So on my walk today I spotted this doe with her fawn and took some pictures of their tracks to share. You can easily see how much smaller the fawn track is compared to its mother. The penny is approximately ¾ of an inch wide, which is about the same size as the fawn track.
Does give birth to one or two fawns around the month of May. For the first few days of their lives, fawns are scentless and sit motionless to avoid predation. The mother is never far away, so if you come across a fawn laying motionless please just take a photo and leave it alone, its not abandoned. Does generally bed down 80 to 100 feet away from her fawn, in this, she can keep an out eye for predators and get up and lead them away before they get too close to her fawn.
Here is another track from further down the trail.
I expect to see lots of fawns out and about in the next few weeks once they’re able to get out and about better on their own.
UPDATE – May 26, 2021
On my walk last Wednesday, I spotted a brown patch in the grass ahead of me. When I got closer I realized it was a fawn laying perfectly still in hopes that I would not notice it. In the first picture below, see if you can spot the fawn from a distance. In the second photo, I quickly took the picture and left the fawn alone. I never heard a snort or noise from its mother but I’m sure she was near by watching carefully.
So as your out and about this spring be on the look out for fawns that may be hiding in plain sight. Also, please remember to not disturb them, and that they are not abandoned.
Marks on the Trail 