Cyn's Nature Notes: Muntjac Deer Visitor

Saturday 19 July 2014

Muntjac Deer Visitor

While looking out of the kitchen window, a movement on the bank caught my eye, very slowly turning my head I saw our old visitor the muntjac deer, his nose just visible from the overgrown undergrowth. Not daring to move, I froze and waited, slowly he came forward, tentatively, hesitantly until I could see all of his head. Cautiously he stretched his neck and raised his head, scenting the air, he was as still as a statue. Feeling more sure of his safety he moved forward, now I was able to see the whole of his neck, again he waited and scented the air.

Now he felt very safe and stepped boldly forward, I was filled with such emotion, he was so beautiful. I was struck by how strong and fit he looked. Such a magnificent, wild creature and less than five feet from me, what an amazing view. I felt so lucky. I wanted to fetch my camera, but didn't dare move.

For a few minutes he stood motionless, then slightly lowering his horned head he gently and slowly turned it from side to side, looking first one way then the other. He spent the next seven minutes slowly wandering around and across the back kitchen lawn, before disappearing into the shrubs and on to the left hand back lawn.

The rest of the morning he spent on this lawn cropping the apple tree and resting. Amazingly where the muntjac appeared from this morning is the same spot that yesterday I saw a grass snake.

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About this Blog

When we moved to our present home in December 1987, I was very ill and bedridden. My garden was a life-saver, although it was very different then. The first thing I did was to put up bird-feeders, and long hours were spent lying indoors in a recliner. This was when I discovered many things. Do you know the underside of every blue tit’s tail is differently marked? Gradually, over the years, the garden changed. We put in shrubs and plants that would not only enhance the garden, but would also be good for wildlife. The first rabbit we saw was so joyful for us. The deer eat the flowers, prune the apple trees, eat the marrow, and are wonderful to watch. Foxes have been a major part of our wildlife. We have fed them each night for more than 20 years. They are such a delight, especially in late summer and early autumn when there are youngsters. They behave like puppies and are great fun to watch.

I love all wildlife: the mason bees that nest in the brickwork of the bungalow, the hornets that last year made their home in the roof above our bedroom, the bees currently nesting in the roof above the bathroom. On a hot evening, if you stand quietly in the bathroom, you can hear this amazing sound: it is very rhythmic and reminds me of the waves at the seaside. It is made by the beating of the bees’ wings as they fan their nest to keep the temperature at the right level -- how many people have heard that sound? I feel so privileged.

Obviously, I feed the birds. When I open the window in the morning I call “Come on Bobby and Blackie”, and one followed swiftly by the other they fly immediately to the bird table. Each morning, on rising, I make my way to the kitchen and find the squirrels already sitting on the window ledge waiting to be fed. Winter brings the moorhens and spring time the mallards. Our pond is a poor effort from a human point of view, but wild creatures see it differently. On summer days, the grass snakes spend long hours in the pond: eating the fish, froglets, toadlings, newts, and any other living creature they can swallow. Although I hate to see the pond emptied this way, I do enjoy the snakes and feel they are an important part of the balance of nature in the garden. Watching a dragonfly nymph climbing out of the pond, up a plant stalk, and then over the next few hours gradually transforming into a beautiful dragonfly -- these are contented hours well spent.

It has been my pleasure to write and publish a nature column each month. I am always delighted to hear how much pleasure this brings to my readers. I have often been asked if I have written a book, so I am making more of my writings and photography available through this web site and blog.