Watching Wildlife; Baby Fawns

When camping in wilderness areas one often comes across wildlife that is filled with the joy of living and can be quite entertaining. I love seeing baby fawns and even smaller animals at play. sometimes they act just like children in their ways of playing and the things they find to play in.

In my backyard I have lots of apple trees and a doe and her two fawns, come in every night to eat apples and play in my yard. I have taken many pictures of them, as well as, watched them playing with each other and even with wild rabbits in a game like tag.

I would love to share my photo's with you, but can not seem to get the uploading to work. So I found a video of a doe with two fawns playing in a mud puddle in some other person's back yard. Hope you enjoy watching it.



Have you ever encountered any wildlife playing either on the trail or while camping, or even in your own backyard. Please share your stories here!

 

Deer are one of the most common animals I've seen in nature, usually if I'm close enough they will freeze in their place for a few moments (probably listening for noise) and then dart off quickly in the opposite direction. Seeing how fast they move and how hard it is to move towards them unnoticed makes me imagine how tough it must have been for hunters before guns were commonly used.

I'm from the city so I certainly don't see any in my backyard, do you ever get annoyed that they are eating your fruit? haha, and can you see them from inside your house?

 

So far I have been lucky in the fact the apple trees are loaded this year, so they are eating apples and leaving my garden alone in my backyard. I do have it fenced and that helps keep them out. The apple trees are very old and do not produce good fruit anymore, so I don't care how much fruit they eat. However my tomato & pepper plants in front yard, have been lightly pruned by the deer at night.

I have taken pictures from inside my house shot through the screens. I fawns romp and play with each other and the birds and rabbits. Last night I hid in my cellar steps hoping to get some good shots, but alas the neighbor across the street let his dogs to run in my backyard and scared the deer away. I hate it when that happens. lol

 

Tonight I was working on a project and decided I needed a few bricks from my backyard. I walked around the house not paying attention until I suddenly looked up and a half-grown fawn (no spots), was staring at me from my lower yard. I stopped walking and stood real still. The fawn stayed put and then turned and walked back into the apple grove and joined up with the second fawn. They moved out of sight behind my shed, so I moved closer to them keeping myself hidden behind the shed. Then I moved into their field of vision again.

The fawns continued to eat apples and looked at me every once in a while. I stood completely still like a tree. Then one fawn started walking straight toward me. They had been about 75 feet away, but then it became 25 feet, then ten feet. It was so cool watching this fawn checking me out. Then the fawn angled away from me and walked along the edge of the woods. The 2nd fawn followed the first one all the while keeping an eye on me. Both then stopped to look at me in a really great pose, but I did not have my camera, and could not have used one if I did.

Suddenly a noisy UPS truck roared down the street and stopped at my neighbors house. He made so much noise that he spooked the deer and they ran into the woods. I was sorry to see them go, but enjoyed it while it lasted.

 

The other night I looked out my window and saw the deer were back. It was getting dark but I could easily make out their shapes as they walked across my lower yard. I took pictures of them through my pane glass window as they nibbled on this weed and that and ate a few apples. Deer can destroy plants and trees, and gardens, but they are so beautiful to look at and so graceful in their movements.

 

The grown deer have been playing in my backyard after it gets dark and long after my bedtime. I have tried waiting up to see them on moonlit nights but of course then they are a no show. Other nights when it is pitch black outside they have a wonderful time romping around the yard shown by the many tracks all over the snow in the morning. So I am sure the new fawns and their mom's will be stopping in when spring warmth melts the snow and green grass becomes their playground.

 

This is a picture I took of one of the fawns in my backyard. It is a bit grainy because I took the shot through the window screen.

 

This was last spring's fawn. I can hardly wait till the does bring their new fawns in this year.