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.