2. The deer had just reached their farthest point from the park at the date
they were recorded. With the Markshall group of fallow deer, local
inhabitants stated that this was the first time deer had been seen in the
area. With the Navestockside group of deer, animals were not found in
woods further from Weald Park, and similarly with the Clacton-on-Sea
group of fallow coming from St. Osyth Priory Park.
The calculated rate of spread, in km per year, of these groups is:
Clacton-on-Sea 0.7
Markshall 0.5
Navestockside 0.7
giving a mean value of 0.6.
1970-1976 records
Records of fallow deer in Essex from January 1970 to December 1976 are
shown on Map 5 and summarized in Appendix 4. The map illustrates clearly the
greatest problem in any survey that is not carried out systematically, the result is
a distribution of recorders rather than of the species being studied. The
numerous records of fallow in the 10 km national grid squares TL72 and TL82,
Map 5. Distribution of fallow deer in Essex, 1970-1976.
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