Every once in a while, a potential topic for a Wilder Side of Oakland County nature and trails blog quite literally appears right in front of me and I know at that moment I will write about it. That happened rather dramatically in the first week of February in the dawn’s early light at my old ‘stomping grounds’ of the West Bloomfield Woods Nature Preserve when a buck and a doe crossed paths with each other just yards from me.
For those new to that preserve, it is a 162-acre hilly woodland that includes vernal ponds, an almost hidden stream and abundant wildlife, managed by West Bloomfield Woods Parks and Recreation. I am extremely fond of that location having worked several decades ago for West Bloomfield Parks as their naturalist and completed a project while there to have the preserve receive recognition from the National Institute of Urban Wildlife as the first site in Michigan to be designated as an Urban Wildlife Sanctuary.
If you’ve never been there, check it out. If you go in the early morning, walk slowly and keep scanning the sides of the trail as you hike, you will most likely see deer watching you. The deer of that nature preserve are very accustomed to humans in their midst and rarely bolt away from humans that stay on the trail. If you bring a dog, it must be leashed, but you will have more sightings without a dog. I took great pleasure in watching a buck and doe at the preserve browse on vegetation and was able to capture it on video from the parking lot!
Today’s “Wilder Side of Oakland County” blog is all about white-tailed deer, and not just deer in West Bloomfield. Deer thrive in diverse habitats across Oakland County, and some encounters can be exciting. But before I go further on this tale, I must confess. I almost always have my camera with me when wandering in the woods or following a trail; thus, the variety of images captured during the years in all seasons in different locations.
As for the first part of the deer’s name, White-tailed Deer, that is easy to explain and this short video clip demonstrates it.
When alarmed or spotting a perceived threat, deer often snort loudly and stomp their hooves to warn others. Then it bounds off with raised tails displaying its white underside. If it’s a doe, that flashing white tail signals her fawns to follow.
Habitat needs vary greatly depending on the season, but some generalizations can be made. Deer are herbivores (plant eaters) with occasional exceptions. Deer will occasionally act as scavengers and feed on dead animals, which I have never seen but it has been witnessed and confirmed by researchers and I will presume some of you.
No matter where you live in Oakland County, or for that matter almost anywhere in Michigan, you are in deer habitat. Deer have adapted to hiding in spots of wildness; even in the City of Pontiac while others thrive in suburban areas. This time of the year, they usually follow well-trodden paths through deep snow from where they bed down to where they feed. However, in this near snowless winter in Oakland County, that pattern is not as critical. I routinely see deer in my woods. They generally bed-down near evergreens adjacent to my swamp and trek daily up to my house to scrounge under the bird feeders.
This time of the year, they usually follow well-trodden paths through deep snow from where they bed down to where they feed. However, in this near snowless winter in Oakland County, that pattern is not as critical. I routinely see deer in my woods. They generally bed-down near evergreens adjacent to my swamp and trek daily up to my house to scrounge under the bird feeders.
Those deer have learned my behavioral patterns very quickly, perhaps more accurately than I have learned their behavioral patterns and daily activity. I store my bird seed in bins in the garage, and when I open the garage door it makes a loud squeaking sound. The deer that bed down a few hundred yards from my house take that sound as their dinner bell. I suspect they are disappointed when I am just driving my car in or out of the garage and not opening the door for birdseed supplies.
Deer in our area have few predators, except for a coyote taking a fawn or an injured deer. I photographed coyote tracks around a dead buck at Addison Oaks County Park several years ago but suspect the deer was mostly likely injured by a car first.
I look forward to my passion for “deer-watching” in spring after the fawns are born. Twins are common, but triplets are not rare. I feel extremely fortunate to have captured images of fawns nursing at the edge of my meadow, and I see does with their fawns under a powerline at the edge of my woods in spring. The powerline right of way is an excellent travel corridor for deer and offers and abundance of vegetation.
I have had people tell me that they must feed the deer, or they will starve. That’s just not true. If you see deer, it is safe to assume they are finding plenty of food. Green plants in spring and summer are the main menu, and in autumn, their diet includes fallen tree nuts and acorns. Buds and twigs of woody plants are the main course this time of the year, when not raiding bird feeders.
As much as I greatly enjoy seeing magnificent bucks wandering at some of our parks, or on occasion in my woods, I take the most pleasure in watching fawns. Several years ago, I was able to photograph a fawn nursing just a few hundred feet from my house. Fawns can walk at birth but usually stay motionless and hidden while the mother wanders to feed — that’s the way of the white-tailed deer.
Jonathan Schechter is the nature education writer for Oakland County Government and blogs about nature’s way on the Wilder Side of Oakland County.
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