Thursday 23 June 2022

Exciting news on RoeDeerCam

Roe deer are difficult subjects for the trail cameras so I don't often target them, although they do sometimes wander past when I am after other things.  This time it was deliberate, and I ended up with some of the best footage I have had so far.

Roe deer fawns are born in mid May.  For several weeks they are too small to follow their mother around so she leaves them in cover while she forages and returns several times a day to suckle them.  Now a few weeks old, the fawns don't just lie up all day but wander around while they wait for mother to return, hopefully staying out of trouble.  I'll show the recordings in the order they were made.

The first recording was of a single fawn.  It was being pestered by mosquitos  and was calling for its mother.  Listen carefully and you can hear it squeaking.

Next up was a doe.  Although it is June she is still moulting out of her dark winter coat into a foxy red summer coat.


Even though they are not yet weaned, the fawns are starting to feed for themselves.  This short montage includes the first sign that there are twins.

And then this was what I had been planning, but it turned out even better than I had  hoped.




This was the camera set-up, with the cameras low down at deer eye-level.  I don't often use a tree but it was the only available support here.  The lower camera has a close-focus +0.5 dioptre lens.

And finally a yearling buck (with uneven small horns) in the early morning light.  The cameras are still in position in the hope of more exciting footage.

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