96 The Essex Naturalist
Table 4: Number of times fallow deer moved from the wood to the field when
observed on three separate occasions
Traffic Surveys
During the study traffic surveys were conducted on the main road through the
forest - the A. 104 which becomes the B.1393 at the Wakes Arms. The traffic
surveys were centred on "roadkill hotspots". These are areas where there has
been the highest concentration of deer road deaths in the last five years, and so
may reasonably be considered to be areas frequently used by the deer (although
it should be borne in mind that the deer probably also cross in quieter areas,
where numbers of roadkills would be less because the amount of traffic is less).
The locations chosen for monitoring were :
• the B.1393 opposite Wintry Wood
• the B.1393 at Kemps Lawn
• the A.104 between Wake Arms and the Robin Hood roundabout.
• Watches began 1/2 hour before dusk, and continued for 1/2 hour after dusk.
These were judged to be the most likely times for the deer to emerge and
cross the road based on the times at which deer started to leave the woods
on the bufferlands.
All traffic passing in both directions was recorded, and the maximum time when
no vehicle lights could be seen in either direction was also noted (judged to be the
most likely time at which the deer would cross, Chapman and Chapman, 1975).
Table 5 : Hourly traffic at locations in Epping Forest