Roedeer in my garden

Often we see deer at a distance, as they cross the road or only traces of them in mud and snow. They are sensitive and careful, and flees as here, when smell of people is in the or the siluette of man turns up.



In the winter of 2009/2010 however, the traces around the house were many and the bird feeding area in the garden was visited by deer that munched sunflower seeds and peanuts. Eventually they became fairly confident, or probably so hungry, that they did not care if we were standing nearby. They slept well beneath our hedge that was cut once and for all.

During the summer we saw them at a distance in the vicinity and early one morning in June, we almost stumbled over a goat with twins. The wind was blowing against us so they didn`t get an early warning about what was coming . The goat and one calf disappeared in the thicket. The other calf just snapped at the knees and lay down in the grass. The camera was hanging on my shoulder so I took a picture before we left the area.

When we started feeding birds again in the autumn, it did not take long before the deer stopped by. It is nice to have them here, but found that it was cheaper to buy feed for them too than to renew the hedge and bushes in the garden every spring. So in addition to sunflower seeds and unsalted peanuts I purchased pellets from grains. The deer will visit several times a day and find their grub in my mothers old pot.

On June 11, 2011 one of  "our" deer came strolling through my neighbours grain field and she was clearly pregnant.

Then, two days later, she came out of the bushes by the creek running along our property, rewarding us by showing off her newborn triplets.

 

I guess  mum will have a tough summer taking care of them and hopefully they will avoid the lynx and the foxes hunting in the woods around here. Maybe that`s why she chose to give birth here.

VIDEO

Link to English info on Roe deer:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roe_Deer