My Life,  Wildlife Photography

A Summer Evening Safari

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen I was at Lake Travis in Austin this weekend. Brandon’s parents rented a house and even though we were in the middle of a subdivision, nature abounded. Deer were everywhere, guiding their little fawns around as they grazed. They had absolutely no problem with humans being nearby and went about their routines as we watched them from just a few feet away. I loved having such a willing subject matter for once! When I’m down on our ranch, the deer won’t let me come within 50 yards.

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Hey mama!

One of the fun things I enjoyed seeing were the bucks in velvet.

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In case you don’t know, in velvet means the bucks are still growing their antlers. Once finished, the velvet will shed like a skin. I think they look so cute in this phase.

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There were deer on the golf course, of course.

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Chomping on grass and enjoying the evening without a care in the world.

 

While I was taking these pictures, I noticed all of the deer look up in the same direction and start running.

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They congregated around a suburban, where someone was flinging tortillas out the window.

The deer were hanging their mouths open to catch the tortillas! It was amazing. Who knew they could beg just like dogs at a dinner table?

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They were as bad as Trooper.

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It was a tortilla frenzy.

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“Hey, you got any tortillas, woman?”

But the best part of the urban safari, by far, was the fawns.

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“Oh no! A human with a camera!”

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“Mom?”

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“It’s ok little one. Let’s listen for the sound of a tortilla wrapper.”

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This mother/child duo was grazing by the house as we pulled in right before dinner so I was able to get this close up.

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I can even see the whiskers under his chin.

Is there anything cuter than a fawn’s spots?

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A new fawn crop, a few bucks in velvet, lazy does, some tortillas, and a cool breeze off the lake — pretty standard for a summer evening in Texas! Everyone, including myself and the deer, was enjoying it.

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