When The Wind Is In Your Favor...

The other day I was on one of my hiking trails. It was early, maybe around 8:00 am or there about. The leaves on the trail were still wet, so while walking it was very quiet. The wind was a slight drift of a breeze coming from my left and into my face. Of course I am not paying to much attention to it until I saw movement to my left and discovering a large 10 point Whitetail Buck. I was maybe 30 yards away from him and he had no clue I was there. Unfortunately I was on the shadow side of him so the photography is not what I would have liked. This time of year he was making what is called a scrape. He would scrape the ground with his feet and then urinate in the scrape. This is done to let all his competitors and potential mates know he was in the area. It is a widely held belief that bucks use scrapes to "cold call" for receptive does. By leaving his scent and his mark on the ground, the hope is that a receptive doe will find it, then hang around the general area for him to return and breed her. I am convinced that because the wind was in my favor the deer had no idea I was there. It was a very rewarding experience.

 

Here the buck is scraping the ground. It was this activity that caught my attention...

My heart is jumpin' like crazy and this guy has no clue I'm there...

All of a sudden his head is up and I'm holding my breath...

He's back at it...

Now he's rubbing sticks and branches with scent from his nose and lips...

Scent scent everywhere...

Here he has decided to vacate the area...

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