Thursday, May 7, 2009

A beautiful White-tailed Deer on the Little Miami Bike Trail

As I was watching a Red-eyed Vireo forage and sing in the spring leaves above my head, I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. When I turned, two young White-tailed Deer were picking their way across the trail about 200 feet in front of me. Because of the abundance of Red-eyed Vireos on the Little Miami Bike Trail, I knew I could easily find this guy or one of his many buddies on the way back, so I abandoned the sweet-faced vireo to chase the beautiful whitetails instead. 

The second White-tailed Deer stops to eat 
dandelion greens before going into the woods.

I walked quietly, but really didn't anticipate seeing them. I was sure they already would have slipped down their well-worn trail and deeper into the woods, but sometimes they lingered by the path, so maybe if I moved quickly... She saw me before I saw her, but she seemed more curious than frightened. She continued to munch green leaves as I started shooting the camera. After every few clicks, I'd slowly move forward. She didn’t get nervous, just wary  every now and then. Eventually, she turned around and huffed into the woods. I don't know if she was full, bored, or scared. The sound of her hooves on the forest floor were solid as she took off. It’s a great sound…


Look at the eyelashes on this sweetie!
(click photo to enlarge)

"What are you doing there?" she seemed to be thinking.

"Okay...I'm bored. See ya!" and then she bounded away. 

21 comments:

holdingmoments said...

That second shot of the Deer is a stunner Kelly.Great eye contact.

NikonSniper said...

WOWWWWWW!!!
This is great. You had to be excited. I don't have anything like this! Great job. I always hold my breath when I look at the camera to see if it looked as good as the real thing. Hardly ever does!
Glad to make you laugh once in a while ... so so photos can be great if you can get a perfect caption. Well, within reason.
Nice capture. NikonSniper Steve

Michaela said...

Great pictures, especially the second one, she is so pretty!
Deer always seem to be so gentle, I love their big dark eyes.

laurent Debordes said...

belle rencontre
toute la fragilité et la force en meme temps ...
SUPERBE

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

So cute! Your pictures are beautiful!

Cheers,

Rosa

iva yaneva said...

wow, your photos are so beautiful! I feel inspired! :)
I would love to draw some of your photos, of course if you allow me to :)
p.s. where do you find all these beautiful animals?

Jayne said...

I never tire of seeing them. I know they can fully be pests to some people as they'll eat gardens up, but still... they are just so beautiful.

Shelley said...

Great close up shots of this sweetie! Wish i had her eyelashes....

Laure Ferlita said...

I'm with Shellmo - would love to have those eyelashes! I also love that her coat is thinning and you can see it shedding in the photos. Gorgeous shots, girl! Surely you're inspired to paint this beautiful girl????

Montanagirl said...

Nice shots of the deer. They can be very elusive, but you did good!

Unknown said...

The close up shots are amazing!
Like seeing a show on National Geographic :)
The colors, the sharpness... Well done!

Matt Latham said...

Fantastic shots - superb detail on the head.

Nick S said...

Such gentle creatures. I'm so against hunting...
Lovely Kelly.

Kim said...

So sweet. I love the close ups of them. Such beautiful creatures.

Ginnymo said...

Beautiful shots of the deer Kelly!! It must feel great to be out there with them. I haven't seen mine lately. Guess they are back farther into the woods now. You had an awesome day!!

FAB said...

Well, well, Kelly being "watched".
Beautifully captured & a lovely experience. FAB

Mary said...

wow...beautiful close-ups.

Kelly said...

Thanks, everyone for the kind words. Today on the trail, I didn't see any deer, but I know I will again...probably some time soon!

Creative Cards said...

Lovely shots Kelly. I also love the shots of the baby Owl very nice. I still haven't seen my first Owl yet...I've heard them though. :)

Heather said...

She's absolutely beautiful Kelly! I'm glad you got to experience her up close!

Kelly said...

Thanks Crista and Heather! Crista, yesterday, I heard Barred and Great Horned Owls on the trail...didn't see them though.