Rocky Mountain Mule Deer

I am still waiting for the baby barn swallows to fledge, but meanwhile.....the does have started showing up with their tiny fawns!   So exciting!   We had a harsh winter and I have not seen as many pregnant does this summer, but today I had a few at my pond with their tiny fawns.  

 The rocky mountain mule deer is the smallest member of the deer family found in Utah (elk and moose are much larger.) Rocky Mountain mule deer are also the largest breed of mule deer.  The Rocky Mountain mule deer gets its name from the large mule-sized ears.  Rocky Mountain mule deer stand three to three and a half feet tall at the shoulder, with bucks (males) usually weighing 125 to 250 pounds, though some may weigh as much as 400 pounds. Does (females) usually weigh be- tween 100 and 150 pounds. During the winter, mule deer have a heavy, dark grey coat of long guard hairs covering a dense underfur. This is shed in the spring for a lighter reddish-tan coat. Fawns are born with a light brown coat covered with numerous white spots. By the time the fawns are approximately three months old, the spots will have disappeared.

The mule deer has a white rump patch and a narrow black-tipped tail. It holds its tail down when it runs, unlike its cousin the white-tailed deer, which raises its bushy white tail like a flag. The white rump is a follow me sign that many herd animals exhibit.

Pregnant does leave their herds and find isolated thickets in which to have their fawns. Older does commonly have twins, while yearling does will usually have a single fawn. Triplets are uncommon. Fawns average about eight pounds at birth, and are able to suckle and follow their mother within a short time of being born. Fawns grow rapidly during the summer months, reaching weights of 70 to 80 pounds by November. I notice that the doe in the photo seems to be a bit thin, but as I said, we had a harsh winter and she is nursing twins.   

Mule deer are browsers.   They eat a variety of plant life and can become pests to avid gardeners.   It is important for the mule deer to put on weight during the summer season in order to make it through the cold winter when the vegetation is less plentiful.   Many researchers believe that mule deer have the ability to pick and choose the plants with the highest nutritional value during each season of the year.  During the winter and early spring when there is little ground forage available, mule deer are on a starvation diet of twigs and branches. This dry, woody vegetation is difficult to digest and lacks enough nutritional value to maintain body condition. During these periods of inadequate nutrition, mule deer use stored body fat to survive.

The babies are growing

The barn swallows are getting bigger.   One week ago they were fuzz-balls and now they are showing color and markings.   The parents continue to feed their hungry brood.   The babies no longer hide when they see me, probably because they are too big.   They watch me curiously and wait patiently for food from their parents.

 Nesting:  The male and female work to build their nests out of mud and grass.  They will first build a small shelf to sit on, then build up the sides of the nest. If the next is built against a wall, the nest will have a half-cup shape. When reusing a nest, barns swallows will clean out old feathers and add new mud to the rim. A nest heavily infested with parasites will not be reused.

Migration: The barn swallows are migratory and they will fly to warmer parts, probably somewhere in South America around the end of September.   This is a breeding area for them and many will come back in the spring. 

Update 7/25/2013   Two of the babies have started to fly.   The fly for short little romps and then return to the nest or a ledge to rest.   The other two babies are watching with interest, but have not left the nest yet.  

Summer 2013
The barn swallows have returned to their nook outside my window.   Using the same nest from last season, they attempted a set of eggs that were eaten by magpies.   I caught the magpie in the act due to the shrieking parents, but it was too late to intervene.   These resilient parents laid another clutch of eggs and took turns incubating them.   Soon a tiny little head appeared.

Much to my delight, more little heads have appeared and I have counted four babies.   The parents take turns feeding them and interestingly enough, two other adults seem to participate in the protection of these young birds.   It is my belief based on research on barn swallows that these are fledglings from last year.   Apparently it is not uncommon for young adult swallows to help their parents care for the next season's batch.   

My cat was relaxing on the porch beneath the nest and all four started diving at her and shrieking.   She eventually left.  

 In the above photo, I actually captured the parent landing and feeding a baby.   Look closely and you can see the adult has his beak in an open mouth of a baby bird.   Probably bringing it and insect.   Barn swallows eat insects such as flies of all varieties, bees, wasps and moths.  They skim through the air foraging for insects and swoop over water to gracefully take a drink of water.

Above: Three of the four babies are huddled in the front of the nest.   A shy sibling is behind them.  This nest has been used for several years by the same pair of swallows (I believe).  Barn swallows build their nests almost exclusively on human made buildings.  The were originally cave builders.  The only place where they still nest in caves is on The Channel Islands off the California Coast (According to allaboutbirds.org).

 Shelob, the Mexican red knee tarantula shedding her exoskeleton.  

 The darker specimen towards the top of the photo is Shelob emerging from the exoskeleton.

 She is weak after the process and needs to rest.

Red Knee Tarantula

Above: the shed exoskeleton.   

Doe bringing her fawn to look through my office window at me.

New Visitor

The swallow nest has been empty for a couple of days. All of the chicks have fledged. This morning I found a new resident in the empty swallows nest!

A pair of barn swallows built a nest right out side of my window this season, giving me an excellent view. I determined that they were barn swallows rather than cliff swallow because of the shape of the nest.

I do not have photos of mom and dad incubating the eggs, but they dutifully took turns and would only leave when the other returned to set. Once the chicks hatched, mom and dad took turns feeding the hungry chicks. My insect population seemed to drop.

When the chicks got a little bigger I could see that there were four of them! They instinctively lay flat and quiet until their parents would arrive with food. Then they would chirp vigorously. I was concerned about the many magpies around my home who will take a chick right out of the nest. However, these ever vigilant parents chased magpies away (about three times their size) on a regular basis.

It only took a few weeks for the swallow chicks to be fully feathered and ready to fly. They now fly about during the day, probably catching insects and return in the evening to the nest where the parents are still bringing them insects. Sure, it left a mess on my porch, but it is just a few short weeks and I completely enjoyed watching this process. I also appreciate all the swallows do to keep down the insect population. You are welcome back anytime swallows.