Tag: deer

January 10th – Over to Burntwood to get some shopping in, I went via the canal and Chasewater. Just at Home Farm, where Brawn’s Wood used to be, I noted a new gap in the hedgerow, stomped down. It didn’t look man-made, and there’s no beneficial human shortcut I can see here; but earlier in the week I noted deer footprints coming off Clayhanger Common near Catshill Junction Bridge and I thing they’re probably coming this way now and on to the fields at Springhill and Sandhills.

Further on, on this clear, hard and windy day, Hammerwich and beyond to Lichfield Cathedral were very visible and made interesting zoom photos. 

How I adore that view, and this stretch of canal.

December 29th – I saw her in the usual place, near Penkridge Bank – an elderly, lone fallow doe. Split from her herd, she was clearly in good health and not troubled, just sheltering in a patch of scrub. Oddly, she was the only deer I saw that day, but it was good to see her.

People seem to get overly concerned about deer this weather, but this really is the kind of winter they’re built for. They’ll be fine. 

Boxing Day – Sometimes, you do something on impulse that seems a good idea, and it’s terrible. This was just such an occasion.

Snow was forecast. I enjoy snow; I love to be out in it, especially when it’s actually snowing; it saturates my senses and I feel connected to the world; I love the way it plays with the light, and the memory of place.

The snow came late afternoon, so I threw the studded snow tyres on the bike and went for it. The snow was very wet, but beautiful. The bike cam died due to not being charged. The mud on the canal was something else. Snow got on the camera lens and I had no dry cleaning materials to hand. 

Then the snow turned to heavy rain. I had no aquapac for my electronic stuff.

I got soaked. Really wet. The rain was searching, and entered every not-quite shut zip and pocket flap. I felt cold, wet and down.

It had bean beautiful I was glad to catch it. I spun over to Chasewater, and was planning to loop over around Hammerwich. But the rain was just too horrid.

On my way back, I took the line of the old railway along the bypass at Chasetown, to the rear of Anglesey Basin, and saw the deer footprints in the fresh snow. I forgot being wet and cold and followed them – the animals had come up off the bypass, and headed over the scrub to the copse at the back of the cottages, presumably laying low for shelter. Bless them.

That perked me up, but oh boy, this was a horrid ride.

October 25th – I spotted them by chance as I shot down Church Street in Chasetown – the were on the mown grass in the little park next to the school. Four red deer ladies, out for their constitutional, and looking maybe for the odd carrot.

The were awfully tolerant and posed for me happily for ages. They’re clearly very used to people being around.

The look in good health, and fine condition. So good to see them after not seeing any for ages – they’re beautiful animals.

June 2nd – Coming home on a pleasant summer afternoon, I came around  the new pond then cut over Clayhanger Common. I don’t normally go that way, but it’s beautifully verdant at the moment, so it’s worth putting up with the anti-vehicle gates that are so irritating here. In the three decades since it was created, this place has matured beautifully, and it’s a real asset for the local area, and a testament to a period when local authorities were allowed space to take on large environmental projects – a period that has sadly now passed.

It does suffer a degree of antisocial behaviour, but is generally peaceful and well looked after. I know deer like to come around here, and was hoping to spot some but sadly, they were elsewhere today…

April 23rd – First time my deer magnet has been switched on for weeks. Just over Jockey Meadows, 200 metres or so from the site of the flytipping in the last post, two red deer hinds. One older than the other, both wathced me nervously from right at the bottom of the field, near the brook. These are very long-range photos, so apologies for the poor quality. 

Both ladies were in the moult, so looked a bit threadbare, but otherwise appeared healthy enough. I think they’re part of a larger herd that loafs in the scrub there.

Nice to see them, and a sign as to why we need to look after our vital green spaces like Jockey Meadows and work against the kind of environmental damage caused by the flytipping shown in the previous post.

April 13th – Up on the Chase properly for the first time in ages. I rode up through Chasewater, Cuckoo Bank and over Rainbow Hill to Birches Valley; then up Penkridge Bank, the old ranges and Abrahams Valley.

It’s a good spring up there this year – everything so green and fresh. It was wonderful, although yesterday’s punishing westerly remained, making the going very tough at times.

I think my deer magnet needs retuning. They took one look at me today from afar, and walked off…

December 28th – Thankfully, my deer magnet was switched on today, although these ladies didn’t seem over fussed about food. They were loafing in their usual spot on the Chase, and spent ten minutes eyeing me up for carrot potential. When they realised I didn’t have any, they gradually drifted away.

I love these creatures. After all this time, to see them is still a delight and a pleasure.

December 8th – I really didn’t know what to do with these photos. I spotted the deer in their usual place, but the unusually strong sunset made the images – which were quite long exposure due to poor light – an odd pink colour. I tried fiddling with the colour balance, but that’s not me and I’m not good at that stuff, so I made them black and white. 

There were lots of deer about today; I saw fallows on the Chase at Shooting Butts, Lady Hill and Pepper Slade, but the photography was so very poor. It was also poor at Brownhills Parade, where I passed a large Red Deer stag and his harem in darkness at 5pm, loafing by the roadside.

Watch out for the deer if you’re driving locally. There isn’t a whole bunch of road sense, or any sense at all for that matter, in your average Red Deer…

October 6th – I returned to Cannock Chase as it was a much nicer day, and I still wanted to find those wonderfully photogenic fungi. Crossing the forest from Hazelslade to Milford via Birches Valley and Seven Springs, I saw lots of lovely things: the deer were showing well, the autumn colours beautiful, and some pretty good mycology. Sadly, though, the fly agaric were still elusive in all but the most tatty forms.