Yesterday, thanks to Barbara’s vigilance and strong voice – “Dick! Look out the window!! – we saw this uncommon, although not rare, sight:
That’s a virtually mature white-tailed deer buck sporting an eight-point rack and browsing his way through our North Field. His sidekick is an immature buck that has sprouted giraffe-like prongs. Their antlers are covered in bone-nurturing velvet membranes, which will be rubbed off by late summer.
Some yearling bucks leave their mothers’ home range in spring and summer, but often join one or more roving mature bucks for protection in what are known as “bachelor groups.” When winter’s rutting season arrives, the bucks usually disperse and compete in the yearly efforts to propagate their species and dodge bullets. (Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on July 8, 2025.)