The Deer Camp Chronicles

In the run-up to deer camp there are deer and evidence of their rutting (mating) activities.

Buck rubs

A sensory (visual and olfactory) signpost that this is my territory

And tending a scrape

Bucks create scrapes by using their hooves to dig at the ground.  Once the turf is stirred up they urinate on the scrape.  Bucks don't pee the way we do.  We try to keep it off of us.  Bucks actually pee on their hind legs.  The object is to his their tarsal glands in an effort to leave their scent on the scrape.  Every deer has its own unique bouquet and the tarsal glands hold concentrated amounts of this spoor.

Another thing associated with scrapes is a licking branch.  A tree branch above the cleared out soil.  Bucks will rub their forehead glands on the stick and will also lick it with their tongue.

It's all quite romantic.

The Rut

The rut has officially arrived with the bucks making themselves visible during daylight hours and scrapes and rubs appearing on the landscape.

Including this dandy Big Boy that showed-up on one of the trail cameras.

Rub

Scrapes

Above the scrapes there is the licking branch

Trail

Pre-Rut

If you encounter a whiff of deer pee redolent in the autumn air look carefully beneath any shoulder height tree branches that are close by.  You may locate a bare patch of dirt in the turf that is trampled with deer hoof prints.  This is called a scrape.  Bucks create scrapes by using their hoofs to dig at the ground.   Once the soil is stirred up they urinate on the scrape.

Bucks don’t pee the way those of us males of the human species do.  We try to keep it off of our legs and boots.  Whitetail bucks actually try to pee on their own legs.  The object is to hit their tarsal glands in an effort to leave their scent on the scrape.  Every deer has its own unique scent. The tarsal glands hold concentrated amounts of that scent.  

scrape - bottom center and  licking branch top center

 

 

Another thing scrapes have is a licking branch - a tree branch will hang above the cleared out soil. Bucks will rub their forehead glands on the stick and will also lick it with their tongue.  

 

Scrapes serve much the same function in the whitetail world as a mailbox post or a fire hydrant does for dogs.  Scrapes are meant to show dominance over a territory but are normally used by more than one buck.   

 

These early scrapes are a bit different.  Few and far between they are mainly used to communicate as bucks begin to leave their bachelor groups and stake out their territory.  It is akin to posting a no trespassing sign on a property line.  Later in the season an active scrape will be used to communicate breeding readiness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, there are these beginning to appear on the landscape – buck rubs.   

 

 

Around these parts it is typically a tamarack sapling sacrificed to the cause.   

 

It is a common misconception that deer rubs on trees are caused by male whitetails attempting to rub the velvet from their antlers.  While it would not be unusual for a velvet-antlered deer to rub against a tree the rubbing seen at this time of year is a consequence of deer that have long-ago shed the velvet from their antlers.  The rub in the photo was made by a dominant buck.  Consider it both a visual and a sensory calling card brought on by an increase in testosterone levels.   

It isn't unusual for other bucks to add their contribution to the rub but it's more to do with establishing the pecking order.   

 

The term dominant buck is apropos given that one of the reasons for this behavior is to mark their territory and curb the lesser bucks both psychologically and hormonally.  This suppresses testosterone levels in the smaller bucks allowing the Big Guy to exert his influence and create the circumstances for successfully spreading his seed during the breeding season.  

 

The glands located in the forehead of the dominant male send a signal that this is my turf.  It also signals to the ladies of the male's readiness to mate.  Consider it the whitetail equivalent of passing-along your name and phone number to someone you might wish to meet again. 

 

Stay-tuned for additional updates from whitetail romance land.

The Rut

This is a buck rub. Every day we see more of them while out on our daily walk.     

It is a common misconception that deer rubs on trees are caused by male whitetails attempting to rub the velvet from their antlers.  While it would not be unusual for a velvet-antlered deer to rub against a tree the rubbing seen at this time of year is a consequence of deer that have long-ago shed the velvet from their antlers.   

Around here the tree of choice for rubbing seems to be willow, younger aspen and tamarack.  This happens to be an assault on a basswood tree planted about a decade and a half ago and happens to be in our front yard. Is it something about the bark? Is it the diameter of the tree? Is there a scent imparted by the tree to the deer?  Or vice versa?  

It's actually the versa. 

So here's the rub.  If you've ever had an opportunity to watch my Labrador retriever in action it's all about scent.  When she is running hot on a trail she isn’t following with her eyes as much as she is following her nose.  Deer scrapes are much-ado about scent-marking. A deer rub carries with it a sensory experience that engages scent and visual impact.    

The rub above was made by a dominant buck - brought about by the impact of testosterone overload.  It would not be unusual for other bucks to add their contribution to the rub but it's more to do with establishing the hierarchy amongst the local bucks.

The term dominant buck is apropos given that one of the reasons for this behavior is to mark their territory and curb and intimidate the lesser bucks both psychologically and hormonally.  This suppresses testosterone levels in the subordinate males allowing the dominant whitetail to exert his influence.    

The glands located in the forehead of the dominant male send a signal that this is my turf.  It also signals to the ladies of the male's readiness to mate.  It is the whitetail equivalent of leaving your name and phone number with someone at the bar.     

If I had to hazard a guess I think I am witnessing pre-rut activity - colloquially the same as the beginning of the breeding season.

 

More Rutting Activity

 

Speaking of the rut after the morning walk this was discovered in the south corner of our front yard.

This basswood tree had been planted about fifteen years ago as a tiny potted 'stick' of a tree.  And over the last decade and a half it has grown into a handsome and straight native hardwood of about 3+ inches in diameter near its base.

