Of all the creatures in the wild woods and green pastures of Devon, none is more delightful than a young fawn. Especially wild Roe Deer. Surprisingly small, seemingly so fragile, yet capable of following their mother within a few hours of birth. At this time of the year the female’s habit of leaving her young, lying in a quiet corner while she goes off to feed, can sometimes lead to disturbance by dogs or people out walking. The best advice is to leave well alone, because mother deer will not be far away.

The Roe and far larger Red are our only native deer, inhabitants of the great forest that once grew from the south coast to Scotland at the end of the last ice age. By the 1800s woodland clearance and hunting led to the Roe deer disappearance across England. But they remained in the far north and scattered forests. Since then introductions and natural spread have dramatically increased their numbers. Now common and widespread over much of the country, the Roe Deer habit of browsing on young tree shoots and farmers’ crops, brings them into conflict with many land owners.

By the end of this month we will begin to hear the barking of the roe buck, challenging a rival to fight or flee. I am always amazed by the ferocity of these encounters. Once while leading a party of people on a walk and talk around our farm, I paused in a gateway to a field while explaining that the valley was once a medieval deer park. Before the days of instant supermarket dinners, when people had to hunt to survive, meat was kept on the hoof until needed. So imagine my surprise, let alone my thirty surrounding guests, when two roe bucks jumped into the open just a stone’s throw away. The deer locked antlers and battled for a few exciting minutes. Everyone froze until one of the deer looked up, saw us wide eyed in amazement and dashed off with the other in hot pursuit. The best remark from the silent stunned crowd made the entire party fall about laughing. It came from a lady close to me, “how did you arrange that” she asked. That is one of the beauties of nature, you never know what is going to happen next.