Deer Survey Results
Several months ago, we wrote about the work we are undertaking in partnership with The British Deer Society. Specifically, we discussed our approach to tackling the problem of over-population of some deer species in different parts of the UK, including at Wild Ken Hill. It is really important to us that this approach is backed by evidence and science. In the same blog, we therefore mentioned that we would be undertaking deer population surveys at Wild Ken Hill. We are pleased to report that these deer survey results are now in!
Key Deer Survey Results
Over a five hour period, the drone surveyed 14.9 Km2 of Wild Ken Hill. This is the vast majority of the site.
In that period, the drone identified a total of 223 deer. The most abundant was Muntjac, which were counted 106 times (48% of the total). 49 Roe Deer, 42 Fallow Deer, and 26 Water Deer were also counted. No Red Deer were counted on the day of the survey, although there is often a small population present on the farm.
223 deer sounds like a lot, and it is a lot! This total equates to about 15 deer per Km2. That is well above “normal” or recommended densities. This means the number of some deer species, in particular Muntjac, are highly likely to be having a detrimental effect on the habitats at Wild Ken Hill, as well as our rewilding and conservation efforts, through over-browsing. In some cases browsing by over-abundant deer species can be so extensive it severely limits ground cover for birds and other species.
We also note that this total is an absolute minimum. The survey was performed in April. This is a time when the population is close to its lowest due to breeding and migration cycles.
So there is clearly work to be done on this issue. We’ll come back to that, but first we wanted to share how this survey works.
How the drone survey works
These interesting results are the product of our new partnership with the British Deer Society. Together we worked with the surveyor Ben Harrower, who has significant expertise in drone wildlife surveys.
Ben’s work is only possible due to recent advances in technology. Specifically, the this survey utilised a drone with Thermal Imaging (TI) capabilities. Flying around Wild Ken Hill, the drone was able to quickly find and record large mammals. These could be identified and counted by viewing the video recording, giving a very accurate picture of minimum deer numbers on that particular day.
Indeed, industry experts believe this technique is much more accurate than historical, on the ground surveys. It is also much less time consuming. Ben completed this survey in one day and covered almost the entirety of Wild Ken Hill. To cover such an area without the drone would be impossible.
Next steps for us
Like The British Deer Society, we are hopeful that this evidence-based approach to deer management will become more common around the country. In particular, the drone-based censuses in conjunction with other surveys like Habitat Impact Assessments is a powerful approach. Along with sharing this blog with readers, we also hosted a learning day at Wild Ken Hill for land managers and deer management professionals, focusing on this new drone technology. We are likely to do more of this type of work in the future.
One thing we note from the survey is that these results were representative of other sites in Norfolk. So there is work to do not only at Wild Ken Hill – we need to work at a landscape scale with other land managers and organisations like the British Deer Society.
Beyond the above, we will be taking the key findings from the survey, and incorporating them into our work. In practice, we are going to need to manage the deer population at Wild Ken Hill more effectively if we want full nature recovery. We will therefore be working more closely with the British Deer Society to ensure more management takes place at Wild Ken Hill. Here’s what its CEO David Mcauley had to say about the survey:
“Evidence-based approaches are critical in achieving ethical and sustainable wildlife management. The drone and habitat impact surveys conducted at Wild Ken Hill have indicated a definite need for deer management to reduce impacts from over-browsing. We will continue to work with Wild Ken Hill to help manage their deer populations to the highest ethical standards.”
At Wild Ken Hill, we don’t take the decision of managing deer lightly. But equally, we won’t shy away from the difficult decisions required to bring back nature. So we will use this science to make informed decisions about where and how to ethically manage the deer population at Wild Ken Hill.
Thanks for reading about these deer survey results, and best wishes from the Wild Ken Hill team as ever!