Where Have the Displaced Deer Gone?

The deer still go up the wildlife corridors.  This is learned behaviour – deer teach their young where sheltered access to the woods and deer yards can be found, and subsequent generations use the same pathways.  These paths were intentionally planted to be a wildlife corridor, meant (in bygone, more environmentally responsible days) to draw animals away from the road and up into the conservation area to the north.  It has been used by many generations of local deer, since the 1970s. 

Now, when they reach the blocked entrance, the deer meander by the fence in the back yard of 975 or turn back around and return down the sheltered corridor to the road.

 

 

Deer still attempt to climb up the hill to the deer yard, as these tracks show – but the fence sends them wandering back into 975’s back yard.  Unable to access the deer yard and trapped in the back yard of 975, deer zigzag around until they find the entrance to the driveway.  From there, they return down the hill onto busy Governors Road.

The back yard at 975 is now being used for shelter by the neighbourhood deer.

What you are looking at used to be our flower bed.

 
Front Yard:
 

Over this past cold winter, as heavier fencing was installed which made access to their former wintering spot impossible, deer also began using the front yard at 975 Governors as a makeshift deer yard.  There are many problems with this situation:

·         It is far too small a space to accommodate many deer at once, as the old deer yard did. 

·         There is no meadow here, only fallen needles from the evergreens, and therefore very little food for deer.

·         There is no access to the pond’s water up the hill any more, so thirsty deer opt for the ditch along busy   Governors Road. 

·         This front yard is very close to the road, and often very loud, with heavy traffic.  This is an 80k zone, but out here, beyond the Conservation Authority speed traps, drivers often speed along at 100k or more.      

 

Here’s a deer and some of the front yard wallows.  See the silver car just beyond the trees?  That’s busy Governor’s Road – far too close for comfort.

 A closer view of the same deer wallows -- our neighbour's post box down on Governor's Road visible through the trees.

 

 

These are the deer tracks heading west from the front yard deer wallows.  They are headed over to the driveway.  From there, the deer go back down onto Governors Road.

This is the heavily wooded mutual driveway those deer pop out of.  Please drive carefully.