Getting Close to Wildlife

I was just leaving the house this morning, when I heard the telephone ring. As it was just after half past five, I let it ring. While I did wonder who could be calling me at that time in the morning, I wanted to get to a location in the western woods and I was already leaving half an hour latter than I had planned.

The location I was heading for I had spotted tracks that seemed to indicate that deer were drinking from a venal pond there. With all the rain we have had it had refilled and it looked as though the Deer had young there too.

A brisk walk for the first two miles then I slowed down as I wanted to approach slowly. Then about three hundred meters from the pool I set up the camera on the tripod and carried the camera already set up, so that I would be able to film as quickly as possible.

I had covered half the distance, about 150 metres when I spotted some movement. I stopped and using the binoculars I looked and what I saw looked like it could be a dog. As it was highly obscured by the under storey of the forest, and that Deer can appear to look like dogs at a distance, I made as stealthy an approach as I could. While initially the wind had been in my favour, the eddies in the woods was at risk of carrying my scent to the Deer, or the dog. About every twenty metres I stopped and scanned with binoculars and the cameras zoom, but I could not see the Deer. In my favour though was that I had not heard nor seen any flight of the Deer.

When I was near to the spot where I cad previously selected as a good spot to film from, I realised that I could not get there noiseless. I had previously cleared a part of twigs but it looked as though something had recovered the area with debris. So I backed off a little and headed around to approach from the other side, behind a hill.

This meant that I would be out of line of sight of the pool area for a while and I would need to crawl over the crest of the hill. Again I had done my reconnaissance work and knew where I was going. I was nearly at the top, when I heard voices calling to a dog, and the unmistakable sound of a large dog bounding up the track. I heard but did not see the Deer scatter in panic. Then the cry from the couple, “Look Deer”.

At this point I stood to look just to see if I could see where the Deer were going, Or should I say coming as one of the Deer cannoned into me knocking me to the ground and the wind out of me.

As I lay there watching hooves fly over my prostrate body, I did make a discovery the clicking sound that you can hear as Deer scarped is the two parts hitting each other as they bound. I was that close I could see it happening. Then before I could even get up a German Sheppard dog ran over me, and I do mean trampled me. He was chasing the Deer, I can aware to the dogs gender too.

This was starting out not to be a good day. The couple whose dog it was came past she stopped to help me up while he chased after the dog calling out its name. I asked if they had named the Dog, she said no that had been his name when they had got him. As the dog was called Onan, I asked if they knew the origin of the name? Well being a little more Anglo Saxon I told her that it had something to do with “Spilt Seed”

My camera was wet and covered with mud, it matched the Wood Mouse, and he was feeling rather battered too. A Roe Deer carries quite a punch and even I had not appreciated just how strong they are. The dog owner came back with Onan on a lead this time. This time the dog stopped to sniff me before leaping all over me. I am starting to think that I should call the the Mud Wrestlers Diary!

While not the best way of being introduced to new people, they are new to the village next to mine. As I had to clean and dry off the camera, I headed home and they decided to follow. They had a good laugh at the dogs name, and wondered what the children would think of it. They also had a good laugh at my expense, once they were sure no damage had been done. Well I do have five paw shaped bruises on my legs, abdomen and chest.

As we walked, well they walked I limped (I am just playing for sympathy, but I know there is none forthcoming as you are all laughing to much), we chatted. They asked if I knew who could take an Owl they had rescued. Oh Dear was my response. People often pick up Owls at this time of year thinking they have been abandoned when they have just “Branched” and the parents will be returning. I even asked if the bird had gone floppy when they picked it up. It had, but as that's just part of the natural defence mechanism, they had assumed that the bird was ill. Also they said that it had been sick. When I questioned them, it turned out the Owl had regurgitated a pellet, again all normal.

They admitted that they had little knowledge of wildlife, but were amazed by what they were discovering taking the Dog for his walks. They were starting to realise that they needed to keep the dog under better control too. He had already chased a rabbit that morning.

Anyway they had contacted the RSPCA who had told them too that the owl was best left, but they had gone back to get it and now had the owl at home. Further they had tried that morning to contact someone local who they had been told may be able to help. Remember that call I had ignored, yes it was a message from them and could I help. I went with them to their home to see the owl and it was a young Tawny Owl as I had suspected. I asked them to show me exactly where they had found it, and we took the owl back. It was a long shot but I hoped that the parents would still return.

When we got to the location I looked for signs of owls, droppings or pellets, but could not find any so I scanned the trees and branches, and in a tree near by I found another young Owl. I had to climb a bit but was able to put the owl on a branch near to its sibling. I then backed off and I waited with the woman to see if the adults would return.

We only had to wait for about forty minutes when one of the adults returned, quickly flew away and came back barring a mouse or vole, that the youngster gulped down whole. The second adult returned this had a frog and again the large chick was feed. It looked as though the chick was going to survive being taken away from its parents.

I did get a lift home and they will not be trying to rescue Owls, or any other creatures again. I can understand why people do it, as the do look vulnerable, but often the parents are about and trying to rescue owls halves their chances of survival.

Well now I know the location where the Owls are, I may be able to return to film them, but only after I have stopped getting so close to wildlife that it leaves a mark.