For the last few weeks, I've focused my photography on the fall color season. But the leaves haven't been the only thing changing during these fall months. The deer have been changing too; their coats darkening to a deep brown and thickening for warmth through the winter. These changes have made my "regulars" more difficult to recognize. The fawns have also grown so much it's become hard to tell them apart from their mothers. But they all continue to visit on a regular basis. I've added a second feed block with the colder weather approaching. Hopefully, the food will keep the deer close by, out of harm's way.
Some amble in singly, seeming to show little concern for their surroundings.
Others are quite wary, checking out the scene from the safety and cover of the trees.
But they all come to get sustenance from the feed blocks. One weekend I ran out of deer food and didn't have the time to drive to Traverse City to pick up more. Instead, I went to a local feed store to get a block, but a different brand. I hadn't expected the deer to be discriminating about what feed block they'd eat, but they were. The rounded block in the foreground is the new brand. They are beginning to eat from it, but, in contrast, they've eaten four "regular" feed blocks since I put out the new brand.
These two share the blocks in tandem.
In my years of photographing deer, I've only photographed one buck, and that was from such a distance that the picture lacked usable clarity. One recent morning while working at my desk, this buck trotted by at a fast clip. I immediately jumped to my camera, but he passed by the feed blocks and went into the woods so quickly that I couldn't photograph him. But I kept my eye out in hopes that he'd return. And that's what he did. After heading into the woods, he came back around, just at the edge of my fence. He was quite wary and raised his nose to sniff the area to see if it was safe.
In the end, he was just like all the does...hungry. Perhaps I'll see more of him during the winter.
