Chinese Water Deer - Woburn Area

rjmartinuk · #1 (**permalink**) 13-09-2011, 09:39 PM

Hey Everyone

I am planning a trip to Woburn on Saturday to visit Woburn Deer Park (has anyone been, is it any good?) and I have been reading that there is a population of Chinese Water Deer outside of the park that are now wild (in the surrounding area.)

I just wondered if anybody had seen any in the neighbouring fields etc as I would love to be able to "tick" Chinese Water Deer off my mammal list - but I will only count it if I see it wild (ie. not in the park) - if anybody knows any particular good locations I would really appreciate a reply or PM.

Many Thanks!

Cheers, Rob

mbaldw · #2 (**permalink**) 14-09-2011, 06:55 PM

Hi Rob,

I'm afraid I can't help with nearby CWD hotspots, but my girlfriend and I visited Woburn Deer Park a few weeks back and I was quite impressed. They have an excellent collection of deer (we saw most species, although CWD were very difficult to get anywhere near and most of the pics I got were of them fleeing). My only complaint really is the layout of the park. There are three main paths on the site but none of them are circuitous and you can't walk along the roads (although we saw people apparently ignoring the 'rules' and nobody obviously enforcing them) - this means you need to walk up one path, back down, up another, back down and up the third. With a bit more planning they could easily have joined the paths up to make a circuit for visitors to walk around. Given that you can (should) only walk on the designated tracks it makes much of the grounds off-limits and these are invariably where many of the deer spend their time. All that said, we has a pleasant morning there and will certainly be looking to go back next year with a longer (prob. 500mm) lens.

Cheers,
Marc.

rjmartinuk · #3 (**permalink**) 15-09-2011, 11:42 AM

Cheers Marc - appreciate the reply

I will let you know how I get on over the weekend.

Anybody who can advise me on where best to look?

camo · #4 (**permalink**) 15-09-2011, 08:39 PM

Hi R

I know the Chinese Water Deer in the area and I will message you a particular hot spot where i have seen upto 20 deer in a single field of crops. Generally I have found CWD act very differently from say Muntjac in that they are very alert and become more cautious when you disapear from sight (i.e. into a ditch or hiding place). Where as I have found Muntjac fairly easy to stalk (with a camera) CWD watch you and tend to bolt if they loose sight of you. Also with CWD they will often hide in a ditch and you can often surprise one when you walk along side a ditch or deep hedge. Have your camera ready they will surprise you but the action pictures you can get are very good.
Woburn can be a difficult park as car parking is limited and you need to get out the car wherever you can. You used to be able to park close to the art Gallery but i dont know if you can still. If you can park there and walk from there. If you go while the Red or Pere David are rutting you should be very careful, they will act exactly as their wild cousins and if you get in the middle of some stags things can be tricky, there are very few escape trees in Woburn.
In the park you have a mixture of Red, Pere David, Fallow, Roe, CWD and Muntjac and it is not difficult to see all of them however Roe are the most difficult. You should check out the difference between Red and Pere David as they are quite similar.
My favourite area for watching Deer in Woburn is around the back gate, there is a path that goes away from the central road and it quickly takes you over a hill and into an area where the deer are acting more naturally. I tend to park outside the park and walk back in, but even then parking close to the gate is very limited.
I will mail you a place where you will see CWD.

Roy