06/25/05

Recent sightings of the twins

Mama Deer wasn't crazy about me getting close to photograph her twins in those first couple of hours.  She routinely gave me the evil eye if I made a noise and when I had to go around a branch of an oak to get to the place I could take pictures. In this first week since the birth of the fawns, I find she has been just as protective, if not more so.  Later in the summer, the does routinely have their fawns close by when I'm working in the yard.  However, so far, she starts moving them out as soon as she spots me outside. 

I didn't see the fawns from the time she took them into the scrub oaks late Tuesday morning, 14 June, until Saturday, 18 June.  She has been around every day. This picture was taken about twelve hours after the births.  She was resting within 20 feet or so of the sandbox.  I assume she had her fawns bedded down within 30 yards or so of where they were born.

Saturday, 18 June: This hot day dawned with low clouds over the foothills. I went out on a back deck to photograph rays of sun coming through breaks in the clouds. Looking toward the front yard, I was startled to see Mama Deer and her two fawns standing in the grass where I had sat taking pictures on Tuesday.  The fawns were approaching being 4 full days old within the hour.

I called out a quiet Good Morning to Mama Deer, then I headed back through the house and out the front door.  She and her fawns were gone.  I shortly spotted Mama Deer and one fawn about 20 yards south in an open area of native grasses, cactus, brush, and low trees. Obviously she'd already dropped one fawn into hiding, and the little guy with here was covering ground a lot faster than on Tuesday. 

I moved along the driveway to get close enough for pictures.  Mama Deer still faced south, but the little guy was faced back toward the yard.  A rabbit showed up just north of them.  I tried to get a picture with all three.  I ended up getting the fawn in 3 or 4 shots, and it was like a fur-covered statue.  Mama Deer had already taught the fawn to freeze under some threats.

By chance a yearling was on the hill above the driveway and decided to go toward my yard.  It decided to cross the driveway a ways ahead of me, then pass between me and Mama Deer and her fawn.  That choice was somewhat a mistake.  Mama deer alerted against the yearling and charged it. At that point, I was astonished to see the fawn drop to the ground as if it's legs had been cut from beneath it.  It disappeared behind some rather sparse cover.  Mama Deer herded the yearling clear over to the yard.

I was surprised she would leave her fawn near where I stood.  In retrospect, I assume she was making sure the yearling went beyond the other fawn she'd hidden.  Having seen fawns stay frozen when I approached close enough to touch, I decided to go take pictures of the fawn that had been with Mama Deer. I went to that area and could not find the fawn that had dropped into the grass.  I didn't see it leave, but I don't know how it could have remained hidden from me as I walked the same ground.

I saw Mama  Deer lounging later in the day but didn't see her fawns.  I know within probably 30 yards or so of where she has them bedded down, but I don't want to go looking and cause her to move them.

Late in the morning, Mama Deer settled down for a rest in a shady flower bed.  When I returned later, the flower bed was sunny, so she'd moved to the shade of a pine.  From those two locations, I'm sure she would be aware of anyone or anything approaching her fawns somewhere in the nearby scrub oaks.

Sunday, 19 June: At just after 7, as the fawns were starting their 6th day of life, I walked out the front door to see if I could see the deer. I could.  They were in the same spot as on Saturday morning.  Mama Deer alerted on me immediately, and the fawns reacted to her.  Almost immediately, one fawn bounced to a spot right at her heels.  I went for my camera, and Mama Deer led them south again on the game trail out of my yard.  When I got back outside, Mama Deer had reached about the same spot as the day before--and again with only one fawn. 

As I hurried down the driveway, she picked up her pace to get over the hill by another house.  She was walking fast.  The fawn behind her was bounding--and bounding quite gracefully. I found that amazing barely 6 full days from when it had been taking inglorious tumbles at the rate of about fifteen for the first hour of life.

For a couple of seconds the fawn bounced above the grass. In my third picture, all I got was the tips of the ears as Mama Deer and the fawn disappeared over the hill.  This picture of the fawn bounding away is an interesting study of the legs.  The front feet are on the ground.  The back hooves are a foot or so off the ground with the legs at a strange angle.  I was amazed by how much the fawn had progressed in those 5 days.

Monday, 20 June: By Monday morning, I knew I couldn't just walk outside as I usually do to see "who" might be out there and available for photographing. I peaked through the clear glass between facets on my front door.  Sure enough, I saw Mama Deer and one fawn in about the same spot as the previous two mornings. This time with camera ready, I eased open the front door and managed to get my camera around the edge before she noticed me.  This time she moved north, perhaps where the other fawn was behind a pine and some scrub oaks. This time, the fawn didn't rush away at Mama Deer's heels, so I got a few shots, including a couple of it heading back toward the sandbox. This fawn soon followed mother into the scrub oaks.  I saw Mama Deer lounging later in the day.

Tuesday, 21 June: Day 7: I kept looking for the trio, wanting to confirm both fawns still were around, but none appeared during the various times I checked throughout the morning.  At about noon, I headed out for the mailbox. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until a dark head with large ears moved from a clump of greenery in a flower bed. The fawn was hidden quite well from several angles but more obvious from others.

In the second picture, his head blends in well as a darkness among the greenery.  However, the ears and the bright white spots in the sun give it away from the side and above.  Not bad, however for the 8th day of life. I took several very detailed pictures, then went inside. When I checked about a half hour later, the fawn was gone.

Saturday, 25 June: Day 12: I had seen a single fawn on Monday and Tuesday and hadn't seen the trio at all on Wednesday and Thursday.  Friday evening about 7:30, I thought I saw Mama Deer in the yard.  When I went out on the back deck, she had moved across the yard to the south and was exiting on the game trail where I'd seen her take the fawns on Saturday and Sunday.  I went back to the front and spotted her slipping back in another direction and finally entering the scrub oaks in the area where she'd bedded the fawns down those first few days.  So, though I didn't get a close look at her, I concluded she was Mama Deer.  She didn't look as robust as in the first few days after giving birth, and she limped some on her right hind leg.  So something may have happened to her during the week.

NOTE: The following was written this morning, 25 June.  As I have processed more pictures from this morning, I'm starting to suspect these visitors this morning are a younger doe and two different fawns, perhaps older than 12 days.  This doe was much scrawnier than Mama Deer and she has darker markings on the back of her neck than I recall seeing on Mama Deer.  So, I'll leave these words and pictures for your enjoyment and may move them to a different page if I can confirm these aren't the fawns from 14 June.

At 10 a.m. this morning, Mama Deer and her two fawns were in the yard.  This time she paid little attention to me on an upper deck. So I got good looks at and pictures of the fawns for about 10 minutes before she took them out into the scrub oaks to the south as she had on last Saturday and Sunday.

What a difference a week makes.  They look like regular fawns, if a little skinny. If I didn't know, I wouldn't guess they were only 12 days old.  They spent quite a bit of time racing from one end of my yard to the other.  They even raced around a lower deck and were out of sight of Mama Deer for maybe a half minute.  That surprised me as she didn't react but let them do what they wanted. I saw jumping and twisting that fawns sometimes do getting all four feet off the ground.  The tree trunk below is about 16 inches across, to that can give you some idea of the current size of the fawns. So the fawns continue marked progress and are a joy to watch.

© 2005 Jimmie H Butler