While birding the King Ranch a few days ago, we encountered these curious white-tailed deer bucks. They were wondering where the food was. On this huge Texas ranch, the wildlife managers sometimes scatter deer feed along the roads, so I'm sure these guys mistook a bunch of birders for the chow wagon.
The bucks we saw had small bodies compared to our Ohio white-taileds, but the antler racks on these Texas animals are huge! Aside from cattle ranching and a little bit of tourism, the King Ranch also sells hunting leases. I found myself wondering if these deer were a little too curious for their own long-term good.
The birding on the King Ranch was really great—this was my first visit. More on birding the ranch in the near future.
I am down here in south Texas for the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival, one of the best and biggest in the country. This morning I'll be taking a couple of groups of elementary school kids out birding on the festival grounds. The weather looks good, the wind is low, and I'm counting on a few great-tailed grackles, great kiskadees, and Couch's kingbirds to make an appearance.