We were surprised to see the buck sniffing out the bird feeder. That food must smell pretty good. Roger thought he would smash it down, but we both thought it was worth waiting see what he was going to do.
Turns out he didn't knock the feeder down, but he did show us what "scraping antlers" is all about.He did not mind our presence at all. He had important instinctive messages to send.
Those antlers have been hard on some of our young trees. I hope he doesn't trust humans too much. Teaching them we are good is not what will keep him alive. During hunting season I always wish we could keep them safe by hiding out on our land, but it's not how they think
ReplyDeleteThe buck stops with you, eh?
ReplyDeletelove the first photo - he looks exactly like one of the lawn ornaments I see from time to time.
The still photos were taken through the window, and the video was shot from the open front door. Lately we've had several smaller bucks hanging around the yard. There isn't any hunting in the area, it's much too residential (5 acre parcels). So the bucks are pretty safe around here. If it weren't for cars (and natural predators), the deer would live very long lives.
ReplyDeleteHe's a handsome specimen! He knew he was safe with you, Robin.
ReplyDeleteI went out to get our trashcans yesterday around 4pm and saw 10 deer cross the street into my side yard; all of them watching my every move. I spoke quietly to them the whole time I was out.
HOW COOL!!!!
ReplyDeleteHe's gorgeous! yeah, I worry about that highway -- not only for the deer but for the poor driver who runs into them. I don't often see the bucks -- of all the deer I've seen up on campus, never did I see a full grown buck. Saw some little ones with nubbies though.
ReplyDeleteThanx for that. I've often seen the effects of this, but I've never seen the act.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful creature and how lucky for you that he feels comfortable to be so close.
ReplyDeleteI am glad you are in a no hunting area. He must know that.
Very nice Kodak moments. Catching the antler scraping is indeed an interesting and somewhat rare thing to see.
ReplyDeleteSomeone is looking for a girl friend. :)
ReplyDeleteI have mixed feelings about deer. We live in a rural area near Berry College, which has a 26,000-acre campus, mostly forested. They now allow hunting, but the deer population is quite large, so we often get deer in the yard. They are pretty, but they have eaten some of our shrubbery to the ground. I don't think I could shoot one unless I was very, very hungry, but I think I could throw a rock at one.
ReplyDeletegreat photo and video Robin!
ReplyDeletekeep a look out for dropped antlers in the next few months.
in my experience the deer know which areas are safe and which are not.
ReplyDeletenot that i'm one to do it, but as humans have upset the animal community by killing all we can of the predators i think we should take responsibility for managing the deer population.
deer and goats both seem to have a keen eye, or is it taste,for the most expensive plants we humans put out.
"deer and goats both seem to have a keen eye, or is it taste,for the most expensive plants we humans put out." That's right Roger. I can so relate, preferring butter lettuce to iceberg!
ReplyDeleteTHAT is MOST COOL that I finally get to see what has happened to a bush I planted squarely on one of their trails at the end of our yard they used EVERY FALL and WINTER to get to the apple trees after it turned cold...they broke off the FIR branches of the little tree EVERY YEAR. I KNEW why, and I knew the RUT was on, but hadn't seen it. FABULOUS, as always, THANKS for sharing that......
ReplyDeleteSwell footage; is that a woodpecker calling in the background?
ReplyDeleteIt is quite beautiful where you are. Full to the brim in every way.
ReplyDeleteThe buck is very, very handsome. It's the same guy as before? My goodness, you are so lucky! I find the photo where he's sniffing the bird feeder to be quite sweet.
ReplyDeleteYou say that several smaller bucks have been hanging around, but I'll bet they make themselves scarce when the big guy comes calling!
I hope the buck confines his visits to picking up fallen bird seed and scraping the felt off his antlers and leaves your garden alone. Otherwise, I'll have to lend you a dog.
Mark P: Berry College? Rome, Georgia?! Yikes! A close friend grew up there. He was just telling me about the time he and a friend were driving home about 2 a.m. from a show they'd been to. At a big intersection in the middle of town were Klansmen in full regalia collecting money in coffee cans from stopped cars.
Such a stunning animal, though I, too, mistook him for a lawn ornament in the first photo!
ReplyDeleteWow, how did I miss this? Oh yeah, I've been in the parental no internet zone.
ReplyDeleteLOL!
Really neat shots and neato keen video!