Old Field resident Carole Trottere can appreciate the sight of a deer, as she noted in she saw near her home.
Lately, though, she said it has been happening more frequently. She often sees hoof prints in the sand on the beach near her home and even saw a family of deer passing across her driveway recently.
"They do not always seem to be keeping to the early evening and dawn hours either, because I see them often in the middle of the day," Trottere said. "Last year it was a pretty rare – and always magical – occurrence to see deer, but this year I see them with much more frequency."
In Old Field and Poquott, officials have taken note of the increase in deer sightings. Particularly in Old Field, the population of deer seems to be causing a nuisance when it comes to preserving the vegetation in the village.
Resident Bruce Feller volunteered to look into the deer problem, and even found a company that deals with deer control in humane ways.
According to that company, SavATree, which has locations in Southampton and Old Brookville, a deer repelling spray can be applied to plants to discourage the deer from nibbling, and a proprietary system using ultrasound technology may also be effective.
"Unfortunately, there appears not to be a 'silver bullet,' but rather a range of methods to reduce such damage. In combination they can help, depending on deer population, winter snow cover, and other variables," Feller wrote in an open letter to Old Field residents posted on the village's website.
Meanwhile, in Poquott, deer sightings are becoming more frequent, but village residents have not experienced the loss of plants to the deer population.
"We're seeing more deer in Poquott," mayor Barbara Donovan said in an interview Monday. "I haven't had any problems where residents have called to say the deer are eating the vegetation."
Though not specifically a problem in Poquott, Donovan also noted that deer crossing Route 25A have sometimes hit cars in the region where the road curves around the intersection with Washington Street on the Setauket/Port Jefferson border.
Have you noticed an increase in deer sightings in Three Village? Share your experiences as a comment below.
You are NOT doing a public service by killing deer in their own habitat.
Fast Forward to Wednesday, Nov. 9 -- early in the morning a deer was struck by a car on Hallock Ave in front of the Wunderbar Deli. I've seen deer on Stony Brook Rd by the train trestle, on Hollow Rd in Stony Brook -- closer to Christian, and on my own street in Stony Brook not far from 25A, as well as at Gyrodyne and in the fields on 25A in St James. Bill is the only other person to bring up the reality of deer vs. motor vehicle. Mercifully none of our family members, friends or neighbors have been in such an accident...yet.
I'll add part 2 to this in the next comment since it doesn't fit here.
Another article argues against relocating deer. “The late Dr. Seirg Krasheninnikow — of the University of Pennsylvania—who was considered an outstanding scientist in the field of nutrition said, "Animals living in a certain vicinity have in their mouths and stomachs those bacteria which break down foods found in that area. If deer are released in an area where the majority of plants are different, the introduced animals cannot digest them" (Gamble 62-63).” http://www.wonews.com/t-FeatureArticle-TomElsbury-RelocatedDeer-103108.aspx. They are beautiful creatures best admired from afar. Keep in mind that they carry ticks. Just one more reason to discourage feeding near your property.
Call in the experts to enlighten us. We should all be on the same page. Education is key.