What Are These Deer Doing?

While following tracks through the snow, I found areas that looked as though the deer had run into an obstacle that caused them to shuffle in place before finding a way around. I could see that the downed trees were obstructions, but it didn’t make sense that the deer wouldn’t just go around.

This tree top wasn’t in the way. Why would this cause such a disruption of the traffic pattern? It appeared as though the deer were actually tripping over this branch.

I noticed another of the concentrated hoof print areas that was without any type of blockade. A few Japanese Honeysuckle leaves in the snow made it clear what was happening here.

Just above the hoof marks, were these honeysuckle vines. Deer are fond of honeysuckle and will readily browse the vines. It would be nice if the deer browsed it enough to slow its spread across the landscape.

Most of the vines within reach showed signs of being browsed by deer. Deer lack upper incisors, so the bite consists of pinching the plant between the lower incisors and a hard upper plate. Woody material browsed by deer usually displays a ragged cut.

Only one of the concentration zones had any honeysuckle, but in the other areas, I began to notice fresh cedar cuttings on the snow. I rarely see signs of deer browsing on Eastern Red Cedars, but it appeared that they were feeding on the green growth of newly fallen trees.

All of the fallen cedars showed browse signs. The odd thing is that I didn’t find any signs of deer browsing on upright cedars. Even young, short cedars with what looked like perfectly succulent shoots weren’t touched. I wonder what differences there would be in fallen cedars that would make them so much more attractive to hungry deer.

Note: I stepped out the door this morning into a fresh layer of snow and the sound of the first Woodcock of the year.

Tracks in the Mud

When the snow melts, you are left with mud. Last week, this was a snowy trail covered by a swarm of deer tracks. Now there are tracks, but they’re in the mud and the trail is suffering.

Several years ago, deer began using this area as a trail. Eventually, they created a worn path that caught and concentrated the runoff water from the surrounding area. The resulting erosion formed this stair-step waterfall that continues to increase in size. Now I’ve got to fix this and divert the deer along a different path.

This strip of ground gets mowed each year to define a trail going between fields. Despite the fact that the grass is practically non-existent in the field, the deer will funnel to the trail head at the top of the hill and use this path to cross the field. The deer weren’t numerous enough 25 years ago to cause problems like this. Now they are a new variable that needs to be considered when planning trails.

Where the deer go, the turkeys follow. Here’s a nice middle toe imprint from a blob of mud kicked up by the deer. When moving from one area to another, turkeys will follow in a line. They also like to have a nice clear trail and tend to follow paths made by the deer.

If the prey like it, so will the predators. Canine tracks are regular features along the deer trails. This track was too small to represent anything large enough to bother a deer. Total track length was just over 1.5 inches and I’m guessing Gray Fox. The track was found in an area where I saw foxes last summer.

Tracks in the Snow

One of the fun things about snow is the record it keeps of animal activities. This is one of the trails the deer follow into the backyard. When I was a kid, I used to rush outside to be the first person to make tracks in the new fallen snow. Deer were uncommon then and it was unlikely that you would ever see a track in the yard. Now, it’s really rare to see snow in our yard that doesn’t have deer tracks going all over.

Deer will go out of their way to walk on a mowed path. If you want to control the flow of deer traffic, just give them a clear path to travel. At this trail intersection, deer will walk up and make the 90 degree turn rather than cut the corner.

There’s still a lot Indian Grass seed available. Sparrows will get on the top of the stalk and ride it to the ground. The stalk usually breaks and leaves the seed head at the perfect position for eating the seeds.

Footprints, wing marks and debris left from feeding on a plantain seed stalk at the edge of the yard. There is still an abundance of seeds and fruits available in the landscape.

Seeds from this Blue Vervain provided a good feast. There are still a lot of seeds left on this seed head.

These are most likely the tracks of either a Deer Mouse or a White-footed Mouse. The mice travel through the snow in little leaps that leave deep imprints from the hind feet and a trailing line from the tail. Shrews can make similar tracks, but the tail strike is less distinct and a shrew typically travels in tunnels beneath snow of this depth.

When dark colored objects are left on top of the snow they absorb energy from the sunlight and melt their way through the snow layer. The result is a pattern of vertical holes. In another few hours, these deer droppings will have disappeared from sight, making people wonder what caused the strange holes. I’ve heard people formulate some interesting theories as to the cause of the holes, from elves on stilts to night crawlers coming out to see if it was spring yet.

I’m usually really annoyed when I find tracks like this, but these are mine, so they don’t bother me at all.