A Year-Old Tale of Romance (and how my students uncovered the continuing story....)

Happened across these pictures recently and can't believe I didn't post them before...

Last January, I happened to get pictures of two twitter-painted Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)...they were together smack-dab in the middle of the fox breeding season 'round here (which is usually January/February).

I'm willing to bet that this is the pair whom are responsible for the pup we caught pictures of on the same site several months later (see here)....

So...the ATV activity this summer really cut down on the number of fox pictures we got on the cameras for awhile.

But....much like with the Coyotes....that has changed this winter.  However, I wasn't sure if we would see any kind of breeding activity or evidence this year.  I thought that if the ATVs scared them off this summer, they might not consider it safe enough for breeding again.

Which leads us to my Advanced Ecology class this year (which is a class I've posted about during past years...see examples here and here).

Two weeks ago, the students deployed their camera traps for a semester of monitoring. 

They also spent some time assessing the habitat communities on-site and using GPS units to delineate community boundaries.

This gave them a chance to get a good feel for the property we are working on, and make some important observations.

Now, zoom forward to this week.  We gathered on-site to begin our weekly exercise, while also checking camera traps, etc.

Not long after we got started, one of the students called me over to their camera trap location to show me a burrow he had found.  In the picture below, the student is standing about where the entrance to the burrow is located.

He's pretty critter-savvy (experienced hunter and trapper).  We agreed it was in the size range for Red Fox....

There were clearly tracks heading to the entrance and it appeared to be active.  But we had snow the night before, so it was hard to tell (a) what species left the tracks and (b) how recently the burrow was used.

 

Could it be a pair of Reds is making a nice little love nest in which to rear their pups again this year?

The nearby camera trap the students put up gave us reason to be hopeful.

Here is our first glimpse of a fox leaving the den.  Not a great picture, unfortunately, but you can tell its coming out of just about parallel to where the student is in the picture above.

...and again later that evening...

 Then...just to give us something to brag about....our resident Badger (Taxidea taxus) lumbered by for a sniff.

 

 So fingers crossed that we will get a repeat of the fox pups this year!  Always fun to get pictures of them....

Happy Walkin' Bird Day From Your Friendly Neighborhood Trailblazer!

In anticipation of the coming Holiday, I figured I should post the best camera trap picture of a Walkin' Bird (Meleagris gallopavo) that I could ever hope to get.  Some students and I obtained this picture in the spring during a class exercise.  We didn't get any photos of hens on this occasion, so I'm assuming they were behind the camera.  This is the pose one would expect from a Tom on a greeting card for Thanksgiving (which is ironic, seeing that they usually adopt this posture in the spring, during the breeding season, and not in late November).

Also...have a look at this rafter (look it up :)  ).

Phenology 2013: Faltering Frogs and Wary Leapers....

Today I heard the first calling Anurans (Frogs/Toads) of the season.  Chorus Frogs (Pseudacris triseriata) are generally the earliest frogs to call in the spring 'round these parts.  I've been listening intently at various wetlands nearby for the last week.....but these tiny amphibians have been extremely hesitant (and rightfully so, given our very cold spring this year).  Despite this, I've been anticipating their calls for several days now seeing that it has started to sneak above 50 deg F more frequently over the last week.

Today I finally heard them.....

In some parts of the region they are rivaled for first position by the Wood Frog (Lithobates sylvatica).  But we do not have Wood Frogs in the immediate area....so I always consider the arrival of spring to be heralded by the Chorus Frog.

Interestingly, this is much different than their date of first call last year (which was a much warmer spring)....but on par with past dates I've recorded.

2012: March 14th
2009: April 14th
2008: April 8th
2007: April 27th
2006: April 12th
2005: April 7th
2004: March 28th
2002: April 6th
2001: April 14th

Beyond that....sometimes all that's needed are a few cool camera trap pictures.

First, an Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus).....

Then, what might be one of my favorite Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) pictures to-date.......

Foxes are so amazingly cognizant of their surroundings.  The Cuddeback has a lightning-fast trigger speed (< 1 sec.), which is the primary strength of this make and model of camera trap.  Thus, it almost appears as if this fox started to leap, sensed the flash, and faced the camera.....all as it was springing into action.

That is what I'd call complete situational awareness!

Phenology 2013: Preggers Coyote....

