First Fawn Visit!

Last winter I learned that I had several young bucks among the deer who'd visited my feed blocks over the past two years.  I'd seen a fair amount of jousting between them as they vied for their turn at eating.  Clearly, more testosterone was evident than in past winters.  It made me wonder if I'd be seeing as many fawns this spring.  Last year there had been four, with only three of them surviving.

While I've been on the lookout for fawns, I hadn't had any visits until a couple days ago.  It started the same way as last year.  A doe came to the grassy knoll just outside my fence and took an afternoon rest.  It made me hopeful that she'd return with a fawn sometime soon.

A couple hours later, she returned with her young fawn.  At first the fawn just looked around at her new surroundings.

 It didn't take long, though, for the fawn to begin sharing the deer block with its mother.

The fawn also was checking out the feeding area.  I was surprised it didn't try nursing from its mother,  as I'd seen with past fawns.

As she turned around to verify her mother's presence, I could see she was a beautiful little fawn.

Continuing to explore the area, the fawn munched on some bark from a nearby dead tree.

After a while, something startled both mother and fawn.  They looked off in another direction and, shortly after, they left the feeding area.

 It was exciting to photograph the first fawn of the season.  And it was a real beauty!