February is a month of change, we explain why.
There are a number of important points to get across this month, first and foremost, the most notable feature of February, is that with the 15th, comes the last day of the season in Scotland for Red & Sika Hind and Fallow Doe. Thereafter, north of the border, only Fallow Buck and Roe Doe will remain in season.
The second important feature of the time of year, relates to the deer’s behaviour.
Amongst the herding species (Fallow, Red & Sika) the large mixed sex herds will break up into smaller, single sex groups. Conversely however, amongst Roe deer, the opposite will be true, with the Roe now forming larger mixed family groups.
In relation to Roe, it is also important to note, that whilst the mature Roebuck will now appear advanced in velvet, this is not true of all Roebuck. The Roebuck kid’s will in-fact be in the process of casting their ‘buttons’ and so will be absent of antler for some weeks, before re growing their first simple set of antlers in time for the start of the buck season in April.
Whilst the weather remains broadly similar, February is a month of change, the hours of daylight start to lengthen and by the middle of the month we will have gained around two hours of extra daylight, something which will begin to stimulate growth and sustenance for winter weary animals.
Another feature of the month is the cessation of Game shooting. With the season for driven shooting coming to an end on the 1st February, deer stalkers can again look forward to re-claiming the countryside for themselves, safe in the knowledge that they will not be disturbing the birds! In England & Wales, with the season for females extending until the end of March, this will result in an opportunity for many deer managers to complete their cull of females.
Here at County Deer Stalking we are looking forward to making the most of the remaining season, with a host of deer stalking outings and opportunities in the coming weeks. Including our ‘Capreolus Club’ trip for Fallow in the New Forest on the 7th/8th February and a number of outings reserved by our PLUS scheme members on our gorgeous new club grounds in East Sussex, which incidentally is from where our next film will be due – ‘Hunting the White Hart’. It’s set to be a great film and will be released at the end of February with our next post, all good reason to keep reading the ‘Deer Stalkers Almanac’.
For more information about the Capreolus Club PLUS scheme, please follow this link: deer-stalking-syndicate
IN Season in England & Wales: Roe Doe, Fallow Doe & Fallow Buck, Sika Stag & Sika Hind, Red Stag & Red Hind, CWD Buck & CWD Doe, Muntjac Buck & Muntjac Doe.
Off Season in England & Wales: Roebuck.
In Season in Scotland: Sika Hind, Red Hind and Fallow Doe until 15th Feb only. Fallow Buck & Roe Doe remain in season throughout February.
Off Season in Scotland: Red Stag, Sika Stag & Roebuck. Also Red & Sika Hind and Fallow Doe from 16th February.
(Peter Jones - Editor)
