Hi Everyone, I am going to use the STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO as my introduction, I believe that will help explain and drive home the theme of ‘Nature’s Camouflage at Work’!!

Wake up about 5:40 a.m., looks like a nice day, look out the back window and notice a deer in the fields and ALSO notice the sun has not risen yet!!  BELLS going off in my mind!!  

First Day of Summer is approaching (June 20^th) Maybe a nice photo of the sunrise showing position of the sun on the horizon this time of year and, maybe, I can incorporate the deer and sunrise! FOLKS, the old mind was working overtime!!!

Bit of scrambling in the house, notice the sunlight touching the tops of the distant trees, the sun is getting ready to rise, (PRESSURE IS ON) fly out the door into the car, NUTS, forgot my camera!!  OK, finally in my car, WITH CAMERA!!, driving down my road to get in position for a sunrise from Youngs Island Road!!  (NOTE: in winter, the sun rises over the Panther Valley Ridge directly behind my house – Summer, sun rises way off to the left, blocked by trees etc., I need to go over to Youngs Island Road for a nice panorama over the fields) 

Driving along Kestrel Lane, I see two deer foraging right off the road about 55 feet away, HMM, kind of a pretty setting with the early sunlight!!  EARLY SUNLIGHT!!!  Guess I missed the sunrise!!!  Now, I am focusing on these two deer in the soft early morning light, and then I notice a small fawn. Where did he come from!!??  Next, here is another fawn!!  Keep in your mind, this section of the field has not been disked or planted, so it offers great cover for small animals. Case in point, our fawns.

Now I am focusing on getting some ‘CLEAR SHOTS/PHOTOS’ of the fawns interacting with the doe she has been nursing and washing them in a sporadic fashion when she isn’t eating!! 

Picture all these actions/interactions taking place as a moving showcase, the showcase being, the deer family slowly meandering through the field parallel to me on the road.  I had to take a lot of photos, there are tall cattails etc., right off the road in the drainage ditch and then the plants in the field plus the moving deer, THERE IS A LOT TO AVOID, for that clear clean photo!!  Go back home to see how I did!!??

Download the photos and was getting a little frustrated that I didn’t have that clear clean photo, it was hard to distinguish the fawns from the surrounding plants!!  SUDDENLY, I am realizing, my frustration, not being able to present you with a clear clean photo, IS EXACTLY, Nature’s Camouflage at Work!!  We are not supposed to get a clear clean image!! 

Fawns have about 300 spots, which offer surprisingly good camouflage, especially when lying in the mottled shade of tall plants.  They will carry these spots as long as they wear their summer coats. When looking at these photos, look at them with those thoughts in mind!!  White spots, several of the photos have those tiny white flowers in them, blends right in!!  All of a sudden, I am beginning to appreciate the photos for the special moments they are, the feeding and cleaning of the young AND I also am now able to appreciate the fact that they blend in so well!!  In the wild, Blend in, OR!!  Not a pleasant thought!!

FAWN FACTS

Myth: Don’t touch a fawn because its mother will abandon it. 

As with any animal, it’s always preferable to let them be. But, if a fawn in the “hiding” phase is in a particularly vulnerable place, like in a field being cut or under a car (don’t forget to check under your car in spring!), you can gently and safely pick it up and move it to a nearby spot where the mother can still find it. Its new resting place should be in the shade. Sometimes, a fawn may run off. Don’t chase it; it will find a new spot on its own.

Myth: Fawns don’t smell so predators can’t find them

Bobcats, bears and foxes will eat fawns, but usually coming across them by accident. However, coyotes hunt fawns using their scent on the wind!

In northern U.S., most fawns are born in May.  The southern half of the U.S. and Mexico fawns may arrive much later. Born earlier, fawns may succumb to late winter weather and too early they won’t be prepared for the next winter.

Fawns are programmed to lie still rather than run for about three weeks, but by about two weeks old, they can outrun most predators!  Fawns spend the first month of their life hiding, but at about six weeks, they begin to follow mom.

Fawns become sexually mature when at about six months old.  Most does breed their first November and usually only have one fawn their first year, then twins after that. Triplets may even occur in ideal environments.

I must say I actually learned quite a bit researching this article, made me really appreciate the wonders of our wildlife neighbors, in this case the Fawns!!  OBSERVATION:  Everything seems to grow up fast in the wild, if they survive!!  While looking at these photos, hard to believe in November the female fawns will be getting ready to raise their own family in the following year!!  Well, for now, let’s enjoy their summer camouflage photos and wish them the best in young lives!!

Enjoy Your Open Space

Charlie Fineran