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.