Written in the stars

A group of deer was proving tricky for Jon Snowdon, until a stalker with a different approach arrived on the scene

- Jon Snowdon

There are times when a group of deer can be a real challenge. Some areas are almost impossible to get into without deer flagging up your presence to every one of their ‘compatriots’ in the parish.

We have one such group whereby no matter what approach we have made, we have not been able to get onto them to cull part of that group. They enter into the estate from the ground that we do not have permission on and as soon as they become aware of us they move onto one of the fields of our ground. Unless I am mistaken, their cheeky expressions betray that they know we can’t get to them.

This part of the ground consists of field crops with some small clusters of spinneys and hedgerow boundaries for each field.

“Lady luck inevitably plays a large part in our success”

There is very little cover and we can only come in from one route due to the boundary’s permissions. Anything other than a northerly wind can cause problems for us. Believe me, we have tried just about every approach possible to ambush them on our ground. The area also has a number of people who walk their dogs, even though there is no legal access, and this means that the roe is alert to anything that moves. Hey-ho…

Night move