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During the rutting season, bucks rub their antlers on trees and plants. They also attack, or thrash, plants with their antlers. Notice the debris clinging to the antlers of the buck above? That is plant parts, remaining on the antlers due to the action of rubbing those antlers on many plants during the season. Sometimes, you will see grasses or twigs dangling from a buck's antlers. |
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| Same buck as above. Look closely to see the plant material on the lower parts of his antlers. | |
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| This buck had been eating some of the leaves of the willow tree above him. I caught him with his tongue sticking out. | |
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| This buck was chasing a doe on an open field. | |
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| A buck walking past my trail camera at night. They can be active during any time of day or night. | |
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A younger buck caught on the trail camera. This is one of last year's yearlings. |
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This buck was resting on an open field. Look at his right antler to see a piece of a plant dangling from it. |
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| This buck walked over to the trail camera I had mounted low on a tree. He raised his head to sniff the branches hanging above it. Shown in the photo above. Then... | |
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| .... Then, he stood on his hind legs to do something with the branches. I am not sure what he did except perhaps hit them with his antlers. These were redwood branches, not a food that deer prefer. | |
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| Then, the buck went back down on all four feet and appeared to look directly into the camera. | |
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| These two bucks tore up about 100 feet of dirt road in each direction during this big fight. Notice how the right hind foot of the buck on the right is showing a dewclaw in contact with the ground. | |
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| The same two bucks in their big fight. I found no blood at the scene, and I was there less than two hours after it happened. So, though it was a big fight, it appeared as if neither was injured. | |
Black-tailed Deer 
