Nature Notes – March 2022

by Andy Johnson

Roe deer are regularly seen around here. Last week I spotted a hind with two three-quarter grown young break out of Carriage Road Plantation and run across a field of rape into a copse.

During the rut in July and August, the buck occupies woodland territory and if you enter it, especially in early morning or at dusk, it will bark loudly at you. This happened to me whilst looking for nightjars at dusk at the Druid’s Temple on the Swinton Estate. I was sitting on one of the stones when loud barking began behind me. Once I had pulled myself together, I thought it best to return home! Breeding takes place in July and August and the young (kids) are born in May and June, with twins being very common. To see other wild deer, visit Bilsdale where there is a herd of fallow deer or red deer at Cropton Forest. Muntjac deer are uncommon locally but they are spreading from the south.

Sizeable flocks of fieldfare and redwing are around the village and a wintering peregrine falcon has been spotted.