61 Did you know?


● Roe deer are the first species to mate in July and August, but females delay implantation of the fertilised egg until January of the following year, so that the young are not born during the harsh winter months. Two or three, white-spotted kids are born in May or June.


● Red deer tend to operate harems with a stag surrounded by a group of females whilst groups of female fallow deer can be seen with four or five big bucks.


● Keep well clear of rutting stags as they can become defensive and aggressive with the pumping levels of testosterone and adrenaline.


● All deer are protected under the Deer Act 1991, which defines open seasons and specifies the means that can be used to kill deer.


● Male deer may be called bucks or stags and females are normally called does or hinds. Young deer are called fawns or yearlings.


Antler Facts


● Antlers only appear on male deer – apart from reindeer - and they are used to attract mates and as a weapon against other males.


● All male deer ‘cast’ (or shed) their antlers every year (normally between winter and spring) growing a new set afterwards.


● Antlers grow with a furry skin called velvet which is made up of blood vessels and nerves. As a result of hormonal and environmental changes, the antler ossifies – the growing, spongy bone is converted into harder, thicker lamellar bone – before the velvet falls away altogether, creating a ‘clean’ antler.


● In rutting season the testosterone levels of a male deer rises and after mating the male deer’s testosterone levels will drop ultimately causing the antlers to fall off.


Plant a Tree! National Tree Week 25 November– 3 December


Nature & Wildlife events


15 October Autumn - Moving with the Trees: A Walk with Easy Tai Chi St Andrew’s Wood, Nr Kingsbridge Tune in to, learn about and appreciate the trees and wildlife of Andrew’s Wood and tend to your own wellbeing through tai chi movements. 10am – 12 noon. devonwildlifetrust.org


22 October Forage for Food & Medicine Day Sharpham Trust Take an in-depth look at wild seasonal plants and herbs with expert Brigit Anna McNeill. Learn the folklore, stories and insights that each wild plant holds, and find out their fascinating uses, along with how to gather and identify safely. Sharphamtrust.org


23 October Seed Gathering Wembury Woods Join the National Trust ranger team to gather seeds from Wembury Woods which will help towards their aim of planting 92,000 trees over three years to create the Wembury Community Woodland. Nationaltrust.org


23 October Birds of Slapton Ley Slapton Field Centre Learn about and experience the incredible variety of birds at Slapton Ley National Nature Reserve. 4-6pm. Booking Required. https://www.field-studies-council. org/whats-on-at-slapton-ley/


28 October First-time Fungi Quest The Sharpham Trust Dr Christian Taylor will introduce to you the Kingdom of Fungi which permeates and connects all other forest life and without which there would be no forest. 10.30am – 1pm. Sharphamtrust.org


Help Save Devon’s Treescapes and plant a tree. November to March is officially tree planting season and with Ash Dieback still raging through our woodlands it’s still important to plant and nurture trees for the future. For further information and to find out about your nearest free tree hub, visit devonwildlifetrust.org


Bird Bonanza Headlands like Start Point and Berry Head are great


spots for seeing the migrating birds making their way south, especially in the early morning. Head to Slapton Ley in the late autumn/winter and you could catch the shape-shifting starling murmurations over the reedbeds.


4 November Identification of whales, dolphins and seabirds Wembury Marine Centre Join MARINElife and Devon Wildlife Trust at their training day to learn how to observe and identify UK and European seabirds and cetaceans, together with data recording methods used for scientific research. 10am – 4.30pm. Devonwildlifetrust.org


11 November Sea Watch Saturday Wembury Point National Trust Car Park Come and join us for a monthly sea watch at Wembury Point! 8.30 – 10.30am. devonwildlifetrust.org


23 November Wildcat, Woodcat, Bad Cat, Good Cat? Online


Hear about Britain’s rarest mammal and investigating the feasibility of reintroducing them to South West England. 6 -7pm. Devonwilflifetrust.org


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100