The Coyote (Canis latrans) activity has picked up substantially at several of our camera trapping locations.  This makes sense, as it has corresponded with the mating season and (soon) parturition for our region.  As Jackson (1961) reports, breeding primarily occurs in February, and most pups are born in April (gestation period of 60-63 days).

So, the timing is perfect.

Below are two clips of males at the same site for comparison.

....and now the pregnant female.....she just looks uncomfortable, doesn't she?

The den must be nearby, and I hope we can get clips of the pups......

As most know, the Coyote is often vilified and looked upon with scorn.  Jackson (op. cit.) mentioned several historic accounts of negative attitudes towards Coyotes in our region (note the "wolf" referenced in the passsages below is the "prairie wolf", which is an old common name for the Coyote).

"Among the other evidences of the rude and primitive condition of the town [of Mineral Point-TB] was the almost unceasing howling and barking of the wolves during the night, around and within its very borders, sounding at times as though the town was invested by scores of the brutes, much to the annoyance and alarm of timid strangers." (S.M. Palmer, 1872; 302).

Jackson also recounts some of the methods used in the past to eradicate these rude, brutish and annoying animals....

"A grand wolf hunt will come off Monday the 17th of December, 1863. There will be a line formed, commencing at ...... the town of Fulton, extending up .....in the town of Janesville.  Said line will be formed and ready to march at 10 o'clock A.M. There will also be a line formed on the west side of the river to act in conjunction with the first. ........ We invite all to take part, for the wolves are troublesome (Janesville Daily Gazette, Dec. 7, 1863)."  

The distance that this line of 'yote-hunters would have spanned was probably anywhere from 12-14 miles, as the crow flies.  Now, I don't want to sound hippy-dippy......but that's alot of effort to kill little ol' Wil E., which would suggest a very deep-seeded dislike or fear.

I wonder if the folks who orchestrated those hunts (or anyone today who dislikes Coyotes) would feel differently about them if they saw them acting just like their beloved domestic dog?

This doesn't appear to be skittishness. This behavior looks just like that of my dog when he's excited to go outside.

Phenology 2013: The Great One Calls

Photo by C. Weimar

Today (January 7th), as I went on a forced walk in a futile effort to undue the damage of the Holidays, I heard my first Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) call of the year.  I had heard them calling in the woods behind the house at roughly this time last year, as well.

Great Horned Owls have a fairly early calling/nesting season here in the upper Midwest.  The Phenology calendar for our state indicates that courtship activities for this species begins around January 30th.  The Department of Natural Resources suggests that calling individuals can be heard from late November through December and January. 

Nesting is also a very early affair for this species.  In fact, my friend Bill over at The Future of Birds once told me that it's not unheard of for females to incubate eggs with a thin layer of snow covering their heads and shoulders!  Stout (2008) reported an average egg-laying date of February 7th for various monitored nests from 2002-2005. He also reported average hatching dates to be March 12th.

Yet, this is not the earliest known report for this species, from our neck of the woods.

Again, Stout (2008) has the honor.  He details a nesting pair observed copulating on December 22nd (2007) and then observed one of these incubating eggs on January 1, 2008 (estimated clutch initiation of December 29th)!  At another location in the same year, he also reported eggs observed in a nest on January 8th.

This is the earliest reported and confirmed nesting activity for Great Horned Owls in our state (by over 20 days!).

Both nesting locations that Stout observed were in relatively warm and protected micro-climates, and both were in anthropogenically altered landscapes (one located in a cemetary, the other associated with a power plant).  He suggests the protected nature of the nesting sites may have encourage these early egg-laying dates.

Photo by C. Weimar

The Great Horned Owl is known to occupy tree cavities for nesting, but will very often take-over abandoned nests of other species (such as Red-Tailed Hawks, Herons and Crows).  Interestingly, Stout postulates that prior to extensive logging in our region, this species may have had larger trees (with larger tree cavities) available to nest in.  Such large cavity nesting sites may have been traditionally preferred by Great Horned Owls over the abondoned nests of other species.  Because sites within such tree cavities were likely more sheltered than an abandoned hawk nest, Stout suggests that very early nesting dates may have historically been the norm for this species.  Yet as the original forests were logged from the landscape, so to were all of those large trees and nice nesting cavities.....and the owls were forced to adapt. 

It's always fascinating (and alittle depressing) to think about how the wild critters carried on before our arrival....and how massively different things must have been.

Regardless, I was happy to hear the Great Ones calling again this year.

