Posts in Category: deer
Pretty Little Mule Deer
Mule Deer: Bosque del Apache NWR
When you manage the landscape for birds, of course manage the landscape for all kinds of wildlife. At Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge they manage for the Snow Geese and Cranes, but the refuge is also home to a sizable herd of elk, coyote, mountain lion, and lots and lots of Mule Deer. The Mule Deer is the counterpart to our Eastern White-tailed Deer, and is in all ways similar except one. Mule Deer are relativity easy to see in their habitat. White-tailed Deer, in most places, are very elusive. This young deer was a cross a dyke from the tour road, and even given that it feels safe on the refuge where hunting is at least predictable, it was still remarkably unconcerned with our presence in our cars just a stones-throw away. 🙂
Sony HX400V. 1200mm equivalent field of view. Shutter preferred. 1/640th @ ISO 160 @ f6.3. Processed in Lightroom on my Lenovo Miix 2 Windows tablet.
White-tailed Curiosity
White-tailed Deer
I got out early only one morning in Cape May, but that morning I was early enough to catch the White-tailed Deer still browsing along the boardwalk behind the Hawk Watch Platform at Lighthouse State Park. They have been clearing non-native brush and created a small opening on one side of the boardwalk. A doe and two fawns, of different ages, were feeding there. The deer at the State Park are well used to humans on the boardwalk. I stood there in the open watching them continue to feed, unconcerned. In fact, the younger of the two fawns stopped feeding long enough to come over to the boardwalk for a closer look at me. He got close enough so that I could have petted his nose. 🙂
It as really early and the light under the dense canopy was dim enough so that even at ISO 1600 I had to dial the shutter speed down to dangerously low levels, but I managed a few acceptable shots. Sony HX400V at 560 mm equivalent field of view. Shutter preferred. 1/160th @ ISO 1600 @ f6.3. Processed in Snapseed.
Red Deer on the Oostvaardersplassen, Holland
The Oostvaarderplassen is an almost accidental wildlife refuge in the new lands of Holland around Lelystad. The area flooded after it was diked and drained and before it could be reclaimed, migrating birds, in particular, found it and claimed it as their own. It became a instant birding and wildlife observation destination for thousands of Dutch and European nature lovers. The Dutch government recognized the situation, and after a considerable struggle, set the land aside, unreclaimed, as a refuge. However it soon began to fill with volunteer forest, and the marshes the birds favored were threatened with natural filling and overgrowth by trees. To keep the refuge open and accessible to birds, large grazing animals had to be introduced. An attempt was made to recreate the natural balance of life that might have filled the area in prehistoric times. Heck cattle, the result of a breeding-back to original stock project in Poland, were introduced to stand in for the wild aurchos of the time, along with Konig Ponies, the result of a similar breeding program for horses. Red Deer, somewhat mingled with North American Elk, were introduced in place of the wild herds of ancient times, and Roe Deer entered from the surrounding area and established themselves, along with all the common small mammals of the area…fox, badger, squirrels, hares, etc.
The plan was to build “wildlife bridges” over major highways and railways to allow free flow of the population along wildlife corridors to and from other refuges further inland and in Germany. Construction was started on two, but, due to the economic crisis of the past few years, neither was finished. The Osstvaarderplassen is an example of an isolated, closed, and largely overpopulated attempt at “rewilding.” It has to be aggressively managed to maintain a healthy population, especially of the large mammals, and especially of Red Deer.
These Red Deer were feeding near a larger herd of Konig Ponies and allowed me to walk within about 50 yards of them (and several 100 yards from the Ponies), as I passed along my way back from the observation tower behind the brand new Visitor’s Center. They were clearly aware of me as both they and I were right out in the open meadow, but seemed relatively unconcerned. It was certainly a special moment for me. I will post some of the shots of the Konig Ponies in future days.
Canon SX50HS at 1800mm equivalent field of view (full zoom plus 1.5x digital tel-converter). Program with my usual modifications. f6.5 @ 1/1000th @ ISO 320. Processed on the Google Nexus 7 in PicSay Pro.
Ohio Whitetail
Last Wednesday, after we got the instructions for finding the Long-eared Owl at the Ohio River Islands Refuge, and before we found it, we stumbled on a small herd of White-tailed Deer working their way through a thicket parallel to us. This shot is actually from the car window. Like most White-tails in protected environments (and what is more protected than an island refuge about as far from hunting season as you can get?), they knew we were there but they were not tremendously concerned (especially if we stayed in the car). This was a young deer, probably not yet a year old. It was maybe 15 feet back in the thicket, 20-25 feet from me.
Canon SX50HS, Program with iContrast and Auto Shadow Control. –1/3 EV exposure compensation. 1200mm equivalent field of view. f6.5 @ 1/400th @ ISO 800. Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.
Young Buck: Bosque del Apache
Though Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge is managed for Snow Geese and Cranes, and to a lesser extent ducks, Mule Deer are common on the refuge. And they are tame. The young deer in particular have little fear of man, as long as man stays inside man’s car.
After shooting the dawn show one morning I decided to take a loop of the tour road before reporting to the Vendor’s tent, and there was a group of five young Mule Deer feeding beside the road, right at the four way stop within sight of the entrance booth. I joined the six or seven cars that were stopped along one or the other of the roads, and pulled up within 25 feet of the deer. They were busy grazing and paid no attention to the attention they were getting.
This shot was taken out the window of the car at about 1100mm equivalent field of view. As you see, the deer was so close I had to back off on the full zoom. The light was not so great as the sun was still low and buried in clouds. f6.5 @ 1/125 @ ISO 800. However the soft light is just about right for a portrait.
