river talk

Fall deer

By SCOTT RANDO

Posted 11/29/23

With the weather getting colder, there is a different variety of animals that can be seen during outdoor ventures.

A variety of migrating birds can still be seen as they move through the …

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river talk

Fall deer

RR photos by Scott Rando

This is a fawn, seen during August, so it is a little over two months old. During spring and summer, both fawns and adult deer have a lighter summer coat, appearing almost burnt orange in the right light. Fawns are weaned from two to three months old and will weigh around 70 pounds by their first winter. Young does leave the mother after two years; young bucks leave after the first year.

RR photos by Scott Rando

This was a doe seen during a snowstorm a few winters back. It appeared to be a full-grown doe with a darker brown winter coat. A winter coat is thicker to protect against rain, snow and sub-zero temperatures. In the case of young-of-year fawns, their spots are no longer present when the winter coat grows in. ..When deer molt, they might have a patchy appearance, looking almost like mange. It is normal, as one part of the coat might be old, with new coat growing next to it; it's not mange and the deer is perfectly healthy.

Posted Wednesday, November 29, 2023 10:55 am

By SCOTT RANDO

With the weather getting colder, there is a different variety of animals that can be seen during outdoor ventures.

A variety of migrating birds can still be seen as they move through the area. If the lakes are not frozen yet, buffleheads can be spotted on quiet lakes. Tiny ducks that migrate down from Canada, they usually show up around Halloween and disappear from the lakes when the water freezes.

Other wintering birds such as snow buntings and the sometimes-seen snowy owl can be spotted.

Other animals, though not migrating, are getting ready for winter in their own ways. Black bears are getting ready for their winter rest by bulking up on food; gravid females will den up around this time, give birth to cubs over the winter, and then emerge with the cubs next April.

One big thing that is going on right now is the whitetail deer rut, or the mating season. Bucks (or male deer) have been chasing does since early fall. There is increased movement of deer, with does and the bucks chasing them running through the woods.

While walking on trails, you might hear the clacking of antlers. That will be males fighting for the right to mate with females.

Be careful driving during this time. Deer might cross the road at a run, and there is usually more than one. They will typically come out in a column, one after the other. Last month, I saw a deer in the road and slowed down. As I got closer, I saw a buck with nine or 10 antler points just standing on the double yellow line looking back and forth. Instead of getting out of the road, it ran for 50 yards or so in the middle of the road, probably looking for the doe it was chasing.

If you see deer in the woods now, you might spot several does; if they are moving, keep an eye out for a buck following them. A buck could seem a little more wary as it looks out for competing bucks in the area.

If you go out into deer habitat, wear fluorescent orange this time of year; hunting season runs for the next couple of months in the region. Be safe and enjoy the cervid antics; for the deer now, “Love is in the air.”