Wildlife in the garden

by

We have lovely neighbours, but love ends at Muntjacs.
Screams destroy the quietness of our neighbourhood, the signal for Dina to get her camera.
Our neighbour scares the muntjacs out of her garden. Fleeing through the hedge, they seek asylum with us and later lie relaxed under our hedge. Often a family comes with two lovely young ones.

Wir haben liebe Nachbarn, aber beim Muntjack hört die Liebe auf.
Schreie gellen durch stille Nachbarschaft, das Signal für Dina ihre Kamera schussbereit zu machen.
Unsere Nachbarin verscheucht die Muntjacks aus ihrem Garten. Fliehend durch die Hecke, suchen sie bei uns Asyl und liegen entspannt unter unserer Hecke. Oftmals kommt eine Familie mit zwei halbstarken Kindern.

.

Our dear neighbour will better not read the following.
Dina and Selma 🙂 feed the muntjacs with red photogenic apples. The apples are small and hard and the muntjacs first had to learn how to eat such an apple. The male muntjac was not the boss for nothing, it took him a quarter of an hour to eat the first apple, but the next day the apple was gone in no time at all. Fast learning, isn’t it?

Das Folgende liest unsere liebe Nachbarin besser nicht.
Dina und Selma 🙂 füttern die Muntjacks mit kleinen roten Äpfeln. Allerdings mussten die Muntjacks erst einmal lernen, wie sie solch einen Apfel fressen können. Der männliche Muntjack war nicht umsonst der Boss. Den ersten Apfel zu fressen benötigte er eine Viertelstunde, den Apfel am nächsten Tag frass er im Handumdrehen.

.

The muntjac is the arch enemy of gardeners.
Full of anticipation, Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma planted masses of bluebells but didn’t realise that bluebells are Haute Cuisine for muntjacs. Our precious classic red tulips suffered the same fate, which made our garden more minimalist.

Der Muntjack ist der Erzfeind der Gärtner.
Voll Vorfreude pflanzten Siri 🙂 und 🙂 Selma Mengen von Glockenblumen nicht wissend, dass Glockenblumen Haute Cuisine für Muntjacks sind. Unseren edlen klassisch roten Tulpen erging es ebenso, was unseren Garten minimalistischer werden ließ.

.

Muntjacs originate from East Asia and, like the Chinese Water Deer, were brought to England by the deer collector Duke of Bedford. We do not know whether any escaped or were released. We see muntjacs every day and hear their barking at night. With this sound, which is not exactly charming to the human ear, the female calls for a mating partner immediately after giving birth. Female muntjacs are constantly pregnant.

Muntjacks stammen aus Ost-Asien und wurden wie das Chinese Water Deer von dem Reh-Sammler Duke of Bedford nach England gebracht. Ob nun welche entkamen oder ausgesetzt wurden, wissen wir nicht. Wir sehen Muntjacks täglich und hören des Nachts ihr Bellen. Mit diesem fürs menschlich Ohr nicht gerade charmanten Ton ruft das weibliche Tier gleich nach der Geburt nach einem Paarungspartner. Weibliche Muntjacks sind ständig schwanger.

.

Maybe you were like us before we came here. We had to google ‘Muntjac’ first. Well, Muntjacs are not as prominent and cute as Bambi, although they belong to the same family.

Vielleicht ging es euch wie uns, bevor wir hierher kamen. Wir mussten ‘Muntjack’ erst einmal googeln. Er ist ja nicht so prominent und süß wie Bambi, obwohl er zur gleichen Familie gehört.

.

What do you do to attract Wild Life to your garden or on your windowsill?

Was erlebt ihr mit Wild Life in eurem Garten oder auf der Fensterbank?

Happy wildlife spotting
Freudiges Naturbeobachten

The Fab Four of Cley
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

.

© text and illustrations, Hanne Siebers & Klausbernd Vollmar, Cley next the Sea 2024

106 thoughts

  1. There are some Muntjacs in the woodland on Beetley Meadows across the road. But they do not cross the road, or try to get into gardens that are fenced. Some Beetley people complain about them eating things in their garden, and I don’t think anyone feeds them. I doubt they would come into our garden anyway, because Ollie would chase them.
    Beautiful photos of the small deer!
    Love from Beetley, Pete and Ollie. X

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Good morning, dear Pete,
      although our garden is fenced off the muntjacs come in through our hedges.
      Dogs and Muntjacs is quite a problem. We heard several times that Muntjacs kill dogs or at least hurt them badly when chased.
      Thank you for liking Dina’s photos.
      With love from the grey sea
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • You are right, dear Jacqui, we have a kind of flowerless garden. Well, we have many snowdrops and aconites now, lilies later and other flowers muntjacs don’t like.
      Have a happy week
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  4. Like your decision to sacrifice the bluebells and the tulips, I have sacrificed my fruit trees to the birds. We have a lot of birds, especially fruit eating birds, and they eat all the peaches, plums, figs, and blackberries. We tried netting them, but birds got stuck in the netting and it was to upsetting for me so now we just gift them the fruit.

