Family Dinner On The Prairie

Quick Getaway

This eight-point buck I encountered in the Fenner Nature Center prairie a few days ago did not waste any time bolting for the safety of the nearby forest when he saw me.  I am not sure of the range of the small herd of deer that frequents Fenner, but they could live out their lives in an environment devoid of hunters with all the surrounding parks and cemeteries.  Nevertheless, this buck's instincts kicked in and he decided I had ventured too close for his liking.

Fenner Fawns

Oh, Deer!

The Ones That Got Away

Momma Deer And Her Fawn, Winter Edition

I happened upon a doe grooming her fawn today at Fenner Nature Center.  I captured this moment only yards away from where I photographed a doe nuzzling a much smaller fawn earlier this past summer.  I have no way of knowing whether they are the same two deer, as there were several does with fawns at Fenner this year, but part of me wants to believe they are.

Momma Deer And Her Fawns

I photographed this mother deer and her fawns at Fenner Nature Center on Saturday.  Initially, I had not planned on stopping, but I realized that I had some extra time on my hands that afternoon and popped in for a short jaunt around the park.  I snapped a few photos, but nothing really sparked my interest until I was nearly out of the woods on my way back to the car.  I heard some rustling in front of me and then I caught a glimpse of one of the fawns.  I slowly approached them as they continued to forage in the brush with utmost disinterest in me.  Most of time, the deer at Fenner, despite having become accustomed to close human proximity, only allow you to get just so close before their instincts take over and they bound away.  These fawns and the mother deer did not seem to care about my nosiness and let me get very close.  They eventually wandered away into some thicker brush, but allowed me to take a number of photos and a bit of video first.  The mother deer kept licking the faces of both of the fawns (see the video below), which provided for some cute photos.