So along time ago deers spread across the uk some are more common than others Like sika deer is less well distributed than Roe and others but most are Others are except the water deer sika isn’t as widely distributed as Roe and a lot of deer acording to the British deer association maps are actually more concentrated around the south and the midlands and less distributed up north but they are increasing. Its not only deer spreading north since there’s species impacted by climate change. So most deer are spreading while a few are more patchy distributed like Sika. But the thing is with sika deer is that most in the uk hybridised with red deer so pure bred ones are a lot rarer but can be found. If a deers distribution is more patchy but there are both pure breeds aswell as hybrids it would be generaliseing to say all sika deer in the uk are rare cause it depends on weather it is pure bred or not. The blue pool nature reserve say they have rare sika deer and they have high population of them. So are they rare or just uncommon. They might not be found in places outside the patches so it would be considered rare if it was found outside the patches but in the patches where there’s high numbers they technically arnt rare in that area but less common than other deer in tbd uk at the moment and if there increasing then there population is obviously doing better than it used to now which is good of course where there’s high numbers they need to be controlled so they don’t do any damage. Unless they have pure breeds there probably not as rare as they make it sound unless of course they are pure bred sika deer in that area.
We get a lot of muntjac deer in my area which I believe originally escaped from the Duke of Bedford’s estate. They still have at least three other species there and you can drive (carefully!) through the deer park and see them - its very impressive.
A couple of years Iv seen deer in a deer park at prinknash Abby but it closed down so the deer must of been moved somewhere else pigeons would perch on your hand for food and perch on your head and shoulders and deer would come up to you there and there was a monastery. So I went to the woods when I go to the Cotswolds AONBs in Gloucestershire to see if I could see them but the views would only be fleeting. But then last year I went on holiday to east anglia and Muntjac deer were common around the cabins if you were quiet you could hear them and see them in the shrubbery looking for things so I got some pictures of those that was the first time I saw a deer that stayed long enough I could see what species it is and I hadn’t seen a muntjac deer before then sika can be found in Dorset And that was the first time I ever saw a sika deer. Weather there pure sika or not I don’t know for sure though
I sometimes hear the muntjac calling in the night (they’re also known as barking deer). They’ve never come into my back garden but I’ve seen at least one wandering around in the road out front over night.
When I lived in the north of Hampshire there used to be deer in fields visible from the road. If they got onto the road they could do enough mechanical damage to a vehicle to stop it.
I’ve seen sika deer at the RSPB Arne reserve in Dorset. I’ve got a record of one somewhere on iSpot.
Unfortunately I couldn’t go to RSPB Urne my family were very picky cause one of them we met up with had a dog and a child and needed a cafe. I still havnt been to any RSPB reserves only wildlife trust and woodland trust ones. I don’t have any RSPB ones near me. Dorset has some but my family had already decided blue pool when I started looking for RSPB sites so I couldn’t see a Sika at Urne like you did but it isn’t far from Urne. I know that the places in Dorset you visited and the place i have visited are a stronghold for Sika
May is the time Sika have calfs whereas breeding is later Was your Sika an adult or was it the same time of year as me?
Hi, Zo,
I found my observation. A different deer | Observation | UK and Ireland | iSpot Nature
It was mid-July and it looks like an adult.
I haven’t got any RSPB reserves close to me. Pulborough Brooks is probably the nearest but I’ve only ever been there a couple of times. Apart from when I’m on holiday, I do 90% of my bird-watching within walking distance of my home. (I do most of my bug-spotting on the same walks; and in the garden. E.g. I’ve only ever run my moth trap away from home once when I had permission at the local British Wildlife Centre (who kindly let me use their mains electricity supply).
They (Muntjac) are incredibly abundant around here - and one of them frequents our large-ish garden. It nearly caused a laundry crisis when it unexpectedly exploded out from behind the old summer-house, nearly knocking me over in the process.
In my experience Sika deer can be tricky to find in the wild (unlike red, roe, and muntjac which can be very common in some areas) although there are some in wildlife parks and zoos. So you need to do plenty of research beforehand, as with lots of wildlife watching.
Sika can be quite common up here if you go to the right places. Farmers market in Inverness yesterday, so quite common in our freezer as well!
Are conservationists worried about hybridisation between red and sika deer as a threat to the native red deer population?
In a word. Yes.
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There are restrictions on moving deer to the islands, because they are the only populations sufficiently isolated to guarantee that they are not hybrids. Any mainland Red Deer would need DNA testing to prove that there is no Sika hybridisation.