I signed up to do the deer census for the first time this year. Last year I was in the room where the Wildlife Management Committee tabulated the count sheets. Having seen how they deal with the sheets that are turned in, I decided it would be good to see how the counters are instructed and how the actual count works.
I was able to sign up online very easily. Because I have a golf cart, I indicated I could drive my golf cart if needed and I would be available for Monday and Wednesday counting. I think there was some sort of mix up when they sent out our assignments, as I received one assignment, then a different assignment a few days later. My final assignment was street Route 12 on Wednesday as a driver. I received a map and a description of the route in my notification email. Since the route was off Cool Spring Way, I actually know the area and I thought it would be good to drive in an area I am familiar with.
On Monday we were all asked to come early to the orientation at the Atrium. When I entered the Atrium they checked me off a list. For the counters on Monday night there were maps, instruction sheets, counter sheets and a red pen. I am not sure if all of the counters got these on Monday. I think counters are given their supplies each night they report in. We will see what happens on Wednesday.
The first thing I noticed at the orientation was how many people were there. I chatted with people around me and we all were new to the process. I think it is interesting that so many people who are new to Sun City want to do the census. I have been here for ten years and this was my first time.
The Wildlife Management Committee did a presentation to explain why the census is important. They indicated they have ninety volunteers doing the census, which explains why the room was full. For this particular group everyone who signed up was there, except for one person. There is a reserve list to use in filling any no shows, which is what was done on Monday.
We received instructions on how to fill out the count sheets and how to document the location of the deer on the map. Basically you put a total number of deer counted on the map where you spot the deer and you count the deer with a tally mark based on the type of deer. The main categories are: does, bucks, fawns, and undetermined.
The instructions are clear—you wait until 7:00 PM to start the count from your starting point on the map and you count going only in one direction. If your route causes you to backtrack, you do not count again. Areas such as the golf course which are counted by another count team are not counted on your street route.
One thing I thought was a good idea is that we were shown photos of deer with an explanation of how the deer in these photos would be counted. For example, a photo with a doe and two fawns, only one with spots, was shown. We were instructed to eyeball the size of the fawn to decide if it is an adult doe or a fawn with no spots. The purpose of identifying fawns when possible is to learn about the “replenishment rate” for the herd. For the purpose of the census, a deer is a deer and it is not important for measuring the size of the herd. That kind of takes the pressure off the counters to not be experts in gauging whether a juvenile deer is a fawn, a doe or a buck without his horns yet. It also may skew the number of does or fawns because there is no objective way to identify if an older fawn is a doe or a young buck.
At 6:45 the Monday night teams were released to go to their counting sites and the meeting was dismissed. I will see what happens on Wednesday when I return for my counting day.
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On Wednesday I met my counting partner in the parking lot at the Oaks. We checked in with the WMC monitors, received our count sheet, a map and a red pen and we headed out to our route. My partner John had a sheet he taped on the front window of my golf cart that indicated we are performing the deer census. I thought it was unnecessary but while we were out in the neighborhoods, I realized it was a good idea. People did stare at us because we were obviously cruising slowly past their houses looking for something.
We parked near our starting point until just before 7:00 and we headed out to Independence Drive to begin our count. John knew the route because he had done it Monday and Tuesday. We split our counting so he looked on one side of the road I took the other.
We did not see any deer at all for most of our route. What I noticed is that most of the yards have fences, and I suspect this keeps deer out of most of these areas, even if there is a greenbelt behind the yards. We did spot deer at one spot where there was an unfenced yard which had a heavily wooded greenbelt behind it. John said it was the same spot where they spotted deer the previous two nights. FYI, on Monday John counted 14 deer, on Tuesday he counted 5 deer and we counted 4 deer on Wednesday. It was very hard to see the deer, except they were frolicking in the open grass behind the yard before they went into the woods. I suspect we would not have seen them at all except they were moving and there was a clearing on the edge of the woods.
We only spotted deer at this one location. We did not see any other animals to note on our count sheet.
By 8:00 we were done and we returned to the Oaks to turn in our count sheet and our map. The WMC monitors took our sheets, noted we had forgotten to put a total on our count sheet and asked us to correct the count sheet. We did that, handed in our paperwork and we were done!
I am going to attend the October WMC meeting to see how the count came out for the three nights. By participating, I really felt I was part of the process. So, I would encourage people to participate in the deer census at least once.
I am enclosing some documents from the census. I have a blank count sheet and my route map. The ones we filled out during the count were turned over to the WMC monitors so I don’t have copies of them.
Written by Nancy Wagoner
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