Possibly one of the most elusive mammals present on the reserve are the roe deer that live in the woodlands. The most visitors are likely to see is an occasional hoof print or maybe some fur caught on a wire fence. These creatures do come out during the day, but are very shy and secretive preferring to stay in the cover of the trees away from the paths and the visitors walking along beside the river.

I have only managed to spy one young roe deer on the reserve that had strayed onto the blue path one afternoon, but as soon as it saw me heading along the path it quickly darted back into the shade of the trees.

Fortunately the trail cameras we had placed out to try and get some clips of the other main nocturnal residents, the badgers, also picked up a pair of roe deer in the middle of the night! From the night vision footage recorded it appears to be a male attempting to court a female so this is very exciting! The mating season or ‘rut’ takes place throughout July and August, with the fawns born in May and June. If we get any more footage I will let you know and will also see about getting some footage online if possible!

Watch this space!

Alex Kekewich – Falls of Clyde Ranger