In Velvet

This morning I was out the door well before the sun rose broke over the horizon. I was on my way to one of my favorite locations to photograph deer. The first deer I spotted was a confused fawn in the road. It was really curious about what I was up too as I pulled my camera and tripod out of the car and set it up. After creating a few images of it the little one scampered off to join its mother. Later on I found what I was looking for when I spotted a doe up on a hillside by herself. Up above her was a bachelor herd of eight bucks in various stages of velvet. Some had antlers not yet fully formed and a couple were close to final growth. I followed them for about a half an hour until they moved into field of wild oats that was just perfect for photography in the early morning sun. One really nice buck demanded most of my attention. He is going to have a beautiful set of antlers in the fall. What a great way to start the day. Thank you Lord. God's blessings to all, chris All images created with a Canon 7D and a Canon 100-400 IS lens. Camera set in AV mode with an ISO of 400 mostly at F 5.6. Shutter speed varied.

Just Flehmen!

While driving home yesterday I noticed this Blacktail Buck with a very unusual set of antlers. The beam instead of being broad came up at a sharp angle. The eyeguards were almost as large as antler tines. The tines themselves were rather small. The main beam after coming up leaned in almost giving his antlers a diamond shape. When I spotted him he was following a doe and he was flehming. Curling his lip back and breathing in the doe's pheromones to see if she was ready to breed. Flehming draws air molecules to a bucks Jacobson Organ(vomeronasal organ).In deer, the Jacobson's organ is located in the roof of the mouth and consists of two fluid-filled sacs that are attached to the nasal cavity. This organ can sense when a doe is in estrus. There is your short science lesson for today with a photo to illustrate it. God bless, chris