White-Tail Chemical Ecology

I accummulate hundreds and hundreds of White-Tail Deer pictures and video clips throughout the year.  I realize that countless pictures of deer get a bit boring and repetitive.  This is evidenced by the fact that my blog entries related to deer consistently have the lowest numbers of views compared to my other entries. 

Therefore, I try to limit the number of entries I write that are focused solely on deer.  I obviously can't help showing you all any large bucks I happen to get (at least once or twice a year)....they are just too impressive when in their prime not to be enamoured with them.  Yet, I try and focus deer-related posts to something specific regarding interesting behavior or phenomena....and I think the interactions below fall into that category.

The video clips below provide a bit of insight into how frequently bucks and does return to investigate a scent location....and also for how long they will return to this spot over time.  Granted, this is a sample size of 1....but it's still neat to see.

You'll also note that there is not a single clip that occurs during the daylight.  Even though the behavior below is occuring outside of the rifle hunting season in our area, most of my pics/videos of deer activity throughout the fall and winter (particularly for the large bucks) happens at night.  There's tons of deer out there....but they're just too dang "smart".  I often wonder if pressure from hunting hasn't acted as a force that drives natural selection to "favor" individuals that more often operate at night....and thus don't get shot! 

But, that's a different topic of discussion.
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The camera that took these clips is mounted on the trunk of a very young tree.  The trunk is pretty narrow and the branches are low to the ground (in fact, I had to trim some away just to access the tree trunk for camera mounting). 

The camera was deployed to this location on the morning of 9/26/2012.

9/26/2012

9:23 pm:  Doe browsing a bit, but also stopping by to investigate some fox urine that I put out.

11:28 pm: One of The Brutes comes by to investigate....

9/27 to 9/28/2012 (evening to early morning)

7:24 pm: A doe (perhaps the same one from the previous night) once again is sniffing around the same spot...

10:07 pm: The Brute comes by to get a nose-full.....

He then moves towards another low-hanging branch.  He appears to browse a bit, but also deposit scent from his forehead glands....

11:32 pm:  A small buck stops by.  I think he's part of  set of twins that belong to the doe that visits this spot.  He does some browsing, but also appears to investigate the scent from the larger male....

 1:42 am:  The young feller comes back to sniff around a bit.

1:46 am: There's a-doings a-transpirin' off to the right of our field of view!  Something is shaking the limbs of the tree the camera is mounted on, and kicking up the grass.  You can also barely see a pair of eyes watching cautiously in the background (far left).

You can probably guess who's responsible for the ruckus (the little buck also skee-daddles in the background).

......wait for it.....

"Holy .....!  What was that all about?!"

9/28/2012 (evening)

8:59 pm: A doe sniffs the branch that appears to be a despository for scent from the forehead glands of the big male...

For the next two days, the doe and the young bucks come back and sniff around some more.

9/30 to 10/1/2012 (evening to early morning)

11:39 pm: The Brute comes back to invesitage his scent branch...

1:03 am:  There's another ruckus off-screen....and then....

...wait for it....

The Crown!

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Although the buck meandered by this spot again once or twice, I never saw the back and forth investigation of scent after the first of October.  The camera was moved from this location on November 14, 2012.  So all of that activity was occuring over a period of about 5 days.  An important caveat: almost immediately after I mounted the camera...I was getting clips of this behavior.  Who knows how long it was going on prior to me mounting the camera.

It is worth noting that I started seeing the first actual buck scrapes on the ground in about mid-October at this site.  You may also recall that I first started seeing velvet rubbed off of antlers (at a different site) on September 8, 2012.

It is also fun to go all the way back to the beginning of the year and look at when the antlers first starting showing on these bucks. At the site where the video clips above were taken, antler nubs first became evident on April 17, 2012.

Some New Brutes for 2012

I'm not one to go nuts over "big bucks"....however, there are some brutes hanging around the property.

Could be one of the same individuals from last year (see here and here).

Seeing that the "rut" is soon to be upon us....I can't resist posting some clips of these guys.

This one is at a completley different site....almost in the next county.  But he's still a brute.  His antlers are not quite as impressive as the top fella, but check out the neck on this one!  Thick as a mature oak branch!

The clips below were grabbed at a location very near where the video clips at the top of this post came from.  Either it's the same individual (hard to tell from the clips), or another large bruiser in the area.

I've also captured some interesting behavior associated with this last individual. 

