Charismatic Megafauna

Can you still call it birding when there are so few birds to be seen? A brief stop at the sometimes productive leaf pile produced a big flock of house finches which seemed to be taking the sun from every branch in a small sumac.  Then I heard a rustle and crunch of twigs.

White-tailed Deer with antlers in velvet.  Megafauna, yes, but charismatic is debatable, depending on your relationship to the natural world vs your landscaping.

It's rare when you notice wildlife before it notices you, but I watched this buck White-tailed Deer for several minutes, before I rustled too much and it noticed me.  The deer eventually wandered off, but not before my attention was distracted by a loud clear song, which I traced to an Indigo Bunting.  Yes, I was still birding!

Summer greens in the nature preserve along the Oyster River.

Bird list for the week of July 30 - August 3, 2012:
Canada Goose and Killdeer
Red-tailed Hawk
Mourning Dove and Rock Pigeon
Northern Flicker
American Crow and Blue Jay
American Robin and European Starling
Northern Mockingbird and Gray Catbird
Yellow Warbler and House Wren
Barn Swallow and Cedar Waxwing
Northern Cardinal and Indigo Bunting
Song Sparrow and Chipping Sparrow
House Finch and American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

After moving farther away, the buck stood quite exposed, watching me.