Great weather for ducks.

We have been very fortunate this year with the glorious summer weather. While we wait for the harvest to start and to count the young partridges coveys, we can enjoy the site of ducklings, moorhen chicks and little grebes on the reservoir.
If you are out around dawn or dusk you may also be lucky enough to see deer. The young roe deer born this year are now almost half the size of an adult. The rut or breeding season is in August and roe deer give birth in early summer. Roe deer go through what is call delayed implantation, which mean that the valuable embryo is reabsorbed into the fatty tissue over the harsh winter and the embryo will fall and grow back in the spring and give birth in June. The male roe deer called a buck will chase the female roe deer called a doe and form circles in the tall grass by doing so. Seeking shelter during the day they will become more active during dawn and dusk. While the rut is taking place the young are left alone for a few weeks, but once impregnated the doe will find her young once again by whistling to them. If you do see a young deer hidden in the grass while out walking do not touch or disturb it as it’s mother is likely to be nearby.