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November
17, 2009 - Food Guy was able to capture a ton of pictures of a juvenile
white-tailed deer. It still had several faint rows of white spots on its
back. The fawn didn't seem overly skittish as he tried to get as close
as possible. He traveled and grazed alone. While the male fawn is more
likely to travel alone, this deer showed no sign of any pedicles
(permanent structures between the ears of a buck fawn from which antlers
grow).
We live in the country and are concerned about hunters. In this
"southern" part of hunting in New York, bow hunting season is from
October 17th to November 20th and regular hunting season opens on
November 21st and ends on December 13th. We're both get excited at
"Bambi" sightings and welcome them in our yard. In fact, we were
disappointed that after acquiring better camera equipment and skills, we
saw only a few white tails disappearing down the back hill this year -
until now.
 November
27, 2009 - Our little guy is back! I thought I was looking at a lone doe
(reading glasses are not the best for clear identifications of animals
or birds in our side yard. Closer inspection by Food Guy showed the deer
appeared to be the one "spotted" on the 17th.
December 04, 2009 - Certain poses in our next group of pictures of the
deer reaffirmed the theory that our fawn is all male, although there
seems to be no sign of antlers yet. A male starts growing antlers from a
pair of skin-covered nubs located between his ears at about six to ten
months. These pedicles are the point of new growth of antlers on older
males in March or April. Antlers will be broken off and shed at
this same point in January or February (after breeding season).
Made of dead bone, antlers are some of the fastest growing tissue known
to man.
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 November
04, 2009 - This was a surprise picture captured with our first birdcam.
After viewing this we began putting out apple slices, pieces of other
fruit and carrots on the paver stone table and on the ground around it.
It didn't take long for the fruit to freeze completely to the table
(Oops!). Never saw the fawn (or doe) return for a snack, but we
did we did see deer prints returning to that spot after a new snowfall.
Perhaps there were a few less carrots after that.
  Deer -
We planted twenty small trees (really sticks with roots). It
didn't take us long to realize we would never live long enough to
benefit from any shade they would cast. Anyway, the deer must have
thought we planted candy sticks with a few tender, juicy leaves
throughout the yard. It wasn't long before those sticks were gone.
Bigger trees are more expensive, but stand a better chance surviving.
The first summer after we moved into this home with its wide,
expansive windows facing the backyard, we were delighted to see a
beautiful doe and her two adorable young fawns. She brought them
to the berry bushes at the tree line along the back of our property.
But their favorite spot soon became the old cherry tree closer in. We
had enjoyed a beautiful pink umbrella of blossoms in the spring,
but the crop of hard, slightly misshapen cherries was only appetizing to
the birds and the deer. From July through early fall we would see
this little family wander in for the cherries several times a day.
As the babies grew taller with their spots fading, we began to see the
fawns seemingly on their own. They would pose unafraid and watch
us when we were quietly in the yard taking pictures. After
the very last cherries were eaten off the ground the deer came back to
also pick clean the bordering berry bushes.
This year we watched and waited for our first glimpse of new
fawns. The berry bushes in the back were still full of juicy
fruit, since the birds had more feeders than last year and many new
berry-laden bushes nearby to chose from. Finally, near the middle of
August we saw a doe. She was all alone, snuffled at the lawn,
ignored the cherry tree, and quickly bounded off. We had renewed
hope for seeing a new family of deer.
It wasn't until the first week of September that we spotted a doe
with her fawn. Because pictures taken at dusk are still in the
experimental stage for us, we didn't achieve the quality photos we had
hoped for. However, it was a pleasure to at least have deer stop
by for a brief snack if not for a large, family dinner. The
invitation is still open with no need for an RSVP or a reservation.
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Size:
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Shoulder Height: 2-3.5 ft
Length: 4.25-6.5 ft Tail Length: 6-13 in
Weight: 50-300lb
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ID:
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Male: Smallest North
American deer; reddish to
yellowish brown in spring- grayer in winter; white on
belly, inside legs, under tail, on chin and throat, inside ears,
and around eyes and nose; tail long (12 inches), bushy brown
with white edges and often a dark stripe down the middle, raises
in alarm and flashes white in retreat; antlers- small brow tines
and one main beam which has several vertical points branching
from this (size determined by age, genetics and nutrition); antlers -velvet-like covering while growing hard bone, shed in winter;
long, thin legs and hooves; excellent hearing
Female: Twenty percent smaller than
male; no antlers
Juvenile: Silky reddish brown coat with
the white coloring of adults; protective white spots for 3-4
months; coats grayish with no spots by first winter
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Habitat:
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Needs access to variety of habitats;
woodlands for cover and open areas to browse and forage on
grasses, shrubs, young trees and other vegetation; wetlands;
woody suburbs
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Diet:
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Herbivore; leaves, stems, buds, grasses,
crops, mushrooms, wildflowers, nuts, and berries
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Family Behavior:
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Mating Habits: Some
bucks mate with one doe otherwise polygamous; mate in fall;
females (mature at one year) will mate the following year and
bear only one fawn, then twins and sometimes triplets
thereafter; male fight over territory using their antlers
Bedding: Beds in grass, leaves or snow in
hidden, shallow depressions
Young: Born in early to late spring weighing 8 pounds
(gestation about 6 months); heavily spotted at birth and active
soon after; trails female after a few days; left in hidden
place, fawn remains motionless if disturbed; nurses for several
months; independent at one year old
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Activities:
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Active day or night;
excellent swimmers; fixed home range though not territorial;
form small groups of female and their young; males live alone or in
small male
groups; groups join in deer yards in winter; can run 30 to
40 mph, jump over obstacles 8 feet high and can bound about 30
feet
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Predators and Dangers:
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Bobcat, coyote, and
domestic dogs; man with hunting weapons and automobiles;
starvation caused by overpopulation and/or weather conditions
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Sounds:
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Sharply exhaled nasal snort and foot
stomping when alarmed
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Lifespan:
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Around 20 years, but often less than 10
living in the wild
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