Deer?

I noticed a few weeks ago that something had nipped off all the flowers on my young winter flowering Viburnum - I blamed the Pheasants.

A few days ago I found that the branch ends on a young Ilex (Holly) have had the same treatment. The ends contain up to five leaves and none have been eaten, just left on the ground. It is the lighter coloured one of two Hollies planted close to each other but strangely they haven't touched the darker one. Could this be Deer? And will the Holly recover please?

This morning I took the images below. Please excuse the snowy ones, my camera struggles when there's no other colour to focus on.

 

Deer

 

Thanks Scrungee. I've just been checking out footprints on the web, it also looks like Hare.

 

Given the height of the nibbling, more likely hare than deer. Cloth bags of human hair and strung-up CDs are reputed to repel rabbits and hare, bars of soap and metal rod 'christmas tree' shapes stuck in the ground work for deer. The bitter voice of experience ...

 

What height is the 'nibbling' up to?

At my (previous) plot Rabbits (assuming similar eating habits to Hares) only ate low down tender stuff, and it was only when deer also started to invade that small tree stems started being bitten through.

Fencing can stop Rabbits and Hares, but Deer fencing can be a PITA, I've often seen the local Wildlife Trust staff having to eject deer from behind fencing. It's not infallible and they also employ shooting.

And if Hares are anything like Rabbits, they will devastate most of your garden plants unless fenced out. They even ate my Rhubarb, Lavender and Strawberries down to ground level.

 

Thanks Noisette. I'm beginning to think it's a Hare too, I had one in the garden regularly last summer. What I don't understand is why it's nibbling but not eating? Only seen a deer once or twice over the last year or so. I think it's time I invested in a trails camera.

I've not had Hollies before, do you think it will recover or just look distorted as it grows?

 

The Hollies are now about 4ft 6in in height and the nibbling is on the middle branches about a foot from the ground and 1 1/2 feet from the top. It hasn't touched the lower ones.

 

Think of it as 'pinching out the tips to make it bush out' If it doesn't suffer any more nibbling, I'd tidy up any ragged ends, lightly prune the top part in spring to even it up, feed and water, and it'll be fine.

 

After giving this a bit of consideration after seeing the photos, I think that it is deer that have been having a nibble. In Scotland though, it could be the rarely seen Winter Haggis!

 

That is of interest..FC would love to see what goes on in the dark hours...
Back to deer we were coming back from...cannot remember now(sorry if I have told this already) we had to pull up quick as there was a small deer lying in the road..we investigated and Mr.W wished to move to the side bank...poor deer...A car pulled up to see or whatever...and said do you need a hand to put it in your car..more in sign language form...oh no we said and we backed off and they took it....sad but that is life not just in France of course...mind you my sister is different to me she would try and eat anything, her choices of course...