Mar
20
Dear Deer
Posted by: lmairs | March 20, 2010 | Leave a Comment
whitetail doe
The Woodhaven deer are quite the crew. Yes I anthropomorphise every little detail of their behaviour, they feel like family at this point. I photograph them and keep track of the babies as best I can. I also keep tabs on when they come and when they go and sometimes they really go, if you know what I mean.
whitetail yearling coming up on the patio
The deer population fluctuates. In 2002 there was a herd of about 17 whitetails, sometimes more that regularly wandered through, then came the summer of 2003 with the fires. They didn’t return after the fires until the following spring and there were lots of babies 2004. They recovered for a couple of years then dwindled again when the Gordon Drive expansion project was finished. It’s a 4 lane bypass that feeds traffic into the upper Mission. Sadly, I think it also crossed over a major wildlife corridor. It is only this year that I’ve seen the population return, I guess they’ve successfully negotiated the traffic, they are resilient.
muleys in the yard
Usually there are only whitetail deer in here. The last two years there has been a single mule deer skulking around the fence line to the north at the edge of the cedars. Then early in February a couple of muleys showed up, soon a few more and finally I counted 11 including a buck in velvet, very unusual. The white tails have also returned in full form, yearlings, does, a buck…..hmmm I wonder if this forest is big enough for everyone this year?
Woodhaven opens to the public April 1