Four White-tailed Deer, three Does and one Fawn, standing in the shallow water of Post Oak Creek at Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge.

White-tailed Deer at Post Oak Creek, Wichita Mountains

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I photographed these White-tailed Deer at Post Oak Creek during my camping trip last week at the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma. This is the third post in this series. The first post featured Post Oak Lake and Treasure Lake. The second was about a Coyote I saw in this same creek.

Four White-tailed Deer, three Does and one Fawn, standing in the shallow water of Post Oak Creek at Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge.
Three Does and a Fawn wading together in Post Oak Creek at Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge.

Wildlife Notes: White-tailed Deer in the Creek

The morning after I photographed the coyote, I drove over Post Oak Creek. The creek is near the old Job Corps Center, which is now being torn down. At 8:35 A.M., I spotted four White-tailed Deer in the water.

A White-tailed Doe and a Fawn with fading spots standing at the edge of Post Oak Creek in Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge
A Doe and her Fawn near the creek bank during a quiet morning at Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge.

The group included three Does and one Fawn, as seen in the first photo. The second image shows one Doe with a Fawn whose spots had already faded. This shows it was moving past its earliest stage of life.

They lingered in the creek for a few minutes, drinking and exploring. Then they quietly left the water and moved into cover. Watching them together, especially the Doe and Fawn, gave me a sense of their family bond.

The next post in this series will feature three Otters I photographed at this same location.

Photography Notes: Capturing the Deer in Low Light

I was able to stop my truck on the bridge, just as I did with the coyote, and take these shots from inside. The low morning light meant I had to adjust settings to keep a good balance between sharpness and noise.

Camera Gear and Settings:

  • Camera: Canon EOS R5 Mark II
  • Lens: Canon RF 200–800mm F6.3-9 IS USM
  • Aperture: ƒ/9
  • Shutter Speed: 1/320 second
  • ISO: 1000 (first image) / 1600 (second image)

The higher ISO was necessary for the second shot, where the light was dimmer along the bank. Shooting from the truck helped avoid spooking the deer and allowed me to stay steady without a tripod.