Blacktail Deer, Point Reyes

blacktail deer point reyes national seashore

Blacktail Buck at Sundown

I was out at Point Reyes recently.  Thistle and other vegetation that I’ll call “weeds” are growing tall, making it harder to spot bobcats.  I only saw one and he wasn’t having any of me.   I shot some video of a coyote who was in a field that had just been mowed to get rid of thistle and other weeds (not silage mowing), but the midday sun was harsh.  As the day was nearing its end I decided to go to the elk enclosure at Pierce Point.  I was there a bit photographing cow elk and yearlings in nice light.  After a while the light was fading and I decided to head home.  Shortly after leaving the elk enclosure I saw this blacktail buck.  He was bleeding a bit on the upper inside of his left foreleg.  I don’t know what that was from.

The sun was disappearing fast when I took this photo and I had to shoot at a much higher ISO than I like, but when I have a nice subject I just keep shooting and worry about the noise in the image later.

Blacktail Buck

A Columbia Blacktail Buck feeds in a field of tall grass.
Columbia Blacktail Deer, Point Reyes National Seashore

This buck was  grazing in a rancher’s field.  H e must have liked what he was eating given how stuffed his cheeks are.

Blacktail Buck in Velvet, Point Reyes National Seashore

Photo of blacktail buck in tall grass.
Blacktail Buck in Tall Grass

This is one of two Columbia blacktail bucks I saw at Point Reyes yesterday. They were feeding in this tall grass.  It’s just a matter of time until this lush grass dies and turns brown.  I’m not sure how his ear got split, but I’m assuming it got caught between his horn and that of another while fighting.  Ouch.  His coat has changed, or is changing, into the darker summer color.