Canon SX50HS. Program with auto iContrast and Shadow Fill. Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.
The Fawn and The Crane: Bosque del Apache NWR
After we closed up the vendor tent at The Festival of the Cranes, I generally managed to get a bit of observation and photography done before the sun set. The light at Bosque del Apache is lovely at that time of day. On Sunday, in my final loop of the refuge on this visit, I drove up on three Mule Deer fawns (maybe two fawns and a yearling), feeding in the short grass at the edge of one of the “farm” fields at the north end of the tour loop. There was a group of Sandhill Cranes deeper in, among the green clover crop that had been planted for the Snow Geese, but a few had strayed out looking for bugs in the short grass with the deer.
I took lots of pics of the deer, but what I really wanted was at least one fawn and a crane in the same shot. Though the light was rapidly going, and I hade a few more spots I wanted to get to before full dark, I waited until the deer got far enough out in the field to frame the shot I was after. 🙂
Canon SX50HS. Program with auto iContrast and Shadow Fill. -1/3 EV exposure compensation. 1200mm equivalent field of view. f6.5 @ 1/800th @ ISO 800. Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.
And a couple of bonus shots.
Red Deer in the Oostvaardersplassen
While watching the Konik ponies from the observation tower at the Oostvaardersplassen on Sunday, a small band of Red Deer ran the full length of the Konik herd and around the near end on their way to the open plain beyond. There was a large crowd of Dutchmen in the tower, and they all rushed to the glass and exclaimed loudly for the whole run. I was able to wedge in at the far side of the window, shooting at a sharp angle through very dirty glass. Still!
Red Deer are the only “native” herbivore currently on the Oostvaardersplassen in any numbers…both the Konik ponies and the Heck cattle stand in for extinct species. There are also a few (maybe more than a few) Roe Deer who have wandered into the refuge from surrounding areas…naturally colonizing the new lands around Lelystad, but, a least in late summer, they do not form herds and are not as visible.
The Red Deer of the Oostvaardersplassen are the most heavily managed of the mammals. Being more fecund than either the Konik ponies or Heck cattle, they outstrip the available fodder every year…and the herd is cut off from other natural areas by dykes, expressways, rail lines, and miles of agricultural land. The plan was to build a system of wildlife corridors, and wildlife bridges where necessary, to connect the natural areas of Holland, and all of western Europe, but the economic crisis of the last few years has put it on hold. For now, every year the wildlife managers on the refuge have to cull the herd to remove animals that would not live through the winter. They are as humane as possible about it, but the fact remains that until the wildlife corridor system is complete it is a less than ideal solution.
None of that, of course, detracts from the beauty of the Red Deer. Rut season at the Oostvaardersplassen is a major tourist attraction in Holland, and you can book a day in a mobile blind to observe the Stags in their seasonal dominance battles.
I was interested in the interaction between the Konik ponies and the Red Deer. The Deer were of the “keep our heads down and pretend we don’t see them” mind, while the ponies were very aware of the deer passing through.
Eventually the herd of Red Deer got free of the herd of Koniks, and raced away to the dryer ground on the other side of the ponds, putting up the geese as they passed.
A Dutch gentleman, perhaps feeling the giddy enthuasium of his fellow countrymen in the observation tower needed some explaination, took me aside to say that, in Holland, the discussion has always been about “how to be man” and that the Dutch are just learning to respond to the very different rhythms of the natural world. With places like the Oostvaardersplassen, they have made a good start.
Canon SX40HS. Program with iContrast and –1/3EV exposure compensation. 840mm equivalent field of view. Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness, and color balance (to compensate for the glass).
11/1/2011: Fawn, Cape May NJ
I evidently don’t spend enough time, or the right time, in the woods to see many deer. Though I am out birding a lot of days, my deer encounters are rare. But then, that makes every one of them special, and makes the days when they occur.
This fawn was feeding beside the boardwalk in Lighthouse State Park in Cape May, and was relatively unbothered to have me looking at it. As I approached it ambled back deeper into the brush, where it was joined by its mother and another fawn. Mom did not seem much more bothered by me than the fawns were, but she did lead them slowly deeper into the brush until I lost sight. All very leisurely and neighborly…nothing to make a fuss about.
The light was not great. This shot is at 1/80th at ISO 800, but the Canon SX40HS handles the higher ISO very well. f5.8 at about 800mm equivalent field of view.
Processed in Lightroom for Intensity and Sharpness. Some custom color balancing was necessary to get the deer in the shadows the right color (I have another shot taken in full light for reference). Cropped on the right for composition.
6/30/2011: White-tail at a Distance, CO
At the end of the day at the shooting range in Byers Colorado, after spending the odd free moments between workshop sessions Shooting the Clouds, there was a barbeque, and during the barbeque two White-tailed Deer decided to risk ambling across the range, behind the bunkers. They were obviously young deer and maybe did not know any better. You would think the strong smell of cordite and the recent thunder of the guns would have deterred them!
They were not really all that close…the shot above is at the full 810mm reach of the Nikon Coolpix P500 (actually in looking at the exif data I apparently zoomed a bit into digital zoom, 972mm is the recorded figure), and cropped…and heat shimmer from the long day of prairie baking in the sun was a real problem…but I like the early evening light and the layers with the flowers setting off the foreground. View it larger by clicking the image.
In this shot, where the deer are lower down and closer to the open expanse of the shooting range itself, you see more of the heat shimmer effect…which softens the whole…but I really like the light on the deer here.
Nikon Coolpix P500 at 972mm equivalent field of view. f5.7 @ 1/800th and 1/500th @ ISO 160. User programed Flight and Action mode.
Processed in Lightroom for Clarity and Sharpness.