But I'll save that for a subsequent post!

Phenology: Buck Past Velvet

I recently obtained the first evidence of a White-tailed Deer buck without velvet in 2012.

These clips were taken on Sept. 8, 2012.

September is the primary month in which buck White-tailed Deer rub the velvet from their antlers in preparation for the rut (although there is variation in this date, and velvet may be rubbed off as early as late August, or as late as November).  The triggers for this rubbing behavior are the result of a battery of hormones, but changes in testoterone levels (often triggered by changes in daylength) are important.  For example, according to Miller et al. (2003) the "hardening of the antler and shedding of velvet are a direct result of rising testosterone levels cued by shortening daylength."

Compare this to the first hint of antlers since this year, way back in April.....

Literature Cited:

Miller, K.V., L.I. Muller, S. Demarais. 2003. White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus). In Feldhamer, et al. Wild Mammals of North America: biology, management, and conservation (second edition). Johns Hopkins University Press.

Phenology: antlers, toads and treefrogs....

It seems like some of these bucks just lost their antlers!  There were individuals showing up on our cameras in February that were still holding their racks....and already they've started to come back in some males.

No doubt it's a high-resource environment, with an associated risk of mortality that must be pretty small.....  Also, I guess the testosterone has started flowing again!

This is not too far off from when I first started seeing the antler buds peek through on the bucks when living down in NC last year....

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On the evening of 4/15/2012, I heard the first American Toads (Bufo=Anaxyrus americanus) calling of the season.  These were pretty early like many of the other frogs this year....but not as far out of their normal time as the Chorus frogs (Pseudacris triseriata) have been.  They did not call for very long (one or two strong nights) and then the weather cooled, which seems to have slowed them.  I imagine I'll hear them again.....

It's also worth noting that I am also still hearing Chorus frogs calling with some intensity....despite the fact that they began so early this year.

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Although I have not heard Gray Treefrogs (Hyla versicolor) calling yet this year (that would be WAY, WAY early)....I saw my first adult of the year.  Just behind he house on our deck.  We have been preparing some of our potted flowers and vegetables for the coming summer and I moved our potted blueberries out of the garage and onto the porch today.  There was a pile a leaves near the vent for our clothes dryer that was about where I wanted to put the blueberry pots.  I was brushing these leaves out of the way by hand, when out tumbled a nice little treefrog.  The leaves were damp and the dryer vent must have provided alittle warmth as we were doing laundary. 

Much to my daughter's delight, we got to look closely at him as we moved the blueberry pots into place.  I left some of the leaves in a pile near where I had moved them from (so they were next to the blueberry pots).  Then I carefully placed the little fella in one of the pots, figuring he could move on his way as he saw fit.

I wonder if this was one of our nocturnal hunters from last summer?

Phenology: Mourning Dove Copulation Log

It's a copulation "log" in two ways: (1) that it is my logging of a copulation event between two Mourning Doves (Zenaida macroura), and the fact that (2) the copulation literally took place on.....a log!

So, the event begins down at the old make-out spot with a single male, checking out the scene.........

His patience pays off....

Then, the showing off begins....

 ....and continues.....

Then, the preening of eachother begins....

The girl also decides to show off a bit....

This is followed by alittle more co-preening......

....and more.....

The picture says it all, I should think!

....next the cuddling.....

But eventually, that inevitable awkwardness sets in....

They apparently try to ignore eachother with alittle self-preening. Perhaps hoping the other will get the hint and leave.  They both work pretty hard at putting out the "take a hike" vibe, but it doesn't seem to work.

....but neither is willing to give it up.....

For a moment, it appears they might confront the elephant in the room....but the male gets the wrong idea.

...and so it's back to pretending the other isn't there.....

Finally, they put a bit of space between themselves.....

...and the male starts to plan his exit strategy....

They both must have left, because that was the last picture of either!

Notes on Mourning Dove reproduction.  In our neck of the woods it is common for this species to reproduce from April through September, so this is a tad early compared to a "normal" year.  The reproductive behavior outlined above is typical, although there is often much head-bobbing, etc. that doesn't really come out in still photos.  Although my commentary above gives the impression that they don't want to be around eachother after copulation, the Mourning Dove is actually a seasonally monogamous species (they remain in the same pair during a single nesting season).  So, these two will probably be together for much of the rest of the season, and there is even some evidence that this species will re-pair with the same individuals in subsequent years.  The co-preening behavior and the self-preening behavior outlined above is typical of this species during pair-bond formation and copulation.  Nests are often a loosely aggregated bundle of materials (pine needles, etc.) that are placed in dense foliage.  Females usually lay one to two eggs at a time.

