Very Sad Day

[Rob T]

Sapper, not nice finding dead deer but it's all part of nature (hopefully) The photos although not to everybodys taste may be helpfull in an I. D. to estimate the bucks age, therefore how successfull he may have been last October. An antler shot would be good for an indication of age. Then you would have a better Idea of what next next June may bring.

Ill PM you my Email addr.

Regards

Rob

[sapper]

Well got blood and water sample back

No poisons in the stags blood, the pond water has a trace of blue alge in it so that is gonna be delt with, by the end of the week.

So my stag died natural.

The Greatest news it the does, they have now met up with the rest of the herd, which at the moment count 40+ females, today in essex the day was like a summers day and they all were resting and enjoying the Suns warmth.

Am uploading one of my pics of the whole herd.I was approx 1.1/2 mile away so there is some haze but you can clearly see and count 40+

My does were there so I am happy they are safe.

Photo will be named 'sappers herd'

[Wild-Woman]

Nice one. We'll look forward to your shots. I'm pleased it wasn't poisoning and thanks for keeping us up to speed on the subject.

And yes-we are a nice bunch!

[m1.carson]

Hi,

I've read that blue-green algae is poisonous, but didn't realize it was that bad, i.e. one drink and the deer dies, there has been something like it in our local gravel pits during the summer, but, googling around can't find a decent photo to ID it.

I don't think it can be, too many foxes/badger/deer around, would have killed them all off.

Max.

[eeyore]

Blue green algae can be extremly toxic i- there are numerous records of dogs and even children dying from it - however it is largely a summer thing so i'm supprised that it is occuring at this time of year.

One of the best ways of combatting it is to float sausages of barley straw in the pond/ lake, as these break down they lease humic acids which react with sunlight to form hydrogen peroxide (at a very low level which wont effect wildlife) which attacks the cell walls of the algae and prevents the blooms from forming.

[sapper]

Thanks Eeyore will get the woodland owners to drop a bail in the pond.
even this time of year its a nice sun trap.
pity the badgers didnt go there in the day time then i would not freeze trying to get photos

things with the weather are looking better everyday so soon hope to have young deer drinking here soon.

[seamusagleann]

got me thinking now ,better try and get a test done on the loch ,any idea when is the best time to do it

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by seamusagleann

got me thinking now ,better try and get a test done on the loch ,any idea when is the best time to do it

you can generally spot a bloom on the surface - it looks not unlike an oil slick as the algae decays. If the loch is used for water sports etc you definitely need a test if their is visual evidence.

as regards barley straw you are best off breaking the bail up into sausages (with bottles added for flotation) we used to use xmas tree wrapping funnels - if you google "straw sausages" you will probably find the how too guides etc.

edit : the link for the info sheets etc A O U - Algae Control in Ponds using Straw feel free to pm me if you have questions when i was in mk we used to make arround 40 of these each year.

[Biomotors]

I'm not convinced that barley straw is so harmless.

We had loads of blanket weed in one of ours, and it was absolutely teeming with newts, snails, crustaceans, larvae, etc.

Even so, we thought we would be helping the pond to clear the weed, so we threw in a haynet full of barley straw. After a couple of months, the pond was totally clear of blanket weed, but also seems to be clear of everything else! Hardly any newts, the herons get a clear stab at the fish, and seemingly far less mini-beasts. The whole thing seems pretty sterile now.

I wouldn't do that again.

Thanks
Dominic

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by Biomotors

I'm not convinced that barley straw is so harmless.

We had loads of blanket weed in one of ours, and it was absolutely teeming with newts, snails, crustaceans, larvae, etc.

Even so, we thought we would be helping the pond to clear the weed, so we threw in a haynet full of barley straw. After a couple of months, the pond was totally clear of blanket weed, but also seems to be clear of everything else! Hardly any newts, the herons get a clear stab at the fish, and seemingly far less mini-beasts. The whole thing seems pretty sterile now.

I wouldn't do that again.

Thanks
Dominic

that might be more to do with the lack of pond weed habitat for minibeasts than the straw itself.

we used to (they probably still do but i dont work there anymore) deploy 40 plus sausages in willen, caldecotte , and furzton lakes in mk and never saw any ill effects