Sunday, January 11, 2009 - Bird seed consumers

I thought I was seeing a lot of deer in Pennsylvania.  For several years I kept records of the numbers I saw driving through Sewickley Heights on my commute.  I think my record day was about 25.  I wasn’t prepared for the numbers in Washington.  Our neighborhood near Sequim is full of Columbian Black-tailed Deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus).  I have counted as many as 25 in the half-mile to the main road.  No one tries to plant a garden here.

A few days ago I went to fill a bird feeder in our side yard.  The deer were waiting for a treat with a higher fat content than Douglas Fir needles.  By the time I had the feeder filled two deer were about 10 feet in front of me waiting for some sunflower seeds.  I turned around and five more were behind me.  They are so tame they don’t seem bothered by people until they are quite close.

The local deer are smaller that the White-tailed Deer in Pennsylvania.  They appear stockier.  Lewis and Clark first described them on their expedition.  During their exploration of the coast north of Cape Disappointment on November 19, 1805, Clark observed,   “The Deer of this Coast differ materially from our Common deer in a much as they are much darker deeper bodied Shorter ledged horns equally branched from the beem the top of the tail black from the rute to the end    Eyes larger and do not lope but jump,” 

They are considered a sub-specie of the Mule Deer.  Further north is an even smaller sub-specie, the Sitka Deer.