Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Kingley Vale, West Sussex:
clear marks left by the sharp hooves of deer prints stand out from the pillow fox
shy, quiet and mostly nocturnal, mammals living in the forests rarely seen, but I walk by Kingley Vale National Nature Reserve tracks and signs betray their presence.
down the road, a sweet musky scent from the moment when a fox crossing marked its territory. The clay is firmer here and saw less traffic. It seems a foxprints winding path (thinner than a dog), covered with slots deer. Marks left clear crisp edges hulls deer clearly highlights the impressions of soft cushion edges, suggesting that the tracks of deer recently asked. The caterpillars are back near fingerprints before a casual approach. I am the way and find a piece of broken bush broken deer head height -. Recent sea trials - see a tuft of badger hair tangled in the barbed wire. Vegetation is flattened and widened and striped down and narrow path running through the brush stubble field on the edge of bleached wood. Although badger activity is sporadic during the winter months, always feeding, then crouch to impressions, but the ground was broken by mountain bike tires and boots striped water footprint.
It is a sound, a flash of movement. A deer out of the tree line. Standing in the shadow of the yew evergreen, perfectly camouflaged by its gray cloak. She hesitates, sniffs the air and stares at me with unblinking eyes. A fleeting spark of recognition passed between us. I hope it will turn around, but it leaps along the coast and across the road in front of me, showing her ass pale, with a horseshoe-shaped black as it blends into the shadows. Just when I'm about to take a step forward, the rest of the pack out of the wood, trot nose to tail in its wake.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Blog Archive
-
▼
2013
(105)
-
▼
January
(15)
- Obama's non-closing of GITMO, kind NYT headlines, ...
- French, Malians secure Timbuktu in rebel-held north
- Brazil plans Amazon tree census to assess deforest...
- Mineral dust sprinkled in oceans could absorb vast...
- Davos 2013: new vision for agriculture is old news...
- Royal Institution: 'Nobody cares about your stupid...
- Shwop til you drop: M&S and Oxfam take 'freecyclin...
- UK scientists bid to mimic plant energy creation
- Battle for soul of the Lakes pits unspoilt nature ...
- Horse burgers should have us all weeping in the ai...
- Horse burgers should have us all weeping in the ai...
- How housing staff can work to tackle child poverty...
- Black carbon causes twice as much global warming a...
- Country diary: Kingley Vale, West Sussex: Shy wood...
- What's for dinner in 2035?
-
▼
January
(15)
0 comments:
Post a Comment