Birds and things...

I spent a couple of days making images of back yard birds and critters.

 

A male northern cardinal.

 

 

 

Male American goldfinch.

 

 

A mourning dove. I don't know its gender.

 

 

A male indigo bunting.

 

 

A blue jay.

 

 

A black phase eastern gray squirrel.

 

 

A red squirrel.

 

 

A male red winged blackbird.

 

 

An eastern cottontail rabbit.

 

 

A white-tailed deer fawn.

 

 

And a red bellied woodpecker in a maple tree. Pretty good.

 

 

A few more fawn photos

I was in northern Wisconsin and spotted this white-tailed deer doe nursing her new fawn. I didn't have my camera with me so I went to get it.

Once I had my camera in hand I approached the deer hoping to get some photos. The doe ran off and the fawn quickly dropped to the ground and lay prone.

After a short while the little deer got up and ran into the woods. With some diligent searching I was able to locate it again, this time in its new and improved hiding place.

It had been more than twenty years since I last found and photographed a fawn this small, so I was feeling really lucky to have the opportunity again.

I quietly talked to the deer while I worked to get some good photos.

The fawn was laying in a small woods mostly in the shadows.

The sun was getting low on the horizon and every now and then a little light would filter through the trees and fall on the bedded deer.

Just before leaving, I took this last photo and thanked the fawn for its patience. About twenty minutes later I went back to see if the fawn was gone and it was. The doe had returned and the two of them had walked off.

It's Been Awhile

It had been more than ten years since I had gotten close to a new born white-tailed deer fawn in the wild. And more than twenty years since I was able to make any photos of one. A few days ago my luck changed and I got to spend some time with the fawn above.

I spotted the small fawn standing with it's mother and went to get my camera. On my approach, the doe ran off and her fawn dropped to the ground and lay there. Being motionless is a young fawn's primary defense. 

Just after birth the doe licks her fawn clean and make it as scent free as possible. The fawn then lays in a sheltered location and rests while its mother eats or rests nearby. The doe moves away from the fawn so it doesn't draw the attention of any possible predators.

As I approached the fawn I talked quietly to it and worked quickly to get the photos I desired and limit the stress on the little deer. After I finished photographing the baby white-tail I left, and it was still lying motionless in the grass at the edge of the woods. About twenty minutes later I went back to where the fawn had been laying and it was gone.

What a great evening in northern Wisconsin. This was the second new born fawn I had been close to in about a week and this time I was able to get some pictures. Talk about good luck.