I spotted two Roe Deer this morning

beverick

...not in the country but on an urban road to the east of Leeds between a council and an industrial estate.

It made a pleasant change from the travellers camp that was close to the same point up to a couple of weeks ago!

Bob

CiB

I saw one the other day, scuttling off into a hedge. At first it looked like a smallish dog, then it might have been a fox, and it turned to be a deer. Only one thought could possibly enter my head at that point - 'oh dear' - and it did.

tgotb

My morning ride is through Richmond Park. There are a couple of large herds of deer there, so it's a bit less surprising to see the odd one. This morning, however I spotted a fairly average-looking stag, about half a mile from the track, surrounded by no less than four photographers. I'm not talking tourists here; these guys all had full-on gigantic paparazzi lenses, big tripods, the works.

I wonder what the stag thought of it all...

londonlivvy

I went for a ride in Richmond Park before work today and the deer always make me smile. Except the wind was in a different direction today and I discovered they have quite a strong smell - disconcertingly so.

Now... on the subject of RP, will someone please set up a business with lockers there so that I can leave my work bag in it whilst I do a couple of laps?

Capo

I see the odd muntjac deer when I'm off on a ride round here (and the other day when walking my dog, someone's lurcher tore after two of them but didn't catch them!)

On wildlife generally, I am p*ssed off with pheasants - just stand there and stare at you with an alarmed expression but make no effort to get out of your way.

And riding down a country lane one time, I rounded a bend and there was a red kite sitting on a tree stump just yards away. I thought it would make a great photo but in al the excitement I forgot to unclip and ended up tangled up in my bike in a heap on the road :oops:

I think it sized me up as a potential meal - they're scavengers rather than predators - but to my relief flew off (presumably to have a good laugh about me with other red kites).

Jamey

I saw a deer once when I was heading to my parents house but this is well into South London. It was very bizarre. Almost like a Twelve Monkeys, post-apocolyptic kind of experience.

thrip

londonlivvy wrote:

I went for a ride in Richmond Park before work today and the deer always make me smile. Except the wind was in a different direction today and I discovered they have quite a strong smell - disconcertingly so.

They smell more at this time of year. It's the mating season and they're all pumped up on testosterone and other assorted ruminant pheromones. It certainly can be a bit of a shock to get a whiff of it!

roger_merriman

londonlivvy wrote:

I went for a ride in Richmond Park before work today and the deer always make me smile. Except the wind was in a different direction today and I discovered they have quite a strong smell - disconcertingly so.

Now... on the subject of RP, will someone please set up a business with lockers there so that I can leave my work bag in it whilst I do a couple of laps?

you wait til spring when what ever plant makes at smell, a very distinctive and very Pungent smell.

of sperm...... I kid not. not sure which plant it is but it's really quite strong and very much that smell...

deer are lovely I ride though Bushy Park most days to/from work lovely early when the stags are roaring.

deptfordmarmoset

londonlivvy wrote:

Now... on the subject of RP, will someone please set up a business with lockers there so that I can leave my work bag in it whilst I do a couple of laps?

+1. I stopped running in my local park (Greenwich) because I didn't want to run on roads and pavements to get there and back. Somewhere secure to store clothes and bags in the parks would be really handy. But Royal Parks are simply not geared up for exercise: there are 400 parking places in Greenwich Park but only 5 Sheffield stands, and they have only been there for a little while. Come on, parks, it's lock-it science not rocket science!

The Running Man

Sadly most of what I see is roadkill. The A4 is like a bloomin abbatoir : this morning there was a badger, pheasants by the ton, a young fox, and enough squirrels and rabbits to fill any swag bag.

Saying that on Friday night in the lanes outside Corsham a female roe deer stood in the middle of the road about 50 yards in front of me as I was hurtling towards it and just stared at me til i was 15 - 20 yards away and thengracefully leaped over a 5ft gate and disappeared into a field - beautiful.

On the same evening I had a hare belting down the road in front of me seemingly not knowing whether to go left or right. As I slowed down it slowed. If I dodged to the left it went left and likewise to the right almost as though it was playing with me. It kept it up for a good 50 yards or more before again shooting off into the hedge.

Made my last hard ride of the week much more enjoyable .....

Wallace1492

The Running Man wrote:

Sadly most of what I see is roadkill. The A4 is like a bloomin abbatoir : this morning there was a badger, pheasants by the ton, a young fox, and enough squirrels and rabbits to fill any swag bag.

Saying that on Friday night in the lanes outside Corsham a female roe deer stood in the middle of the road about 50 yards in front of me as I was hurtling towards it and just stared at me til i was 15 - 20 yards away and thengracefully leaped over a 5ft gate and disappeared into a field - beautiful.

On the same evening I had a hare belting down the road in front of me seemingly not knowing whether to go left or right. As I slowed down it slowed. If I dodged to the left it went left and likewise to the right almost as though it was playing with me. It kept it up for a good 50 yards or more before again shooting off into the hedge.

Made my last hard ride of the week much more enjoyable .....

So you were scalped by a hare?

The Running Man

Yep - I hadn't spotted that. You're right - he owns me now ...