Browsing Deer

I took this photo yesterday just as it was getting dark.  Deer tracks are everywhere in the freshly fallen snow.

Having a Peaceful Rest

This Mule Deer was observed lying comfortably in a corner of the yard beyond the garden fence.  What luck to have seen her!  I might never have looked out since there had been showers all morning long, and I was mostly occupied inside.  

Nibbling the Lilac Bushes

It has become routine now. Every few days the deer wander through to nibble on things. Today they (a small herd of five) preferred the lilac bushes and the brush on the hillside.  On other days they have headed over to the two bird feeding stations. We don't encourage them to gobble up all the seeds though, and in one of the spots my husband has been able to erect a long pole that raises the clothesline to which the bird feeders are attached.  It was a comical sight, when on another occasion, two deer, with necks stretched upwards, contemplated a potential food source beyond their reach.

One of the fawns from the previous year

A doe nibbling on a lilac bush

The doe has spotted me watching her from the window

Visitors

a doe (pictured below) and her two youngsters

All three spent a portion of their morning browsing in the nearby woods.

Do Not Disturb

Hillside

 Moss and snow have been flung to one side by a mule deer wanting a quiet place to lie down for a few hours.

Mule Deer

Sunny, windy, +5℃

Deer Family Foraging on the Hillside

It is overcast and raining this morning.  The deer made their way cautiously through the snow and brush, stopping often to feed. 

Mule Deer Family

A Cold Day 

-16°C in the afternoon

Deer Hair

Good Morning

Temperature: 6°C

The deer are beginning to shed their winter coat.

Deer Browsing on Hillside

I watched the deer browsing on the hillside this morning.  They are the same four individuals which travel through every few days.  My initial sighting was of a deer resting a ways down the hill.  Or was it a rock that was shaped like a deer?  I've made similar mistakes before, but this time the "rock" flicked her ears.  Then I saw the other ones.  The deer in the photo was the closest for viewing and stayed in that spot pulling at branches, twigs and tufts of lichen or moss.  

Mule Deer on the trail that leads from the garden into the forest

A very curious youngster paused now and again to look back to see what I was doing.

Visitors

Today, a doe and her youngster came to browse in the nearby brush as well as to check the bird feeders.  The youngster stayed hidden, but the doe was much bolder.  I have seen these two deer before - in the summer when the youngster was just a fawn and lately when they've both been browsing on the hillside.

A doe eats Serviceberry twigs

 while her youngster browses between the trees.

This additional photo shows that the doe is probably pregnant.

The gestation period for Mule Deer is about 210 days with the birth of possibly two fawns occurring sometime in May.

Fresh Snow 2°C

 9:00 a.m. - a deer rests on the hillside
 

Perhaps you can also see the smaller mammal in the foreground.

On This First Day of Winter

A Mule Deer runs through the forest.

-8°C

A Curious Fawn

Mule Deer

Mule Deer

Four deer wandered into the yard yesterday morning, and were browsing when I happened to notice them.  The one in the photo was nibbling on the Saskatoon bushes.  Their fur has become rather patchy as they shed their coarse winter coats.

Snowy Day

A Doe

Lately, I have been seeing two Mule Deer (a doe and her youngster) on the hill behind the house.  It's quiet there and relatively safe.  They are usually feeding, but this morning I observed the doe lying down to rest.

2° C and lightly snowing

Update: 2:20 p.m. -  At the moment,  the doe is resting.  She stays very alert, and a short time ago, she was up on her feet, standing very still and listening.  Her youngster must be somewhere nearby, but is hidden from view.

     

Mule Deer

wanting to cross this secondary highway. 

Honouring World Earth Day