For more information see:

Otis, David L., John H. Schulz, David Miller, R. E. Mirarchi and T. S. Baskett. 2008. Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/117doi:10.2173/bna.117

Phenology: Crooning Frogs and Perilous Chelonians

Yesterday (March 13, 2012) marked the first day of the year where I heard a full-blown caucophony of Chorus Frogs (Pseudacris triseriata).  They were calling heavily in the wetland near campus, and they have an unmistakable call (often likened to the sound produced from running one's fingers up the teeth of a metal comb).  They are one of the first, if not the first, species to call here in the spring.  The males have migrated down to the ponds and wetlands from their overwintering locations and began making that melodious advertisement....in the hopes of attracting a mate. 

Soon to follow should be the Wood Frogs (Rana=Lithobates sylvatica), the Northern Leopard Frogs (Rana=Lithobates pipiens) and the Spring Peepers (Pseudacris crucifer).  In fact, in some locations, the Wood Frogs and Peepers will start first or at the same time as the Chorus Frogs.

In general, I'd say these Chorus frogs are calling earlier than I've heard in past years 'round these parts.  Looking back at my field notes, I have the following dates of when I first heard these fellas....

2001: April 14th
2002: April 6th
2004: March 28th
2005: April 7th
2006: April 12th
2007: April 27th
2008: April 8th
2009: April 14th

For the last two years, we've lived out of state, so I didn't get the dates when these critters were first heard calling.

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One of the roads I follow when I head to work runs parallel to a creek for a ways (on the east side of the road).  On the west side of this same road is a large grassy hill and beyond that, a shallow wetland.  Last fall, it didn't take long to realize (after observing numerous turtles on the road.....alive or otherwise) that the wetland was a good summer habitat, but come winter....it was better to be somewhere else.

Why?

That shallow wetland is very likely to freeze solid during the cold winter months.  This isn't good news for an overwintering turtle (i.e., you can only burrow down so far in the sediments to escape from freezing solid).  You also likely have to deal with anoxic conditions, or very low oxygen levels, in wetlands that are completely covered in ice (i.e. no oxygen exchange between the surface of the water and the air).  Some species are particularly good at dealing with anoxic conditions in the winter (see Ultsch and Reese, 2008 for information on the Common Snapping Turtle; Chelydra serpentina).  But, if the option exists to avoid freezing and anoxic conditions in the winter.....if you're a turtle....I suppose there's no reason not to jump at it!

Thus, fall migrations to a flowing stream, which has a low potential for freezing solid and likely high oxygen content in the water, makes perfect sense.  It also makes sense to hang out in the wetland during the summer.  High nutrient levels and warmer water usually mean wetlands are very productive habitats (i.e., food is plentiful!).  So...come spring, you crawl out of the stream and start the treacherous journey back to the wetland. 

Yet....what happens when a road exists between your winter habitat and your spring/summer habitat?  Well, you try and cross it.  For a slow-moving turtle, this is a difficult task.  So difficult, in fact, that many do not survive.

Today marked the first day of spring that I found a Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta) trying to cross this road (heading east to west, from the stream to the wetland).  Luckily, I caught him at the beginning of his journey and was able to pull over, pick him up and help him across the dangerous part.

Amazingly, the picture I snapped before picking him up also happened to perfectly capture the turtle's primary antagonist when crossing these roads.

More to come!

Literature Cited:

Ultsch, G.R, and S.A. Reese. 2008. Ecology and Physiology of Overwintering. In Steyermark et al. (eds.) Biology of the Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina). John Hopkins University Press.

There is a wealth of literature on the impacts that roads have on turtles.  The following is a great place to start.

Andrews, K.M., J.W. Gibbons, and D.M. Jochimsen. 2008. Ecological effects of roads on amphibians and reptiles: a literature review. In Mitchell, J.C. et al. (eds.). Urban Herpetology, Herpetological Conservation No. 3. Soceity for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles.

Phenology: The "Talking Dog" Earns Its Name

Last night (February 14th) love was in the air!  And on Valentines day, no-less!

