I drove as slowly and quietly as possible down the forest ride on the approach to Wedge Wood and was rewarded with the sight of a magnificent fallow deer stag.
He was amongst the conifer plantation and it was not immediately apparent what I had seen; simply a shape moving amongst the trees. Stopping and using my binoculars, I was able to get a clear view. Soon afterwards he melted into the background and that was the last I saw of him.
On my previous visit to the wood I had seen little evidence of deer presence, this time, they had clearly returned in numbers. There were lots of droppings and places where it was clear that the deer had sat down leaving a depression in the ground. There were also areas where the leaf mould had been scraped away, though the reason for the deer doing this remains unclear. They certainly revealed a myriad of bluebell shoots, but there was no evidence of them attempting to eat these.
What this does mean is that come late spring, I shall be able to enjoy having a bluebell wood of my own. I wonder what other delights the wood will reveal to me?
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