People, be they deer hunters, observers, photographers, or homeowners who have a home near a woods or crop field, are constantly observing and recording this animal with cameras, trail cameras, mental notes and log books.

There is no closed season for many people in part because deer are always changing their appearance and activities.

Coat colors and textures change. Fawns are born and lose their white spots; some even develop noticeable antler nobs. Bucks’ antlers come and go, beginning in April and ending when velvet is shed and lastly when the antlers drop beginning in late December.

Changes occur in bedding, feeding, and hiding locations. Food sources change, as do the deer who feed together. We have to keep up so we can observe, hunt, photograph, and sometimes curse the animal, too.

Some fawns are nearing 8 weeks old. Their white spots are stillpresent, or at least the white tips on hairs in white spot areas are still there but will begin wearing away and disappearing in August. By mid-September the fawns will look similar to the doe who they are with, only shorter, smaller, but just as fast on their feet.

Does are beginning to put on weight; ribs are no longer so pronounced. Summer reddish coats are in style throughout the herd, but that will begin to change, too.

Bucks’ antlers are still growing, clearly so because there are bulbous tips on most points and the entire antler is covered with skin and velvety hair.

Bachelor groups of as many as five animals are common in some areas. These magnetic opposites will soon turn and begin to repel one another.

Alfalfa and soybean fields are common eating areas when browsing in forests and fallow acres aren’t tasty.

Fawns are spending some time feeding with their moms, sometimes far enough away that one or the other is not detected.

Here in southwest Wisconsin about 30 does continue to carry a GPS radio collar, some of which may be nearing the battery’s end. These animals have survived from a five-year study conducted by the WDNR.

Each deer, bucks and does, were also ear tagged right and left.

The numbers are consecutive; for example a female carries a 7989/7990 tag sequence.

She was close enough to get an open ear photograph and see the numbers. With the numbers, the DNR was able to tell me she was captured with a drop net in January 2020 close to where she is now and has spent those years.

When deer were captured during that study they were aged, sometimes by removing a tooth. Putting all that together, the wildlife biologist was able to say she is 13 years old.

I was again able to read the tag numbers 7989/7990 when a fawn was feeding with her and nursing, too.

When she dies, and if the collar is found and returned, the DNR will attempt to determine the cause of death and record her health, including diseases she may have had.

If it is a hunter, not a vehicle or bobcat that takes her, the hunter will get a printed report of her last years as long as the battery is active.

— Jerry Davis is an Argyle native and a freelance writer who lives in Barneveld. He can be reached at sivadjam@mhtc.net or at 608-924-1112.