21st October 2007: Deer Rut

9 members successfully found the locked venue! This included 2 new members. The early morning start was important, as it meant that the group missed the other recreational users e.g. dog walkers.

Local intelligence had informed us of 3 deaths of the mature stags in the area, so the group was not sure what would be found in this area.

2 harems were found, one containing 17 hinds and one with 8. Both stags were young animals, with poor sets of antlers, as can be seen in the photograph.

In another area, a much better stag was seen with a smaller number of hinds. It will be interesting to see if more mature stags move into the area in the near future. The group was privileged to get close views of the deer.

20th October 2007: Hell Wood Dormouse Survey

An excellent turnout, with 8 members attending this extra session. 4 of these brave souls were new to the wood, and found out to their peril just how steep Hell actually is. Unfortunately for the only license holder present (Derek) we went around as one whole group with Derek running up and down between the rows. Overall 2 female dormice were found, one with two juveniles. 7 other nests were found, showing good coverage of the wood. Alongside the dormice over 20 woodmice were found, with 7 in one box alone. One member found a dormice box at the beginning of the day, took it up all his rows, looked after it during lunch, however then disaster struck. His box partner accidentally knocked the box, it rolled down the hill never to be seen again.