Saturday, June 5, 2010

Camera Critters: Springtime In The Meadow

Springtime in a backwoods Pennsylvania meadow. On clear mornings, it is so beautiful and peaceful to be on station at dawn, listening to the birds singing, watching wildlife activity as the day arrives.  Deer are usually there at dawn, but they usually leave the meadow around sun-up and go to the nearby woodlands to escape the heat of mid-day.


Whitetail Herd At Dawn

The two year old and three year old bucks that I have been posting periodically to demonstrate antler development have evidently left for good as they have not been seen since the morning of May 17th. With their dispersal my attention has shifted to documenting the pregnant does and anxiously awaiting the arrival of the fawns. 

Pregnant Whitetail Doe

While fawns are born in a period ranging from mid-May until mid-June, most in this individual herd usually give birth within a few days of June 8th.

The Abdomens Are Huge
Photographing wildflowers is an excellent way to wring some more satisfaction out of a morning, after the deer have left for the day.  Today's flower is a Beard-tongue, but I am not sure which variety of this species that it is.

Penstemon(Beard-tongue)

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19 comments:

Captain Shagrat said...

Top picture looks so tranquil with the low lying mist. Anything with a mystical element deserves a star in my book,well done.

Dina said...

Your pictures and words here touch the heart, deep down.

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Willard: Beautiful captures of the deer herd. That flower is really neat.

Iowa Gardening Woman said...

Beautiful early morning shots, the best time of day! The deer look so peaceful.

eileeninmd said...

Beautiful shots of the deer, I lvoe the first shot with the deer and the fog. Very Nice!

EG CameraGirl said...

Sometimes it is so worth getting up early in the morning! Lovely photos, Denise!

Jenn Jilks said...

Fabulous photos, you are right - lovely does. Thank you for visiting My Muskoka !

V.L. Locey said...

Lovely images and words Willard!

♥♥ Willa ♥♥ said...

you are so lucky to see them first thing in the morning,they surely make your day. :)

My Camera Critters

Michael said...

Love the deer in the mist.

Linda said...

what lovely photos of the white tailed deer

Ruth's Photo Blog said...

Love that first,misty picture.Did you see on our blog,how we found a new born Fawn this past week?What a thrill that was.
Blessings,Ruth

Carletta said...

You know I love your deer photos but that closeup of the flower is gorgeous!
Looking forward to seeing your fawn images. :)

peacefulgirl said...

These are beautiful shots. I especially like the first one with the fog(or mist?). I found you through Camera Critters, and I am lovin your site. Your photography is fantastic.

Misty DawnS said...

That first photo absolutely took my breath away and left me sitting there thinking I definitely need to stop sleeping in on the weekends! WOW that's gorgeous!
I think it's so exciting how you get to watch and monitor the progression of the animals, from antlers to pregnancy. What an awesome job you have, my friend.
I'm glad you told me the name of that flower, because I have a photo of a member of the species, but had no idea what it was called.

Philip said...

Willard I love that first shot where the fog is rising beautiful :))

Peggy said...

That macro Beard-tongue is very interesting! Great detailed shot!
The deer bellies are cool too, as I see does, I check their bellies, but when it's this time of year, I never see them. I too am patiently waiting for fawns!

Anonymous said...

I love the mist in the first photo. Wonderful deer photos! The last picture is amazing. Great detail.

EG CameraGirl said...

The top photo is amazingly beautiful, all those deer in the mist. I love the very early morning in summer. It's the best part of the day!