Visitors this morning

[chevynut]

I had a herd of buck mule deer come by to see me again this morning to nibble on my bushes. There's a group of them that live in the neighborhood and I see them year-round within a mile of my place. This year there were 3 HUGE bucks in the herd. Most of them have lost their antlers by now. One is sporting a pretty weird new growth and I think he's getting really old. They bedded down in my yard and are still there as I type. :)

Unfortunately, the pics are taken through my windows and some through screens.

[56-210Sedan]

Awesome photos, sure make me miss my old place, that is what i would have around there (white tail) and the occasional Moose once or twice a year would stroll through and sometimes a small herd of elk. I remember one year a Moose decided to bed down in the garden :eek: there was not much left after that nesting LOL. Thanks for sharing Laszlo.

[chevynut]

Some of these were literally 3 feet from my window as I sat and watched them. I got some more pics this afternoon as they got up and left. There were 9 in total.

[Maddog]

Dang, you still have snow!

[chevynut]

Yeah, we got about 18" of accumulation this past week, not counting what melted along the way. I think we got close to 2 feet total snowfall in 3 days. I shoveled three times. It's supposed to snow again on Monday.

[56-210Sedan]

They are all great pics but on the last slide 3 & 4 are great ones

[chevynut]

I took most of the second set through windows with no screens, or I took the screens off. ;)

[NickP]

Majestic animals.

[smooth 56]

Out standing! Why are they keeping there horn's so long this year I have a couple here that still have there antler's.
1504
If I had a buck come in my yard that was as big as what you have he wouldn't walk out if season was open.:)

[carls 56 (RIP 11/24/2021)]

great pics, thanks for sharring. :)

[56-210Sedan]

Out standing! Why are they keeping there horn's so long this year I have a couple here that still have there antler's.
1504
If I had a buck come in my yard that was as big as what you have he wouldn't walk out if season was open.:)

It is all about there testosterone levels, when they decrease. also there are some other variables like sunlight, but going off mind here mostly just the first (testosterone)

[chevynut]

Usually the larger, older bucks lose their antlers first. I found it odd that this big buck still had his while the smaller ones already lost theirs. Last summer I saw 3 HUGE bucks in this herd, and I think the largest was actually bigger than the one in these pictures. Not sure which one he is. I got a picture of them with my cell phone last August when they were still in velvet. But it's a pretty crappy picture.

I also find it odd that the one weird antlered buck already has so much velvet antler. Most of them just had small nubs of new growth.

[56-210Sedan]

I should add some of this is just plain ole Genetics, i would say minerals they are getting in this too but more then likely they are all grazing in the same areas