Wildlife watching – Kids Discover Nature

Wildlife Watching – Deer

by Jodi Valenta

Photo of deer family as seen in our woods during a snowstorm

We have a large family of deer that uses our property as part of their home. We have seen a doe and her six fawns and three bucks that pal around together. They have provided my family with quite an education in deer behavior. We first met the doe the summer we moved into our house. At the time she had two fawns. They were seen once in a while on the outskirts of the property, chewing the underbrush. Each summer since, she has birthed two to three more fawns, which has made for quite a large family.

A brief note on deer biology
Female deer stay together as a family unit and the males leave to lead a somewhat solitary life. Often they form a small group of two to three males, except during the rut (mating season). I often see three bucks pass through our woodland and one day watched them for several hours while they were eyeing the doe and her female offspring during the mating season, though without much luck.

Overpopulation Wreaks Havoc
Needless to say, my shrubs and Hosta have paid the price with so many deer looking for tender morsels! We see more and more of them every year, and in the past several months we have begun to see them several times per week. I can only guess that they are being forced onto our property more often because they have less and less space elsewhere. As the family’s population continues to grow, there will be less and less food for them, which means more damage to the forest underbrush and to our gardens. As much as it annoys me that I never see my plants bloom because they eat the buds (I use deer spray regularly, but they somehow know the second it wears off), I feel sorry for them and the fact that they are overpopulated and starving. Even the hunters we have in the area aren’t enough to keep the population at manageable levels.

Winter Entertainment
Ok, I got sidetracked…as I was saying they have provided much entertainment. The family has been particularly fond of our property during snowstorms. Each time we have had a snowfall, they bed down in the woodland behind our house. They stay there for hours, waiting out the storm. They are so unbelievably patient! As I watched the mother look over her brood quietly laying in the snow during the last storm, I couldn’t help but feel exasperated as I watched my own brood of two practically tear down our walls while they waited for the storm to end!

When it did finally end, my husband and I took the kids out to investigate the area where the deer were hanging out. Here are photos of what we found:

1) Deer tracks in the woods

2) Deer beds where they patiently waited out the snowstorm

Here is a photo of my children being little explorers – I call them my “little peepers.”

I am curious about whether you’ve had any experiences with deer. Do you like to watch them, do they eat your gardens? Do you hunt them? Please post your thoughts in the comments section.

Critter Corner

Critter Corner: Deer

by Editorial Staff

Fascinating Deer
What animal arouses more emotion, controversy, interest, anger, compassion and awe than deer? They live throughout the United States, in the cities, the country and the suburbs. Deer are magnificent and fascinating to watch if you are lucky enough spy one, can provide a delicious and healthy food source and can wreak havoc in gardens, woodlands and on roadways. Grown ups know them for all of these qualities and, love ’em or hate ’em, they provide an awesome opportunity to promote nature appreciation in children.

Many species of deer make this country their home, but the one most often seen and known by people is the White-tailed deer. They are the the most abundant big game animal in North America. Their habitat is mainly woodlands and they live in families made up of females and fawns or several males (except during mating season). They are herbivores, meaning they only eat plants. Deer make are an interesting topic because they are so familiar and at the same time so aloof.

If you would like to teach your child(ren) about deer, here are some great links to pages that provide more information for you to use to teach your children:

Nature Activities for Kids Involving Deer

Go outside or to the nearest park or nature center and look for deer tracks in the snow. They are easy to spot and look like the image posted to the right. Even if you do not see deer tracks, you will most likely see tracks of other animals like squirrels or birds.
While you are there, look around and look for and discuss what deer might eat.
If you find tracks, follow them and see where they lead. Discuss where the deer might have been heading.
Go to the library and search for books about deer.

It is interesting for children to watch families of deer if they live in your area. They are most often seen at dusk and at dawn.

Birds

Our Winter Friends

by MCC

Today is a good day to fill the bird feeder. It is cold and the birds will most certainly be looking for an easy meal since they will be using more of their energy to stay warm. Feeding the birds is a great way to reconnect your children with nature. It allows them to become instant naturalists because it is so easy to observe birds and discuss their behavior. You can help your children identify the birds that appear at your feeder.

Our birds flew South for the winter months ago. Lately, we have seen Blue Jays, Chickadees, Nuthatches, little Downy Woodpeckers, and Tufted Titmice visiting the feeder. The Northern Juncos arrived sometime last week. They must be happy to be in the New England weather. To them, this is like being on vacation in paradise. What we think of as cold and wintry they think is balmy and warm. Juncos travel all the way from the northern reaches of Canada in mid-fall and stay until returning in the spring.

A family of turkeys visits the feeder every couple of days. There are 13 members in this family. One of the jakes tried to land on the feeder and almost knocked the entire thing to the ground before he decided he was too big to perch on it and eat. Luckily for everyone on the ground because they received a free meal.

Once a child is able to identify several birds, she will enjoy looking for them each day. My daughter is eager to head downstairs each morning to see what birds she will find. The fact that she provided the food they are eating makes her feel important and helps build her confidence.

<script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-8687750861178484"
     crossorigin="anonymous"></script>
<!-- KDN Sidebar Top -->
<ins class="adsbygoogle"
     style="display:block"
     data-ad-client="ca-pub-8687750861178484"
     data-ad-slot="8429592158"
     data-ad-format="auto"
     data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>
<script>
     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
</script>

<script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-8687750861178484"
     crossorigin="anonymous"></script>
<!-- KDN side bar 3 -->
<ins class="adsbygoogle"
     style="display:inline-block;width:300px;height:250px"
     data-ad-client="ca-pub-8687750861178484"
     data-ad-slot="4244681056"></ins>
<script>
     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
</script>

<script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-8687750861178484"
     crossorigin="anonymous"></script>
<!-- KDN sidebar -->
<ins class="adsbygoogle"
     style="display:inline-block;width:160px;height:600px"
     data-ad-client="ca-pub-8687750861178484"
     data-ad-slot="6157033457"></ins>
<script>
     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
</script>

<script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-8687750861178484"
     crossorigin="anonymous"></script>
<!-- KDN Side bar 1 -->
<ins class="adsbygoogle"
     style="display:block"
     data-ad-client="ca-pub-8687750861178484"
     data-ad-slot="1291214650"
     data-ad-format="auto"
     data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>
<script>
     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
</script>

Wildlife Watching – Deer

Critter Corner: Deer

Our Winter Friends

Take the 30-Day Outdoor Challenge