I reviewed my wildlife camera photos and decided to feature the white-tailed deer this week.

White-tailed deer are, by far, the most common subject captured by the camera. The camera is triggered by motion in its field-of-view. It can take photos at night as well by firing an infrared flash.

I always enjoy digging through the hundreds of photos that it can gather in a few weeks to see what gems turn up. Most of the shots are not that interesting. Many have the subject leaving the frame. Sometimes the frame is empty and I think the camera was triggered by a moving branch.

This first one is of a lone buck walking by a feeder. I think they do notice the camera because many of the photos show them looking at or toward it. This buck has velvet on his antlers. The velvet is how the antlers grow. They begin to lose it in the fall.

White-tailed Deer Buck

Here’s an early morning infrared photo of another buck, although I guess it could be the same one. I tried comparing the antlers in the two photos and they don’t look quite the same.

This time he’s heading away from the camera. I like the way the muscles in his neck and shoulder are emphasized. He looks very healthy and that’s a sign of plenty of food in his habitat. He also has velvet-covered antlers.

Infrared White-tailed Deer Buck

This photo was taken just two hours after the last one. It’s now bright daylight and you can see two bucks. The third deer, on the left, is probably a buck also, but it’s hard to be sure.

Buck Group