Fawning Time At Big Meadows

A fellow blogger recently contacted me for  information about my experiences in photographing whitetail fawns at Big Meadows in Shenandoah National Park.  I have not went to the park during peak fawning season during the past few years, so the inquiry made me think about the wonderful experiences I have had at Big Meadows and made me realize that I must not miss this exciting time at Big Meadows this year.

Young Whitetail Fawn: June 5, 2005

Most fawns are born from mid-May to mid-June and in my experience it seems that the vast majority at Shenandoah National Park are born during the last full week in May and the first full week in June. I made my first springtime excursion to the Park in 2001 and saw a lot of fawns in the meadow that year.  It was an addictive experience so I returned for fawning season each year until 2006.

Today's post features photos from an especially good morning in June of 2005.  This was the first fawning season that I had my 500mmF4, and I put it to good use, when I found a doe and fawn bathed in the beautiful early morning sunlight near the wetlands in the center of the meadow. The first two photos were taken with the 1.4 extender attached. The one directly below was published the following year in The Pennsylvania Game Commission Calendar.

Whitetail Doe Grooms Fawn

Fawns lie down in the tall meadow grasses when they are not feeding.  If one is cautious they may photograph them as they attempt to hide, but they should not approach them closely enough to disturb them. The photograph below was taken from a distance with the 500mmF4.

Whitetail Fawn Hiding In The Meadow

The deer at Big Meadows are in most cases completely acclimated to humans, but it is best to not approach too closely as the does will become alarmed or may become defensive to protect their young.  It is also a violation of park regulations to do so.