Summer Whitetails

As the first day of summer nears and the daytime temperature reaches into the 90's, the whitetail deer are in their full summer pattern.  Adult bucks are traveling in bachelor groups and provide outstanding photo opportunities when encountered.  And the bucks are only part of the story for by now most of the season's fawns have been born and are beginning to travel about.  The following photos were captured while spending a few hours this morning sitting quietly between two creek crossings.  

As Summer Slides By........

 

 

A flock of Canada Geese swim in a farm pond while an Immature Bald Eagle watches from the bank. 

 

When I noticed this scene as my wife and I drove down a dirt back-country road, the geese were what caught my attention.  I paused to observe them noting that the young of the year are fully feathered and nearly as large as their parents; but the surprise of the moment was when I realized that the bird on the land was not just another goose but an eagle instead!  Was it watching the geese hoping for a meal of fatted goose? 



Common Wood Nymph

 

While taking one of my frequent evening walks a butterfly fluttered in the roadside bushes and chose a landing site that was open and well lit.  My constant companion on these walks, a camera with the 100-400mm lens attached proved adequate to make a good hand-held shot of these normally reclusive butterflies.

 

 

While spending an evening in a local wetland I was startled by the nearby splashing sound of a doe and her twins crossing the shallow water.  Unable to photograph them in the water because of screening branches I had to wait until they passed into an opening.  The clicking of the shutter drew the mother's attention for a moment before she moved on.

 

But a biting fly caused the one fawn to flick its tail and bite at it's hip.  While it appears that the fawn was looking directly at me it was the biting insect that had its undivided attention. 

 

Growing Fast! Whitetail Fawns Nursing

It has been a little over two months since the birth of this year's whitetail fawns.  During the first few weeks of life the wobbly fawns do not travel much, remaining hidden most of the time.  Their forays with their mothers become longer as they grow stronger.  By August, the fawns are spending much of their time with their mothers.  Early morning is an excellent time to observe nursing activity in meadows and crop fields where deer frequent.

Excited fawns pummel the doe's udder as they compete for milk.  Watching the more fractious nursing sessions; I sometimes wonder how the doe manages to maintain her balance.

Within just a few minutes, perhaps 2-3; the fawns will empty the does udder and she will extricate herself from the exuberant fawns.

After a morning of nursing and grazing a fawn relaxes in the wet grass of a dew laden meadow.

As the fawn's grow older the nursing sessions will become shorter until finally they will be weaned. Still some three months away, weaning will take place in early to mid November.  Until then the fawns will be able to enjoy their nutritious treat and on occasion whitetail observers will the treated to the fast paced action of a deer nursing session.

Midsummer Whitetails

With the oats ripening in the fields the whitetails are taking advantage of the bounty of the season.

 

Until harvest and for a short time afterwards fields containing oats are among the best places to find bachelor groups of bucks this time of year.

A fawn test the air as it steps from the woodlands into a field of ripening oats.

 

While we are at the midpoint of the summer already some spots of color can be found.  Spots of foliage color such as this reminds one that autumn is just around the corner.

 

The Exuberance of Youth

No creature displays an exuberance for life more so than Whitetail Fawns

 

 

 

Double Takes

I recently read an article about photo composition.  The gist of the article was that whenever possible a photo should contain an odd number of subjects.  However when photographing a pair of fawns cavorting about, reacting to each other and their environment, its time to break the rule photographic rule of odds.

Snow

While the each season changes the appearance of the landscape nothing changes its appearance as dramatically as does winter's first coat of snow.  Along with altering the appearance of the landscape it also changes the daily patterns of many of our wild critters.

 

Our first snow of the season came Monday afternoon and was followed by snow and ice Wednesday resulting in 7-8 inches of total accumulation covered over with a thick crust of ice.  A fawn with hair fluffed to repel the cold stands silently in a winter landscape covered in snow and ice. 

 Before the storms feeding on grasses was as simple for the deer as dropping their heads and nibbling; now each bite requires the crust to be broken and the snow pawed away.

And walking isn't as easy for each step meets resistance; the crust must be broken by the deer's weight before firm footing can be made on the ground below.

With much of their natural food covered with snow the birds are flocking to the feeders.  I thought this was the white-throated sparrow pic of the day.........

 

Until I captured this one.  While partially obscured by the intervening branchs I was drawn to its inquisitive look as it peered out at the camera.

Unplanned Captures during the Whitetail Rut

How often do we go shopping for one item only to return with another?  Or take a trip to a particular destination only to make a side stop that becomes the highlight of the day.  The same happens to the wildlife photographer.

