March 28th – Even on the greyest days, Brownhills has signs of life at this time of year. I set out for a short spin on a grey, showery afternoon, and was rewarded with a herd of red deer at the old clay pit, a nesting swan just by the canoe centre and watered, and a delightful grey wagtail at Anchor Bridge.

It took me a while to work out why the young stag’s coat was grey and oddly textured. He’s been rolling in clay mud. I know deer like to mud bathe, but that seems a little extreme… anyone seen this behaviour before? Is it harmful? 

I noted the deer were in moult, and wondered if the mud-rolling was a way of accelerating the shedding.