The new kids on the block on RoeDeerCam

I started targeting the Roe Deer with my cameras only in mid July, when the kids were several weeks old and already big enough to follow their mother around.  It has taken a while to work out where they go and where best to position the cameras but recently there have been some good recordings.  Roe does usually have one or two young, with twins being common, but the first video from mid July shows a singleton.  It still has some of its camouflage and is still interested in suckling.

The next video shows twins with their mother.  Most of the videos are like this as most of the time the deer just wander about, browsing as they go.

At this age they stay close to their mother but mid July to mid August sees the rut and the kids can get caught up in the action.  In the next video one twin stayed with its mother as she was pursued by a buck but the other one got left behind.  You can hear it squeaking as it calls for its mother.  It must then have caught sight of her across the water and decided to take a short cut.

The next episode was curious.  A kid appeared to be alone although I expect the mother wasn't far away.  The buck watched as the kid jumped the stream and then followed it.  When the kid turned and approached the buck (possibly its father, who knows) it was butted away but the camera didn't see what happened after.

The last video, from earlier this week, shows a young male kid with his mother and a second doe, possibly an aunt or an older sister.  You can see the little bumps on his forehead, starting to grow the pedicles which will be where his antlers are joined to his skull.  I read in John Halliday's book For the Love of the Roe that these little bumps start to grow at three months of age.  They will drop off in February and his first single-pointed antlers will then start to grow.  Roe bucks shed and regrow their antlers each year and it will be three years before he is a six-pointer.

A ladybird life cycle

It takes a year to go round but I found every stage of the 2-spot ladybird's life cycle all together last month. I think this isn't turning out to be the best year for ladybirds - drought means drier plants, fewer aphids and less for larvae to eat - but these were doing well in an aphid-infested elder bush.  In truth the eggs aren't identifiable to species but I think they were probably from 2-spots because everything else was.

These are 2-spot larvae.

And a pre-pupa, a larva getting ready to pupate.

Then a pupa.

And an adult.

There were at least half a dozen pupae.  I brought them home to observe emergence as part of a study of parasitism organised by the UK Ladybird Survey.  The survey is looking at the prevalence of parasitic wasps and flies targeting ladybirds.  Over the next six days all six emerged and all were 2-spot ladybirds form typica, so no parasitism of these.  Here is one just emerging.  The pronotum has its full colour but the elytra (wing cases) are pale.

Soon after emerging the ladybird extends its wings so they can expand and harden to turn transparent.  Once that has happened they are folded under the elytra until the ladybird flies.

Over several hours the colours start to develop.

The new adults were released and will hibernate over winter, and mate and lay eggs next spring and summer - the cycle will then be complete.

Staking a claim on RoebuckCam

The rut may be over but the bucks are still putting themselves about.  Although the young buck is not old enough or strong enough to hold a territory he is still keen to make his mark.  The first video shows him scent-marking.  He has glands between his hooves that leave a scent when he paws the ground and scent glands on his neck and cheeks and at the base of his antlers which he rubs on the tree.

As you saw, he ran off at the end, perhaps aware that the dominant buck was nearby (and followed him a couple of minutes later).  The older buck returned after 20 minutes to check out the younger one's message.  He's a full "six-pointer", probably 3-5 years old and in his prime.  It is interesting that he didn't attempt to leave his own scent, something an otter would always do.

Here's another video of the older buck, this time running and barking an alarm call.  I didn't see what had spooked him because nothing else appeared on the camera.

Until recently I didn't think much of roe deer as subjects for trail cameras as all they ever seemed to do was wander past, occasionally stopping to nibble the vegetation (the twins a few years ago were a notable exception).  The last few weeks have proved me wrong and have produced some memorable videos of more interesting behaviour.  Let's hope the deer can keep up the interest as we move away from the rut.