Selection criteria

Jon Snowdon recalls two memorable outings in the coronavirus-curtailed season

- Jon Snowdon

Can you believe that Christmas is nearly upon us? I think it fair to say that it has not been a normal year. I am not sure that we would have believed it had we known this time last year what was in store for us.

We did not get going until early June with the buck season, but despite the late start due to the dreaded COVID-19, the cull figure is what it should be, albeit with fewer of the very young bucks in the count. By the time we did get going, the youngsters that would have normally been reduced during April and May had either been chased off the ground by larger territorial bucks or pushed into thick cover on the boundaries, rarely to be seen. Who can blame them with days spent chased around the estates and hardly anywhere to hide? I would sit tight once I had found a haven.

There were, however, some notable mature bucks seen, of which two come to mind.

First

My colleague carried out a few tricky manoeuvres to get into a specific area that was a known favourite of a buck and one or two does. It was a wet area in places, meaning the plant life was varied, which is just what the roe deer is looking for; choice juicy buds and shoots that are full of energy. The roe deer is a very selective feeder that browses buds and shoots. It is not classed as a grazer that eats grass; its stomach is more primitive than the larger herd deer that are, on the whole, classed as grazers.