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

  7. Liebe Dina und Klausbernd, es freut mich, dass es diese Muntjacs so gut bei euch haben, trotz der Verluste eurer Blumen! Uns fällt auf, dass wir mehr Vögel haben im Garten, vor allem Eichelhäher🦜Vielen Dank für diesen schönen Beitrag!

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  8. Wirkliche Schönheiten sind es ja nicht gerade, die Muntiaks. Anders die zugewanderten Waschbären, die gerade in unserem Viertel überhand nehmen. Die sind sehr süß, aber nerven nachts mit ihrem Kratzen und Wühlen auf den Etagendächern und Balkonen.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Da hast du wohl recht, wir finden die muntjacs auch hässlich.
      Waschbären gibt es bei uns nicht.
      Danke fürs Kommentieren, mit herzlichem Gruß vom kleinen Dorf am großen Meer
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  10. I have only heard about Muntjacs here on your page. Somehow the horns look a bit small for an animal of that size and “volume”.
    My garden is full of insects, birds and hedgehogs. In summer I put water out for everybody, and in winter food. So, I have residential birds and in winter a lot of visitors for the food. Water and food is the most important for wildlife.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Hi, dear Stella,
      we have several places in our garden where we feed all the resident birds and they can drink there as well.
      In the late summer we have a lot of dragon flies, during the summer hedge hogs, toads and little field mice.
      All the best and thanks for commenting
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  11. Fab Four of Cley,
    So happy to see a new post. I’ve seen pictures but never knew they were always pregnant or what they ate. Do people hunt them? (I’m not a hunter, but I’m curious how their population is kept in check.
    Have a great week!
    GP

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  12. Oh, wie schön! Hm, bleiben sie auch, wenn ihr rausgeht?
    Ich hätte Respekt vor ihnen! Aber ebenso wie Dina würde ich knipsen was die Kamera hergibt.

    Hier sind die wilden Tiere deutlich kleiner, die Meisen auf dem Balkon. Derzeit eine Übernachtungskohlmeise, die wohl auch wieder hier brüten wird.
    Im Sommer habe ich der Balkontür, hinter dem Fliegenvorhang gesessen und ihnen Erdnüsse in einer Dose angeboten. Manche waren mutig, andere flogen schnell wieder davon. Das war schön zu erleben, als die wilden Vögel sich vorsichtig annäherten und schnell eine Nuss stibitzten. 🙂

    Liebe Grüße,
    Syntaxia

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Liebe Syntaxia,
      es brauchte eine Weile, bis nicht mehr wegliefen, wenn wir in den Garten kamen. Jetzt haben sie sich jedoch an uns gewöhnt. Wenn wir ihnen nicht zu nahe kommen, gucken sie nur interessiert.
      Dina ist auch eine große Vogelfreundin und versucht teils mit und teils ohne Erfolg, die Vögel anzulocken, dass sie ihr aus der Hand picken.
      Mit lieben Grüßen vom heute grauen Meer
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  13. We have a herd of white-tail deer that come by each day for some carrots. Our neighborhood has learned from day one what to plant that is deer-resistant. We don’t have folks yelling at them since they were here long before the community. Interesting animals.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Dear Janet,
      we think our neighbours are not looking at social media – hopefully.
      It’s a pity that we cannot have tulips, but we can live without.
      Keep well and thanks
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

  17. We fed deer apples when we lived in Oregon, Fab Four. They would come up and eat out of our hands. And bring their babies by for us to meet. And sleep on our porch. We also planted flowers they didn’t like to eat. Lavender was a good example. Peggy would scold them when they came by to eat here roses. But the roses were the thorny type that seemed to thrive on trimming. I confess, I had to google, Muntjac. Fun post. Best not tell your neighbors…

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Dear Curt,
      we have now lots of different lavenders in our garden (that’s traditional here) and roses. Actually, we like it because it’s less work than having tulips. Muntjacs seem to prefer red flowers. They don’t eat daffodils and yellow tulips. Our muntjacs don’t eat roses.
      Thanks and keep well
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