For the past few weeks I have been concentrating on photographing the whitetail rut, spending every available morning and evening setup and waiting in spots where I can expect a good possibility of a whitetail buck encounter.  While the encounters do happen there is also much more happening around me; so instead of ignoring the other wildlife activity I swing the camera into action and make some "unplanned" captures.

Carolina Wren

 

One evening as the sun was nearing the horizon a little Carolina Wren flew into a nearby tree and began singing.  Still photography cannot record the little bird's song but it can capture its beautiful form.

 

Carolina Wren Scolding

 

Another evening, cloudy this time, a wren perched nearby and began scolding.  The blur of motion in the wings and tail tells the story better than if the bird had posed for a sharp portrait.

 

 

White-breasted Nuthatch

 

A white-breasted nuthatch landed nearby and sat motionless as it eyed me closely.  These little birds seldom stop for more than a moment.  This close encounter allow me to discover something unique about this individual bird.  Look closely and you will see that it has a crossed beak, something I did not notice until I was processing the image.

 

 

Downy Woodpecker

 

Here a downy woodpecker feeds on poison ivy seeds.  For years I though of poison ivy as just an obnoxious plant to be avoided.  Now after a few years of wildlife photograph I have learned that a number of wildlife species feed on its seed in late autumn and winter. 

 

 Just off the top of my head I can think of watching nuthatches, pileated woodpeckers, tufted titmice, juncos and flickers feeding on poison ivy.  Just this morning I was able to add wild turkey to the list as I watched a gobbler fly up into the low branches of a pine tree to feed on a vine that had grown up into the tree.

 

 

 

And no post about the rut is complete without a deer.  Since rutting bucks are the game a photo of a fluffy little fawn trotting through a frosty field is an unplanned capture as well.

In short, don't get hung up on a single subject when there is so much more happening around you.  Take the "unplanned" or "unexpected" shots when they avail themselves.  They may very well be the best captures of the day!

Whitetail Update

 

With summer drawing to a close the whitetail bucks are beginning to loose their velvet.

 

It's been a week since I first observed a buck that had shed his velvet now the ratio of hard/velvet is about 50/50

 

The fawn's spots are beginning to fade, with some fawns sporting more and brighter spots than others

 

However even with their spots fading the little fellows still retain much of their "cute" appeal.

 

A Morning Afield

As this morning slowly brightened layered fog hung thick in the low lying valleys.  Missing work today to accompany my wife for a medical procedure, I had the early morning free so an outing afield was in order.

On the way to a favored wildlife viewing spot I rounded a bend in the road to see a black bear heading towards me.  Stopping the car, shutting off the engine, and opening the door a cacophony of bells began.  Jerking the keys from the ignition quieted one ringer and finally turning off the headlights silenced the noisy beast.  By the time I was able to crouch beside the vehicle resting the lens in the V between door and car body the bear which had retreated up the road, stopped to momentarily look back.     

After only a few frames the bear turned and retreated into the fog.

While our area supports a number of bears, sighting are infrequent.  This encounter marks my third for this year and my first local encounter where I was able to get the camera into action.  The bear appears to be small, possibly last years cub. 

Later I photographed this tender moment between a doe and her fawn.

While I enjoy all types of wildlife photography my favorite photographs are those capturing interaction between animals.

Whereas many species are solitary and are seldom seen interacting with others of their kind; whitetails spend a considerable amount of time interacting,  Whether its grooming, nursing, sparring, fighting, or a fawn nuzzling its mother, capturing these moments of interaction adds a special charm to ones collection of digital outdoor memories.

Whitetails and Water

While I have a considerable collection of whitetail images, very few include water in the composition.  Attempting to remedy the deficit I have spent some time recently watching a stream crossing.  The images posted here were captured on a recent steamy morning while our area was in the grip of the continuing heat wave.   

 The fawns were obviously enjoying splashing about in the shallow water

 And seemed unaware of the young wood ducks seen here in the foreground

The lead fawn appears to have nursing in mind

Wading in knee deep water slowed the fawns momentarily as placed their feet more carefully

The calm water above the rapids reflected the deer nicely

And a moment of shared affection capped off the morning perfectly

Photographing wildlife in deep woods is difficult at best and virtually impossible at worst.  For most wildlife photography an opening in the vegetation is necessary.  Streams provide a natural opening and wildlife attraction while also making an ideal background for wildlife photographs.