The last ten days has brought us several new arrivals hear at Oak Ridge. I have seen three different fawns and at least four does that have had their fawns. These new additions are very tough to locate and even when I have an idea of where they should be they can not be easily seen. I finally was able to get a few pictures yesterday and I’m sorry in advance for the lighting problems. These little guys are not often found laying in the wide open and usually it makes for some pretty tough photos.
I can tell you that the majority of the older does all dropped their fawns within about five days of each other. While I have only seen about five that I know have had their fawns I would guess that they are all either close or finished. This goes right along with the one week of peek rut that we all see in early November. It will also be interesting to see when the yearling does start to have fawns.
Our bucks in the preserve are also coming along great and they have been hiding pretty well themselves. I did post some new trail camera photos this last week on the 2010 Photo Gallery so you can keep up with the progress. The weather has been quite warm and the bucks or any any of the deer do not move around much when it is very warm.
Four Year Old
The weather in NE Ohio has not let us forget that we are still in the early spring. We have had two frost in the last three days and the highs have been in the low fifties. There have also been several thunder storms with high winds and rain. We are getting the rain we needed for our newly planted food plots but the temps need to start heading in a warmer direction. The apples seem to be beyond the frost stage and I hope that all of our mast is also past danger at this point.
Sonya has seen one doe that looked like she had had her fawns but we have not seen any new borns yet. I think that they will have to become a little active before we will actually be able to see them as the cover in the preserve has already become very thick. We did see a nice group of bucks this week that was mainly two-four year olds and the antlers are really starting to develop now. I was able to get a few quick pictures last week and they should be added to our 2010 photo gallery very soon. I have put out a couple of trail cameras on food plots and once I get some decent pictures I will also add them to the new gallery.
We are finally getting some much needed spring time weather here at the Preserve. Mother nature must have figured that we needed a good old fashion winter this year and she did a great job of providing it for us. Now with the temps getting into the 50-60’s we are starting to show greener pastures and the trees and shrubs are starting to bud. I guess now would be the time to frost seed the clover and grasses but I have never had much luck with that type of seeding. I have started another food plot expansion and it looks like I should have added another acre plus to the truck stand before I am finished. What a great time of year to be outside working!
I had several visitors while working this last week and the mix of bucks and does was about even. There were a couple of the mature bucks that actually had velvet showing on the antlers. It is always a good sign to be able to see anything by this time of year. I would guess that in the next few weeks they should all be showing something. The doe were also showing the effects of having there fawns inside. There is still about two months of growing left for these new additions but you can clearly see that they are carrying.
I will try to keep our photo gallery current as we move into the new cycle and hopefully by July I will have new fawn and buck pitures for everyone to view.
Well I guess the ground hog has been right so far. The weather in NE Ohio has been every bit winter since the shadow was cast a week ago. The preserve has been a winter wonderland the last few days with new snowfall totals somewhere around 8-10″. The deer have all herded up and there are bachelor groups of 6-8 mature bucks and also groups of does. All of the mature bucks that I have seen this week are still sporting their antlers. I am ready to start hunting for the sheds but they aren’t giving them up yet.
I have started a mini clearcut this week inside the preserve. The goal is to cut approximately 2 acres to allow for regeneration and to provide a diverse habitat. I would like to do this on about 6-8 acres total over the next four years. The extra cover that is provided in these areas for all species is excellent and the browse that is created supplies a great source of nutrition. I will try to post some of our prject pictures in the “photo gallery” once the snow quits falling.
We are having a great finish to our first hunting season. We have had two successful hunts this last week and took two really nice looking bucks, a 130″ and a 141″. The secondary rut continues to move on with a couple of the younger does coming in this last week. I see the trophy class bucks still tending a couple of the does but for the most part the deer have all settled into their winter patterns. The weather has warmed up and our snow in the preserve has melted down to three or four inches in most places making it much easier for the deer to move around.
We will be attending the Northeast Ohio Sportsman Show in Dalton, Ohio this coming Friday and Saturday at the Buckeye Event Center. If you are at the show please stop by and say hello.
