Bad Day for Tracking

13C  Sunny N wind 5 mph.

Friday was the vernal equinox; the first day of spring. This was confirmed yesterday with wonderful weather again. I decided to go into Poor Park to see what was going on. I was a little dismayed when I approached the main path to see a number of vehicles and men with rifles. Farmer B. came over. He's a nice guy and although we've talked about game and hunting in the past, he was a little coy when he said they'd just culled 5 deer. Of course I have no issues with this but I had a feeling not all was right with the world. I went on into the woods after confirming the shoot was over.

As I hobbled  into the woods I was overtaken by two of the vehicles I'd just previously seen. Two lads got out of the vehicles and commenced searching the area at the edge of the wood. When I caught up I realised they were looking for tracks and sign. I wondered if they'd shot and injured a deer and it was still out there. They were young lads and had new kit. This was not a good sign. My previous bad feeling seemed more justified.

They confirmed the shot was good and clean but the deer had bolted from the field where it had been hit into the wood. I suspected the shot couldn't have been that clean. It was a fair way from where they said the deer was hit to the wood. A well placed shot would have seen the deer go down well before it ever reached the woodland edge. I didn't believe them and knew there would be a wounded deer nearby that had to be found. I said I'd give them a hand; a comment which was ignored.

I quickly found some blood marks but despite feverishly looking for more and of course trying to find fresh tracks amongst the multitude of other tracks, I was at a loss. The two lads went off to the west without even acknowledging my blood find. I wouldn't be able to keep up with them and had no wish to follow their backs in any case so I followed the path to the north. I found nothing and saw nothing. I was thinking about returning and studying the area in more detail (which I should have done in the first place) when I heard two shots ring out from the west and presumed they had found the "dead" deer.

I continued into the woods and reflected that I had rushed into looking for tracks and signs.  I returned later to the same area and again drew a blank. I was beginning to doubt my own ability and I had no idea how the injured deer had gone from the area where the blood was to where it had been eventually found.

The incident dampened the morning a little despite the warm weather.

I re-focused at lunchtime and practiced fire lighting with flint and steel, a cotton yellow duster and dead grass. I was a bit rusty and it took a while but eventually I had a small cooking fire going with which to reheat my left-over Chinese meal (always tastes best after heating up the next day!)

Sightings of a woodpecker, a fox and buzzards helped to raise the spirits even more than the food and by the end of the afternoon I was back to normal.

Activity in the form of two trials motorbikes in an adjacent field drove me from the woods at about 4pm and I returned home.

A strange old day and one to store away in the archives.

Thanks for the visit.

Pablo.