  18. In our garden I have seen coyotes and lots of wild birds at out feeders. There are some wild white tailed deer but they don’t come to our garden they are in the woods nearby. We also hear wolves in the woods at night.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Good morning, dear Anne,
      to hear wolves at night is very special. We are not sure but it seems that wolves don’t like the sea that’s because we have hardly any woods here.
      Thanks for commenting.
      All the best
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    • Dear Katherine
      we are originally Scandinavian and so we like minimalism. Well, we have to arrange ourselves with the wildlife here anyway.
      Thanks for commenting and keep well
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    • Guten Morgen, liebe Tanja
      herzlichen Dank, dass dir Dinas Bilder gefallen.
      Jetzt ist es so, dass wenn die Muntjacs nicht kommen, wir beunruhigt sind.
      Liebe Grüße
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  22. Re: The screams, I was immediately thinking some four legged wild predator must be killing your deer until I wondered, are their mammal eating predators where you live who aren’t human? Deer don’t show up at The Holler, the coyotes would kill them quickly.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Dear Cindy
      the scream comes from a two legged animal – from our neighbour who tries to frighten the muntjacs away.
      Muntjacs are hunted. You can buy their meat at our local butcher. But we never had it. The only dangers for the muntjacs are manmade, muntjacs don’t have any predators here.
      Thanks and keep well
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

  26. My dear Fab Four,
    Interesting to see what you all attract to your garden apart from pheasants. Absolutely gorgeous photos, Dina-Hanne.
    I think the venison we had at yours could have been a muntjac?
    I have heard them “barking” when staying at yours.
    Kram
    Annalena xx

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

    • Our dear Annalena,
      thanks for your comment.
      No, you didn’t have muntjac meat at ours. We don’t eat muntjac – actually, we don’t know why. It isn’t for a reason.
      At this time of the year we have lots of pheasants in our garden. We love them and we like to eat them.
      With lots of love
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

    • Na, das ist doch prima!
      Obwohl es hier einige Muntjacks gibt, sind sie doch sonst weitgehend unbekannt. But now you know 🙂
      Mit lieben Grüßen vom heute grauen Meer
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  28. Dear friends,
    I love this post with Dina’s fantastic captures. Did you take them through the window?
    I have never seen a muntjac so close before. Do you think this buck is relatively young?
    Do you have other visitors with more prominent antlers?
    It’s finally warming up a bit up north after the coldest, wildest winter we have had for many years.
    Enjoy your wildlife!
    Klem Per Magnus xx

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Good morning, our dear Per Magnus,
      indeed, Dina took the photo through the kitchen window while Selma 🙂 was rolling the apple towards the muntjac. We have absolutely no idea if this buck is young or not. We are total muntjac-greenhorns. We sometimes have deer visiting our garden.
      Here, like always, it wasn’t really cold at all. We suppose the coldest was – 5 degrees at night and hardly ever freezing at daytime.
      Keep happy and healthy
      The Fab Four of Cley
      XXXX
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  31. Muntjacks waren auch mir bisher nicht bekannt. Da sieht man mal wieder, dass Bloggen doch durchaus bildet 😄 Hier sind es die Rehe, die gern die Gärten plündern. Aber über Äpfel machen sich eher Stare und Amseln her. Seitdem ich die Amseln im Winter immer mit Apfelhälften füttere, bedienen sie sich auch gern schon im Spätsommer an den Äpfeln, die wir eigentlich für uns vorgesehen haben 😂 Muntjacks können ja wohl nicht fliegen, um die Bäume zu beernten, aber wer weiß … 😉 Feine Bilder übrigens von Euren Gartenbesuchern.
    Lieben Gruß von der Silberdistel

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Liebe Silberdistel,
      wir haben viel Fallobst von alten Apfelbäumen in unserem Garten. Wir denken, dass sich die Muntjacks im Herbst darüber hermachen werden. Allerdings wollen wir auch die Zahl der Muntjacks auf unserem Grundstück gering halten. Auch bei uns ist eigentlich das Fallobst für die Stare und Amseln gedacht. Diese roten Äpfel kaufen wir. Sie machen sich im Foto besonders gut.
      Vielen Dank für deinen freundlichen Kommentar
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  32. They may make good subjects for photography but I would not want them in our garde. I had a beautiful venison pie for lunch in an hotel recently and that puts thought into my mind for the Muntjack!

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Dear Paddy,
      you are right, we don’t secure our hedge because Dina wants to photograph them.
      Well, venison pie sounds yummy. But preparing a shot muntjac turns us off.
      Thanks for commenting.
      Keep happy
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  33. Great photos of this unusual deer! I had to google because I had never heard of them before. Squirrels, rabbits, birds and occasionally skunks are frequent visitors to my back garden. I have a bird feeder. And then the squirrels and rabbits visit for the leftovers on the ground. 🙂

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Thank you, dear Mermaid, for your comment. Indeed, muntjacs are unusual dear one doesn’t want to have them in the garden – except you are a photographer.
      We have lots of squirrels too and many different birds. Cley next the Sea is called ‘Mecca of Birdwatching’ in the UK.
      All the best
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  36. Best of luck with the muntjacs. We have the regular deer here. During lean winter times, the trees are all “pruned” to a consistent height by their nibbling.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  37. The word ‘muntjac’ is nearly as interesting as the animal. An etymological search revealed that the word first was recorded in 1790–1800; it came via the Dutch and the Sundanese mənyčək, meaning “a kind of chevrotain.” I found examples of their barking online, and was surprised how closely it does resemble a dog’s bark. I wondered about their puffy eyes, but I see that they have large glands beneath their eyes: perhaps scent glands. The striped horn on the male is quite attractive. It looks as though this one has seen a bit of combat.

