since ?!?

So either some one has had venison or he found his herd and has moved on .

J took loads of photos so when I get a chance I will send them to you .


Kathy

ps for a change we have had no snow but it has been freezing .My heating has been on since friday morning

Only thing in my garden is two inches of water sitting on clay subsoil :-(

To be honest I cant even remember the last time I saw bird life, let alone anything else, in there.

Having said that.....As soon as the sun does make an appearance for more than 10 minutes I am sure the slugs and snails will be out that night for a good feast.

Chris

OK Kathy will look forward to seeing the pics when you can send them. We only had a dusting of snow here and it soon went but the wind is icy and I just had to replace the bird water as it was a solid lump. I bring any left over fat balls inside at night so they aren't frozen hard in the mornings. Loads of blackbirds, tits and two robins around altho haven't seen the robins for a couple of days, hope they are ok. Even had a couple of magpies and of course the blessed pigeons and collared doves eating the suet pellets and peanuts we put out.

Chris, if you put a crust of bread out on the garden the slugs and snails will gravitate to that and if you dampen it and press bran into it, they will blow up.


I figure it's like leaving a ready meal for the birds lol

Lizx

Doh, just noticed your avatar!

Thats a good photo Kathy. :-D I was just think about your post. Saturday lunchtime I noticed a spalsh of red and brown at the bottom of our garden in the snow and it was a male pheasant wandering around. We live in the countryside so oftern see them but it was the first time one had visited the garden. I could hear the shoot in the feilds just up the road so maybe he decided to keep out of harms way for a while :-)


Teresa

What a lovely thread made me smile and go and feed my birds :-)