Trailcam catches a white-tailed deer- finally!

The broad, brown tail with a white tip confirms the species
as a white-tailed deer.
Photo by Brad Sylvester, copyright 2011. Do not copy.

After determining that white-tailed deer do, indeed, live in my yard based on the tracks they left in the snow and the droppings they left, I placed my trailcam in a spot that I thought was likely to be frequented by passing deer. The evidence of tracks in the snow at this location made that an easy choice, but there are other clues that this might be a good travel route for deer as well.

Glens (long, shallow valleys among the hills) are
often preferred terrain for deer trails.
Photo by Brad Sylvester, copyright 2011. Do not copy.

The daylight photo at the right shows the terrain a little better. You'll notice that it is relatively clear of underbrush, making it easy for deer to walk through. Second, a little glen runs through this particular area. A glen, of course, is a small valley-like area or a low point with higher ground on either side. Deer seem to choose glens, most likely for the natural cover they provide, as their preferred  routes of travel through the forest.

Male or Female?

At this time of the year, male white-tailed deer have antlers for the rutting season. later in the winter, their antlers will fall off, but for now (and during hunting season) antlers are the easier way to distinguish bucks from does. The lack of antlers on this deer says that it is a doe. From the size relative to the plants around it, it looks as though it is an adult female. It looks well-fed.

Determining a Deer's Sex with Hoof Prints

In the photo, you can see that as this deer is walking, it move its right front and left rear feet at the same time and vice versa. With each step the rear foot comes up near the front foot of the same side.
When tracking deer, I've been told that you can tell the sex from the hoof prints alone. I didn't know if it was true, but this picture seems to confirm what I've heard. The story goes like this: female deer walk with their rear feet outside (or wider) than their front feet because they have wider hips for giving birth. Bucks, on the other hand, have broad, muscular chests to carry the weight of and fight with their antlers. This widens the distance between their front feet making the buck's front feet wider apart than their back feet. I can't verify the accuracy of this method, but that's what I've always heard and this picture of a doe confirms that her rear feet are indeed wider than her front feet. With a number of similar photos of both sexes, we could answer this for sure, one way or the other.The rear foot will often be placed either a bit behind the front foot print, or even on top of it, partially covering it.

Trailcam Photo Quality 

The trail cam photo of white-tailed deer at the top left of this entry has been adjusted by me using a basic photo editor. I adjusted brightness and contrast until I felt the deer was easier to see. You'll notice the small branch in front of the camera that seems to have affected the focus a bit. I've removed the branch so that, hopefully, the next photo will be clearer. The original, unretouched photo is at the lower left of this entry.

Unadjusted trailcam photo taken using an infrared
flash in the dark of night.
Photo by Brad Sylvester, copyright 2011. Do not copy.

You can also see from the time stamp on the photo that it was taken at 2:58 a.m. EDT on the morning of December 10th. That was the day before a full moon and there was quite a bit of moonlight giving good visibility that night. The trailcam's date stamp feature lets you know what time deer are active at specific locations. BY tracking time patterns, you can see if a particular deer uses the trail regularly, perhaps to journey back and forth to a preferred feed spot.

I've mentioned previously that deer tend to feed in the early evening hours and early morning hours, right around dusk and dawn. Remember what animals with this pattern are called? They are called crepuscular feeders. White-tailed deer are often hunted during the daylight hours when they can be found walking around actively. Finding them active also at this late hour of the night means that deer can be found roaming the woods at practically nay hour of the day or night.