What does the area where deer "yard" up tell you? Do you guys try to hunt these areas? I've found some areas up here in NH in past years where a bunch of deer yard up. One right on the lake, one right on the river, and one in a 5 year old clear cut. Come hunting season the deer are never there, and all you see is old deer shit everywhere. Help me figure these things out!
There's one other similar spot in a WMA that splits town borders. That winter like 3-4 years ago, a couple buddies hiked that one once the snow melted and found 15 carcasses. Bummer.
While the areas do get use "in season" some years due to local mast production and good cover in general or travel routes for bucks seeking... It goes from a few deer, to "Wholly Crap".
One section, a few years ago had over 70+ deer thanks to a guy living in the area who started feeding them prior to xmas as the migration started (I use that term because at least one deer out there was gps tracked to spend the winter in quabbin 13 miles (straight line as the crow flies) from it's "spring-fall" range). It was crazy. Drive past, look into what locals call "California" and you would see a group of 20 here, a group of 8 there, 15 there, 30 there. Had to be every deer for miles (according to MDFW).
The area near that spot is good hunting, and I've seen some great 8-12pt bucks shot in the area... But normally there are a few deer - similar to the rest of Z6 and 5... But that year, WOW!
Long story short, late gun season, with snow Ill hunt yarding areas out there because the deer start moving into those winter habits... but the middle of Z9 all along 190, I've not see similar patterns develop. so I dont really do that here.
in zn 9 and SWCT what I see is deer grouping up in higher numbers, but not necessarily moving to thick coniferous zones. probably has to do with more access to winter food (shrubs, arborvitae, rhody's, etc)...and the higher numbers are safety and easier to bust through deep snow. ie a few winters ago when there was 4 feet of snow on the ground, the runs where in the exact same spots as without snow...just obvious one large deer in front, plowing through the snow so the others could follow.
The path chosen is a common travel corridor from big woods to other big woods . The locals see them cross in that area all season but this was a herd for sure ( plenty of water all around ) . Their ability to scatter and congregate again is impressive and works for their survival .
At the last house I was living in , there was a Southern slope with ceders all over behind on a 80 acre plot. This was definitely a Winter "Yarding" area . Just like my new location and the deer behavior here , they tended to run the same paths into this area and group up in winter . They were moving from big woods to other big woods with this "hang out" in between. However ,as expected, when they got pressure they would head to another spot . But during the late winter I would commonly have deer milling around eating the apple trees and other plants that were exposed to winter sun . It was a micro climate spot. ( This was Winter behavior mostly after the season ended and into summer as well) . During the rutting season it was a buck pass through .
Yes there was also deer in these areas during the hunting season but most often small groups and singles . There is seasonal movement with some consistency through the passages ( that's getting into another topic but obviously related )
What stands out is the common travel routes traveled through the areas seasonally and as the route that they travel in general , Sometimes there is more than just two woods joining up which acts like a hub ( a deer crossroads / intersection / rotary) . As a wise old timer said :
"They tend to do the same thing over and over... they know where they want to go and what they want to do ... they keep doing it till something disrupts their program ... then they simply adjust "
( Getting Killed is the ultimate and final adjustment )
I think it is worth following the tracks from place to place to see where they want to go and how they get there. In season , just be on that path somewhere between the coming and going , then try to find the favored food for a given time and of course all the other smart hunting stuff...
Hickstick - you are so right. The most deer I've ever seen while hunting, in one spot and at one time, were on Watershed land in Redding CT. Literally groups of close to 50 all together. It was ridiculous - especially that both times I was not close enough to get a shot :). That only happened the week between Xmas and New Years. Absolutely nuts. All I could envision was that herd of deer walking up to someone's shrubbery and annihilating it in one night :)!
I think it's two fold. One, they're taking advantage of the food. Two, they're avoiding natural predators. Predators are really leery of humans. However, deer have learned that staying in people's yards is a refuge from both natural predators and humans. So people's yards are just safe for deer, decent food, and too close for comfort for most predators. You may get a brave coyote or two to harass a deer, but you're not going to get a pack to brave the threat of humans in order to down a deer in someone's backyard.
Also, during the season deer won't be in yds unless it's a buck holding down a doe. Most doe will be running all over avoiding some bucks while calling for others, so they're not hanging out in yds.
This season I did take my doe in a thicket near people's back yard. I noticed that they were bedding down about 60 yds from the edge of the properties in some pine. I could watch doe go in and out daily. This all went to hell as soon as the rut moved in, the girls were getting chased all over the place and I couldn't count on them to bed in the same area with regularity. I noticed that some of the bucks the 2nd week of November patterned the girls back and forth from their bedding and intercepted them on the way back to bed. I watched a few bucks do this about 50 yds out (no shot) from my stand on several occasions; I got my buck by watching where they came in from and set up between them and the path the girls took to get back to bed.
Nothing went back to normal (i.e. the girls going back to bed) with any regularity until the second week of shotgun season.
So, to amend my previous observations. The deer are in yards to avoid predators, eat food, then they bail because it's time for lovin and deer rape, then back to the yds at the very end of the season.
Oh, and thickets that back into housing areas from hardwood areas are f-ing money!
The areas I noted offer great hill sides with S, SW slopes, Oaky high areas, lots of hemlocks with wintergreen berries and swampy/beaver meadow areas with abundant woody browse. So you have great thermal cover, a good amount of woody browse, creeping browse and in some cases mast for a good bit of the winter in the form of abundant red and black oak acorns.
You hit April 1, and the deer start dispersing almost perfectly, within 1-2 weeks of that pending the winter and snow level. By turkey season they are typically close to where they will spend the spring, drop fawns and hang out over the summer. Then late August when the nuts start dropping the start shifting to the areas they bias to in the fall.
my guess, is that your area is the same. There is something there which helps. Maybe a lot of woody browse which is easy for them to reach, maybe that and some good S or SW slopes (warmer sun, protection from cold winds) and maybe conifers for minimizing snow on the ground and holding heat in a little bit.
Why not during the hunting season ? Because they( both kinds ) eat other things then , Winter food sucks. ( new growth requires other nutrients and storing fat is crucial ) And protection of the new born and such has taken them into better cover for that . They don't need the warmth after the winter ( they need to be cool most of the summer) And of course they are looking to be reacquainted after the girls have gone to drop fawn and the boys have been protecting their head gear.
The opposite question ... Why would they want to be in that spot that has "winter advantage" when the seasons and objectives change ? There are green fields and other choice foods to munch , cool spots in the woods to avoid the hot weather , Things to do ... All that takes them away from their winter home, which serves the purpose of winter comfort... like folks going to Florida when old man winter comes around .
Hey, if they didn't move on they could end up with an "Internal error" .