As I took the dog out so he could release some unwanted metabolic waste before bed, I heard the 'yotes (Canis latrans) howling in the field across the street.

The timing is correct.  Although January is generally considered part of the breeding season for this species, Hartley T. Jackson stated (1961) breeding in these parts is primarily in February.  Coyotes will howl at various times throughout they year, but they are known to be particularly vocal during the breeding season.  They may howl to attract mates and to warn potential rivals of their presence.  Howls provide other non-breeding functions: communicating with a pack that is spread out (hunting, for example) and to warn other packs or groups of their presence (an early warning system to avoid tresspassing).

This is the first time I've heard the coyotes calling this year.

I'm assuming there will be more pictures of them to come.

But, for now, I'll placate you all with some recent pics from cameras that Dave is still taking care of in North Carolina.

Note that the first picture is of a pair.

The second pic is a nice one....I just wish the subject was looking towards the camera!

In general, the 'yotes at these cameras did not show themselves from July through December.  Since then, we've more commonly captured pictures of them.

For more information on eastern Coyotes....check out this recent paper published in Southeastern Naturalist:

L.L. Mastro. 2011. Life history and ecology of coyotes in the mid-Atlantic states: a summary of the scientific literature. Southeastern Naturalist 10:721-730.

Bloody Concession Vs. Dogged Determination

Some bucks have thrown in the towel when it comes to keeping their antlers.  Of course, I'm anthropomorphizing....but...whatever.

Also, to be fair, this buck didn't truly concede.  It's just a decrease in daylength that resulted in lower testosterone levels, which stopped antler growth and started the process of detachment.  Once the connection between the antler and the pedicel (i.e. raised "platform" on the skull where the antlers arise from) starts to weaken, it probably doesn't take much.  Perhaps the antler got caught up in a dense thicket....or was bumped by a tree.....and just fell off.

Interestingly, it's actually the increase in daylength in March/April that results in greater testosterone production, which stimulates antlers to grow in the first place.  So, daylength and hormones play important roles in annual antler development.  Also, the size of a buck's rack is believed to have a great deal to do with diet. 

As the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources website states:

"During the early spring and summer, deer graze and browse heavily to replenish the fat reserves they depleted during winter. Does must obtain energy to make the milk that they use to nurse their newborn fawns. Bucks use some of this new energy to grow antlers a process that requires a substantial amount of protein and minerals. Although spring nutrition is important for body and antler growth, deer possess adaptations that allow them to prosper in areas with mineral deficiencies. For example, deer deposit minerals in their skeletons throughout the year. Then, during antler growth, they mobilize these minerals to help the antlers grow strong. A second adaptation is the deer's ability to change absorption rates of minerals in their stomach. When using large amounts of minerals for antler growth, deer siphon more minerals from their diet. Deer rely on plants for these minerals, and they select plants offering the highest mineral concentrations."


  We are currently in the midst of the "shed hunting season", or the time when deer drop their antlers and collectors start pounding the ground in the hopes of finding them.  Yet, that doesn't mean there is a narrow and definitive window within which bucks will drop their racks......OR that its a forgone conclusion that they'll drop those bony burdens by a specific time each year. 

Basically, one would expect them to be dropping around now (Jan/Feb), although one wouldn't be shocked to see bucks holding their antlers for a few weeks yet. 

Case in point: this individual below (captured at the same site as the one above).  He still has both of his antlers, and the date of these photos is several weeks after the above picture was taken.

So, based on the information I've outlined above, the presence of the antlers on this buck doesn't surprise me that much.  What does surprise me is that this guy still appears to be pushing his luck with the ladies.  We are quite a ways past the main part of the rut here (see figure below, borrowed from here).

However, a doe that has not bred will apparently continue to cycle into March, which may be the trigger for the interaction below.  Althoug with the high density of deer 'round here, I can't believe this doe couldn't find someone to breed with until now!  Furthermore, this guy must be chalk full of testosterone, or at least still has just enough to give it the old "college try".

She comes back a bit later looking alittle "roughed up".  Not sure if actual copulation occurred....but an interesting example of late season breeding behavior, it would seem.

So, although it's mostly deer pictures these days, which can get alittle boring.....at least we're getting some interesting phenology and behavioral information.

Literature Cited:

Gordon, I. 1997. Controlled reproduction in horses, deer, and camelids. C.A.B. International, Volume 4. (note: I have not actually read this bit of literature...but I used a version of a figure from this article above).