Not long ago I wrote about the sort of camouflage we humans wear in an attempt to conceal ourselves from wildlife.
I’ve been pondering on nature’s natural camouflage recently. There’s some pretty good stuff out there. Here’s a picture of a Little owl I took last week hiding against the trunk of an old oak. Little owls and Tawny owl’s have the same sort of camouflage to allow them to be hidden against tree trunks during the day exactly like this.
Mammals are slightly different. The likes of rabbits and deer don’t have any dappled effect, choosing instead to blend in with a single natural colour of the woodland. Most Fallow deer change colour depending on the season but I wondered why they are almost grey in the winter.
Even though they were leaders in developing camouflage uniforms, German soldiers fighting in Europe during the early part of the second world war used a grey colour or “feldgrau” while us Brits were still blundering about in khaki. Khaki, by the way, eminated from the stained colour of tea that soldiers used in an attempt to camouflage their kit while fighting in India in the late 1800′s. Perhaps not that effective in European woods especially in winter. But again why did the Germans choose grey?
I took this photo at the weekend and it probably explains why grey is so effective. The grey/brown of the woodland floor and the grey trunks of the trees says it all. You’ll have to look pretty closely to identify the deer. Still can’t see her? Try now. Almost perfect I’d say.
Thanks for the visit.
Pablo.
Welcome.
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Hi Mr P
Why we bother with DPM, Advantage, Mossy oak or any of the other standard type of camo, is in my view because we have lost the art of standing still!! the deer pic is a case in point, the slightest movement would haven given it away and of course your own experience with the hare shows what can be achieved by just being still. I recon for woodland work any muted colour will give you an edge, as long as you cover the flashes of white (hands and face!) but I must confess I still have my old DPM jacket which I tend to wear alot of the time, I do have a olive drab M65 coat on my wish list!
Great blog as usual
Regards
… are there actually 2 deer in the photo? One by the top of the diagonal fallen tree, and another at the same height, but at the base?
Cheers
Mungo
Sailor – I agree with you entirely. Being still in drab colours is the key. (although it’s said that deer can’t see orange). Anything else is a bonus.
Mungo – Yup. Well spotted. One is near the top left of the diagonal tree (ears sticking up above it) and the other is about an inch (in the big picture) up from the base of the same tree. There were in fact 4 or 5 in the area. Extremely difficult to spot.
I work in the natural resources field in the States and sometimes my job requires me to be able to stealthily move through the woods in the morning, and then meet with a “suit” in the afternoon. I usually where brown cargo pants and button down checked shirt that is either mostly green, or burgundy. The checkered shirt really helps to break up my pattern and the colors blend really well with both the forest and prairie ecosystems that I manage. I also am a big fan of a well worn (never washed) blanket lined cotton duck coat (i.e Carhartt) aka “hillbilly camo”. However, as stated before, the best camo available is sitting still.
Hi there, wandered in to your site by chance. Although I do not specifically wear camouflage clothing, I do wear drab clothing that blends in with the landscape. Often I walk solo and wild life seem more accepting of that. Have a look at my latest bit on my blog pages concerning a flock of geese. Sometime I shall have to go on a bushcraft meet. At present I am a little hesitant though. Dawn.
Pablo
Another really good post mate, your picture really illustrates the point about tonal similarity being more important than a colour match.
Sailor is absolutely right when he says that its movement that’s spotable more than position.In the park I’ve regularly been amazed to see a grey squirrel ‘suddenly appear’ from where it’s been hiding in plain sight.
The act of zoning in serves another purpose beyond getting still enough to blend in, it also softens the focus of our eyes, switching the brains neural network to its ‘detect pattern and movement’ setting.
Interesting stuff – i hope you’re going to post more about it soon. SBW
Another good post! Shape is also very important. For example, if you stand facing a deer they can often recognize your shape as being human and dangerous. Standing sideways to a deer they will often not see you as a threat because what they are looking at does not have a readily identifiable human shape; ie standing upright, arms hanging down at sides, two legs. This is where the camo pattern comes in, breaking up shapes.
Thanks again for all the comments.
Norseman – checked shirts are just as good as camo I find. I’m going to check out Carhartt. Not heard of him/her/that.
Dawn – Welcome. I think I’ve read your blog. Keep an eye on the Bushcraft forums. There’s quite a few meets going on throughout the UK.
SBW & SurvivalTopics – Thanks again for the visit. Your comments as always welcome.
Pablo.
The way I understand it the Germans picked field grey because at dawn, dusk and to some extent during the dakness hours grey to human eyes is almost invisible. Being Germans that’s when they are most likely to attack you. Excellent site by the way keeps one thinking.