I was walking the service road between the upper and lower Scarborough, which is at the Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma. Just as I was rounding a bend in the road, I came face to face with a White-tailed Fawn. I got a glimpse of the Doe in the thick brush behind the Fawn. I was lucky, and the fawn was not alarmed by my presence. I did take a few slow steps back because I didn’t want to upset the Doe when she finally spotted me. I got a quick photo of the Fawn by herself before the Doe stepped out of the brush, seeing me.
The first thing I noticed is that she placed herself between her Fawn and me. She was not alarmed, mainly because I remained absolutely still. After a few minutes, the Doe and Fawn walked down the road in front of me and eventually crossed a soybean field to go into an area I think to bed for the morning.
I have to admit, my heart rate went up a little when I encountered these deer. You never know how a Doe will react. Most of the time they will flee with their fawn. You can’t count on this happening 100% of the time. I have seen videos of Does protecting their young. I was out in the open, so remaining still paid off.
It was an unexpected and serendipitous wildlife encounter. I feel fortunate to have been able to capture a glimpse into the bond between a Doe and her fawn in their natural habitat. As a wildlife photographer, these are the special moments I live for.
Steve Creek, Wildlife Photographer
Equipment Used:
- Camera: Canon EOS R5
- Lens: Canon RF 100-500 mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM
Technical Details: First Photo
- Location: Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge (Oklahoma)
- Date and Time Taken: September 15, 2023 (07:59 A. M.)
- Program Mode: Manual
- Aperture: f8
- Shutter speed: 1/640
- ISO: 8000 (Auto)
- Exp. Comp.: +0.7
- Focal Length: 500 mm