Out and about in the park
The Deer, after an arduous rut and a sparse winter’s feeding, will be relishing all the new foliage at this time of year. The bucks will be hard at work regaining the condition they lost during the rutting season, and the does will be feeding for two ahead of fawning in the late spring/early summer.
The Fallow deer, for preference, will go for browsing the trees over grazing the grass, and this is why all our younger trees are protected by tree guards; all the new buds appearing on the trees at this time of year prove irresistible to them, and if left to their own devices we wouldn’t have many trees left in the Park!
If you’re heading out into the further reaches of the park, particularly into Eleanor's Field behind Old Wood, not only are you likely to see the deer congregating there, but spare a glance into the skies to see the beautiful and majestic Red Kites soaring above in the thermals. The unmistakable silhouette of these incredible raptors, cutting silently through a clear blue spring sky, is truly breath-taking and ample reward for the walk out from the immediate environs of the mansion.