    The apple’s a perfect touch: not only the color, but also the action it evoked. It reminded me of the first time I fed an apple to a horse. I held the apple, while the creature took four perfectly spaced bites as I turned it, then finished off the core. Great fun! Today, my only creatures are an abundance of birds and squirrels, but I do have one squirrel that will take nuts from my hand.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Good morning, dear Linda,
      thank you so much for all the information. We hear them barking quite often mostly at night. We didn’t know about the glands beneath their eyes.
      We haven’t seen muntjacs with bigger horns than this one Dina photographed.
      Now we keep them away from our garden.
      Keep well
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  38. I have never heart of those animals but it is wonderful they are coming and you can see them so close enjoying the apple. Interesting to learn about them.
    I have Squirrels in my garden and of course lots of burried nuts. 🙂 My little Robin comes often and more in the evening we have the urban foxes roaming through.
    The frogs love our pond. I also have seen Jays. Let’s see waht this year brings, may be more animals!

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Thank you very much, dear Ute.
      The muntjac didn’t come that near. Selma rolled an apple toward him and Dina photographed with a long lens.
      We have Jays, Robins and Squirrels as well. Actually, the Squirrels are a pest. They dig holes in our lawn and eat all the bird food but they are funny.
      Happy wildlife spotting
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  39. I admire Dina’s willingness to study these not-beautiful creatures closely. We have a relative, the Black-tailed deer, that often meanders through the yard here, picking and choosing little tidbits. I get upset when that includes a plant I care about but they rarely take large amounts of any single plant. They do eat the apples they can reach on our apple trees, which is OK. It’s probably good to be reminded regularly that we are not really in control! 🙂

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Dear Lynn,
      we are never 100% in control, that’s one way to see it.
      The problem with muntjacs is that they are greedy. It seems to us the eat everything they can get.
      Wishing you a happy weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  40. Excellent captures of these muntjacs and their apples – I can almost hear them munching! Thank you for telling their story, and also for tolerating them eating your flowers. Sometimes we have dear coming into our garden, but that is not often. We even had a moose several years ago. Stay well!

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Dear Ann-Christine,
      thanks for commenting.
      I don’t like the muntjacs in our garden but behind my back Selma 🙂 is feeding them. Well, I am the gardener …
      A moose in the garden that’s really something. When I saw my first moose I was shocked how big they are.
      Wishing you a relaxed weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  41. Guten Morgen Ihr Vier!
    Sie mögen nicht aussehen wie Bambi, aber ich finde sie trotzdem sehr coole Tierchen.
    Hier in unserem Garten sehen wir leider nicht viel Wild Life. Zwar legen wir hier nach und nach einen Garten für Wildvögel und Co an, aber wir sind umzingelt von Menschen, die in ihrem Garten nur Beton und Pools stehen haben und meinen, der Himberstrauch und die F1-Hybride ihrer Tomate seien der große Wurf in Sachen Garten.

    Immerhin hatte sich in letzten Jahr ein Igelpärchen hierher verirrt und wir haben nun ein Igelhaus aufgestellt.

    Habt ein wunderschönes Wochenende!
    Barbara

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Liebe Barbara,
      das ist hier völlig anders. Die meisten Leute zogen aus der Großstadt hierher, um in und mit der Natur zu leben – teilweise naiv, aber immerhin. Es ist in, seinen Garten wildlife-friendly zu gestalten. Dazu kommt, dass hier die meisten Grundstücke größer sind, als es in Deutschland üblich ist. Wir haben für hiesige Verhältnisse einen eher kleinen Garten mit 5000 qm hinten und 1500 qm vorne. Da haben wir natürlich auch einige unkultivierte Ecken, die Wildlife anziehen.
      Igel haben wir auch in unseren Hecken. Ein Igelhaus, das hört sich toll an. Selma 🙂 hat sogleich angefangen, Holz für ein Igelhaus in unserem Schuppen zu suchen.
      Auch dir ein wunderschönes Wochenende. Wir haben gerade unseren Gesundheitsmonat mit wenig essen, kein Alkohol trinken und lange am Meer entlang spazieren gehen und Strandgut sammeln. Das bekommt uns gut.
      Liebe Grüße
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  43. Pingback: Wildlife in the garden – Gazee Press Words

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.