Wildlife in Photography

Friday turned out beautifully in Shenandoah National Park despite a little wind.

Initially, I observed a high number of robins and ravens in the Central District as well as numerous deer. I cruised for a bit past Big Meadows and I’m glad I did. At mile marker 47, I noticed two forms on the roadside that turned out to be wild turkeys.

I’ve only ever seen two other turkeys in the park so it was a nice surprise. It also didn’t hurt that I had a pair of them either. Not surprisingly, they started to waddle down a hill when they saw me. I briefly paralleled them from some distance until they kicked up their pace.

As I gazed up the hill I saw a ranger drive slowly past my seemingly abandoned car and I decided that was enough turkey time. Turkeys seem to get me in trouble due to my roadside parking. Oops.

Continuing north for a little bit, I was thoroughly confused when I saw a deer running around like a crazy person. The more I watched, the more that confusion grew. Although there were a large number of deer grazing, this particular deer seemed to be an outcast. Any time it approached another deer, they reacted in an aggressive posture or began to chase the deer. Even when it was grazing out in the open, other deer would shoot it looks (I guess that’s the best way to describe it) and it would literally start running around in circles. Possibly it was from another family and was a stranger. I have no idea.

Who speaks deer body-language?