The holidays have come and gone for another year and they brought us some successful hunts at Oak Ridge along with some new friends. We had two great hunts last week and also our first measurable snow. With the second rut still going we took a 156″ buck right after Christmas and then a 203″ the following Monday. Both of these bucks will be posted on the photo gallery very soon.
The secondary rut has never been as heated as early November but it has been proven to produce when you can find a hot doe near your stand. We had a young doe coming running in on us last week after a quiet morning and what she had in tow was amazing. We went from no deer in nearly three hours to one doe and five mature bucks in about twenty seconds. As is the case with the primary rut they all stayed well into the brush but it gave us about 30 minutes to watch the bucks before she took them off on another chase.
After lunch in a lake effect snow storm the doe helped us out again and this time the biggest of the bucks made a mistake and we took our largest mature buck to date at Oak Ridge, 203″ with a 22″ inside spread! We all had a great hunt and hopefully the video will be coming to the website this month.
New Years Day started out 2010 in great way with my nephew Nathan getting his first deer, a mature doe. It is always exciting to share in the “first deer” experience. The preserve bucks were not the only ones to make it a great day as the OSU Buckeyes brought home a Rose Bowl victory to finish out our day.
Northeast Ohio has truly been blessed this year with a great November so far. The deer have started to slow down on the chasing stage and the does are now accepting the bucks. There still seems to be a fair amount of activity out of the big bucks but the smaller bucks have been staying out of their way. My guess would be that the peek of the actual breeding will come this week and then start to return to normal. Several of the older does have already been returning to the food plots in the early evening and other than being checked occasionally the bucks are leaving them alone.
The trophy bucks have offically began the rut this last week here in the preserve. There were several mature does that are getting close and they are not in need of company. The bucks seem to have all established themselves in the pecking order and the mature bucks have won the initial rights to begin the breeding. Everytime we were in stands this week there were plenty of bucks on the move and the activity seemed to be at its highest in the mid-morning and early evening. With the moon being so close to full this week they were moving all night and the sounds of antlers clashing could be heard about anytime day or night.
We are expecting cooler weather this coming week in NE Ohio but the hunters should have plenty of action to help keep them warm.
It has been an exciting several days again here at the preserve. We have been having high winds and showers for the past week and when it finally broke we had our first frost of the season. The cooler weather has the big bucks kicked into pre-rut now and the bucks are looking even bigger with their swollen necks. The sounds of antlers clashing can be heard from the lodge deck in the evenings and they are getting ready to get into full swing. The does are not quite ready yet but within a few weeks even that will change and the rut will be here again. We’re saving the rattling until later next week and hopefully the pecking order will have been established enough that the big trophy bucks will want to come and protect their territories.
Most of the apples have fallen and the acorns will soon be all on the ground. There are places in the woods that it looks like a newly planted lawn with marbles scattered everywhere. The turkey and the deer have turned everything over so many times but the trees were loaded with nuts and have kept ahead of them so far. I hope this isn’t a sign we’re in for a hard winter! (more…)
From the different bucks I have been seeing this week I would guess that they are about all in hard antlers and the ones that aren’t will be in the next several days. I have been seeing alot of trees that have assisted in the process and one scrap that I would guess is the starting of a territory. All of the bucks are still in groups and the smaller bucks are still mixed with the trophy bucks.
This week has been the best one of the summer in NE Ohio with the days reaching the eighties and the nights dipping into the forties. The deer enjoy the nights and with the full moon it makes spotting them in the food plots much easier. Most of the fawns have started their winter coats and the spots are almost gone at this point. I have even seen a couple of does chasing the fawns away at feeding time so the rut is just around the corner!
The last ten days has brought us several new arrivals hear at Oak Ridge. I have seen three different fawns and at least four does that have had their fawns. These new additions are very tough to locate and even when I have an idea of where they should be they can not be easily seen. I finally was able to get a few pictures yesterday and I’m sorry in advance for the lighting problems. These little guys are not often found laying in the wide open and usually it makes for some pretty tough photos. 