Overnight Mr. Buck decided to pay a nocturnal visit and tear-up the bark on the south-facing side of the trunk to mark his territory and establish dominance.

Grrrrr.......

Pre Rut

Most days Jill and I take the girls out for a walk – generally 1 to 1½ mile if the app on the mobile device is to be believed.  Of course, if you are a Labrador retriever you might as well double the distance because Labs never travel in a straight line and are always hunting something, rolling in something, splashing in the creek and generally getting into something which usually leads to a bath upon returning home.  But I digress.  We were also scouting deer sign as the male whitetails are beginning to stake-out their territories in preparation for the breeding season – or the rut.  The lead-up is what is known as pre-rut.   

These are beginning to appear on the landscape – buck rubs.  Generally a tamarack sacrificed to the cause.  It is a common misconception that deer rubs on trees are caused by male whitetails attempting to rub the velvet from their antlers.  While it would not be unusual for a velvet-antlered deer to rub against a tree the rubbing seen at this time of year is a consequence of deer that have long-ago shed the velvet from their antlers.  The rub in this photo was made by a dominant buck.  Consider it both a visual and a sensory calling card brought on by an increase in testosterone levels.   

It isn't unusual for other bucks to add their contribution to the rub but it's more to do with establishing the pecking order.  The term dominant buck is apropos given that one of the reasons for this behavior is to mark their territory and curb the lesser bucks both psychologically and hormonally.  This suppresses testosterone levels in the smaller bucks allowing the Big Guy to exert his influence and spread his seed during the breeding season.  The glands located in the forehead of the dominant male send a signal that this is my turf.  It also signals to the ladies of the male's readiness to mate.  Consider it the whitetail equivalent of passing-along your name and phone number to someone you might wish to meet again.   

If you encounter a whiff of deer pee redolent in the autumn air look carefully beneath any shoulder height tree branches close by.  You may locate a bare patch of dirt in the turf that is trampled with deer hoof prints.  This is called a scrape. 

Bucks create scrapes by using their hoofs to dig at the ground.   Once the soil is stirred up, they urinate on the scrape.  Bucks don’t pee the way we do.  We try to keep it off of us.  Bucks actually try to pee on their own legs.  The object is to hit their tarsal glands in an effort to leave their scent on the scrape.  Every deer has its own unique bouquet and the tarsal glands hold concentrated amounts of that spoor.  These early scrapes are few and far between and used principally to communicate as bucks begin to leave their bachelor groups and stake out their territory.  It is akin to posting a no trespassing sign on a property line.  Before too long it will be used to communicate breeding readiness. 

click on images for a closer look

 

At the bottom-center of the photo (above) is a scrape.  Yesterday I relocated a trail camera to patiently record who visits this location.  Above the scrape is a licking branch.  I’ll talk more about the role of the licking branch after I swap-out the SD card next weekend to see if this scrape is active. 

Stay tuned...
 

Scouting

Yesterday I blogged about flagging the property boundaries as a first step in preparation for a logging operation.  One of the benefits of spending the better part of a day beating the bush is scouting for deer sign.  Not only did the dogs and I jump about a half-dozen bedded whitetails - we also took note of evidence that the rut (the breeding season) is now kicking into high gear.

scrape in the foreground - click to enlarge

Bucks create scrapes by using their hoofs to dig at the ground. Once the soil is stirred up, they urinate on the scrape.  Bucks don’t pee the way we do.  We try to keep it off of us. Bucks actually try to pee on their own legs.  The object is to hit their tarsal glands in an effort to leave their scent on the scrape.  Every deer has its own unique scent. The tarsal glands hold concentrated amounts of that scent.  

 click on the image and you will see a deer stand forty yards distant

Another thing scrapes have is a licking branch - a tree branch will hang above the cleared out soil. Bucks will rub their forehead glands on the stick and will also lick it with their tongue.  Scrapes serve much the same function in the whitetail world as a mailbox post or a fire hydrant does for dogs.  Scrapes are meant to show dominance over a territory but are normally used by more than one buck.   

 click on any image to enlarge

Then there are the rubs.  It is a common misconception that deer rubs on trees are caused by male whitetails attempting to rub the velvet from their antlers.  While it would not be unusual for a velvet-antlered deer to rub against a tree the rubbing seen at this time of year is a consequence of deer that have long-ago shed the velvet from their antlers.  The rub seen on these photos was made by a dominant buck.  Consider it both a visual and a sensory calling card brought on by too much testosterone.  

red oak along the trail fifty yards from the house

It isn't unusual for other bucks to add their contribution to the rub but it's more to do with establishing the pecking order.  The term dominant buck is apropos given that one of the reasons for this behavior is to mark their territory and curb the lesser bucks both psychologically and hormonally.  This suppresses testosterone levels in the smaller bucks allowing the Big Guy to exert his influence and spread his seed during the breeding season.  The glands located in the forehead of the dominant male send a signal that this is my turf.  It also signals to the ladies of the male's readiness to mate.  Consider it the whitetail equivalent of leaving your name and phone number with someone at the bar.

More later so stay tuned..

Here's The Rub

From last weekend a collection of buck rubs that were made in the last five days.

The rut is on!

Rub

I don't ordinarily find deer rubs of this size.

Nevertheless, last weekend the girls and I encountered this bigtooth aspen (Populus grandidentata) worked-over and very scarred by some buck's antlers.

 click on image to enlarge

Bigger tree = bigger buck.  Probably why he picked on a bigtooth.  Groan...