Roe behaviour and distubance by people

[Erik Hamburger]

One of my permissions has a serious issue with dog-walkers who are often found in the woodland well away from the public footpaths.
This makes stalking challenging for obvious reasons - despite many signs of deer (tracks, damage, droppings, fraying, 'high-ways' through the woodland) I have a quite low success rate on this particular permission. (approx. 1 in 6 stalks results in a cull, the land holds Roe and Muntjac)
I get conflicting advise from more experienced stalkers:
One the one hand it is often stated that deer get used to human presence, dog-walkers and farm workers being around; however on the other hand I get advised that when there is too much human disturbance the deer become virtually 100% nocturnal.
Any comments/advise would be much appreciated - thank you.

 

[teyhan1]

One of my permissions has a serious issue with dog-walkers who are often found in the woodland well away from the public footpaths.
This makes stalking challenging for obvious reasons - despite many signs of deer (tracks, damage, droppings, fraying, 'high-ways' through the woodland) I have a quite low success rate on this particular permission. (approx. 1 in 6 stalks results in a cull, the land holds Roe and Muntjac)
I get conflicting advise from more experienced stalkers:
One the one hand it is often stated that deer get used to human presence, dog-walkers and farm workers being around; however on the other hand I get advised that when there is too much human disturbance the deer become virtually 100% nocturnal.
Any comments/advise would be much appreciated - thank you.

1. Get to know your ground really well first of all. The deer always seem to know exactly the right places to go that see less human activity.
2. Vary the times you go there. Dog walkers are normally active first thing in the morning and later towards the evening. The deer know this and will often appear later as the wood becomes less active.
3. Do you have the same dog walkers or do they vary? It makes a huge difference as deer will get used to seeing the same people/dogs and providing that the dogs don't chase them, then they will stand and watch. However variance in patterns will make the deer run.
4. Find yourself a good spot and sit still. Let the dog walkers do their stuff. The deer will be there watching.

Is it Woodland Trust land? I used to do Woodland Trust and it has to be said it is a bloody nightmare. But the deer were there, you just had to find them.

 

[6.5rem700]

i too have had ground like this, so i had to put high seats up so i could see anyone that shouldent be there
but found the deer would spook away from people and dogs [on leads] but wouldn't go far and would be back this way again soon
but on weekends when foot fall was greatest or the deer were being chased by dogs ,first and last light was the best time to observe/shoot from a high seat
also i sighted the seats as far away from a footpath as possible and in some dense cover with deer tracks through , members of the public seem to want to
go round dense cover than go through it, was a bit of a game getting to the seats but would go 1 to 2 hours early so to let the ground settle down again from MY disturbance

 

[RED-DOT]

I put signs up on gates that read "Adder breeding in progress please take care" ... It works.

 

[Tartan_Terrier]

There's some woodland near me which is owned by the local council. It is used quite extensively by dog walkers, joggers, mountain bikers, and the like. Even so, there seem to plenty of roe about. I think they've just got used to there being so many humans around, and don't see them as being much of a threat (unless they get too close obviously).

I can imagine that the hunters in the adjoining woods have an easy time of it.

 

[Jimbo 30 06]

when there is too much human disturbance the deer become virtually 100% nocturnal.

I have found this statement to be 100% true in my experiences.

Jimbo

 

[sauer]

im no professional stalker .... just a basic amateur but bits of my ground close to edge of town and quite popular dog walkers etc..... and I found that both statements kinda ring true .....
on that iece of ground they used to amount of people but they don't chase them or come too close so are tolerant.....very little movement till almost dark tho

another bit of ground I had was in the country and popular with horse riders etc and I did see them get almost 100% nocturnal



I think that they get used to people to a point..... but if it gets worse they to appear to go almost nocturnal....or at least to the point that what lights left when they do appear in an evening means you cant shoot anyway.


just my limited observations.
paul