We’ve had a doe hanging out in the backyard – and from her behavior, she has been leaving her fawn there. Obviously the right thing to do was to stay out of the backyard as much as possible. So we’ve been doing our best not to bother the fawn.
The best of intentions can always be altered by a cat. This fawn was lucky – it encountered Mittens, the small female tuxedo cat – and the mutual inspection occurred in front of the kitchen window. Little fawn stares at little cat. Little cat stares at fawn. Finally the fawn goes back to its hiding place. Next morning the doe was gone, and (I suspect) so is the fawn.
The Coyote predation is more intense. When we built the house, we had the pair on the hill – he was a huskier, more macho coyote, while she was delicate, small, and missing her left eye. I’d wondered why she was always on his right – whether alongside or 150 yards away – and then her photo on the trail camera explained it all. When the old pair died, the place became a crossroads for three different packs. Like I said, more intense coyote predation.
I haven’t seen coyotes in the hayfield – but the grass is high enough that I see deer heads and necks only. Hopefully the field is a safe place for fawns – it is wet, and I don’t expect to mow much before August.
I suppose, if the doe was really finding the safest place the fawn would be bedded down on the porch.
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