When I was looking out the back door a few nights ago, the deer were out grazing:
These may have been the same group I had seen earlier in the morning.
Then, when I headed down along the edge of the Lower Meadow, I saw more:
It is nice to see them out and about.
In the 80's down here, the limit was kind of low. That lead to huge herds of genetically inferior deer. Lots of atypical racks to be seen. I have started seeing more and more deer around here, as well. I'm wondering if the limit needs to be raised again. Not enough predation is a bad thing for healthy herds.
ReplyDeleteSTxAR, we have a month or so to run before the season starts here, I think. One often seems then in drops and drabs, but this is the large group I have seen in a while.
DeleteI don't know about out west but here in the Midwest, I probably see eight before noon on any given day. They are as thick as ants on a watermelon rind the day after a picnic.
ReplyDeleteEd - Even in New Home they can be seen (in those areas not yet built out) in the early mornings and evenings, and we live in a fairly urban environment. I do wonder if their apparent proliferation is what has attracted the mountain lion and coyote back around.
DeleteHi TB,
ReplyDeleteI am wondering what species these deer were? I'm unfamiliar with them.
Warm regards,
KA
KA - This are Mule Deer, which a pretty much a feature of the Western United States, apparently so named because the ears reminded folks of mules. They have some sub-species which are also referred to as Black Tail Deer. They are largely found West of The Rockies. There is at least one other major species of deer in the US, found in the East. We always ever just called them "deer", because that is all we ever knew as deer.
Deletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mule_deer
Here in the Midwest, we have White Tail Deer.
DeleteEd, looking it up, it appears the cutoff for White Tail versus Mule Deer and their Black Tail subspecies relatives is right around the Rocky Mountains/Great Plans.
DeleteI had thought perhaps they were hiding out from hunters. Your land is posted against hunting, I expect?
ReplyDeleteBe safe and God bless!
Linda, it is. I suspect they somehow instinctively know this. I believe I saw this same herd yesterday morning as well, very close to the house. It certainly makes for an enjoyable view.
DeleteThank you for answering that TB.
ReplyDeleteI didn't think your deer were white tails - and I wasn't aware of mule deer & black tails.
Thank you for the education.
Kind regards,
KA
KA- I did not know their ranges, so we all learned something!
Delete