Doe and Fawn Grooming at Sequoyah

Doe and fawn grooming can reveal a quiet side of white-tailed deer behavior. I photographed this close interaction at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.

The encounter happened on the warm morning of August 24, 2018. The pair rested together beneath the shade of the trees.

Doe and Fawn Grooming in the Shade

The doe and her fawn were bedded in a dark, wooded area of the refuge. As the morning grew warmer, they groomed each other while remaining in the shade.

Their position gave me a close view of the interaction. Neither deer needed to stand or move around for the scene to unfold.

The grooming made this more than a standard resting-deer photograph. It showed a calm exchange between the doe and her young fawn.

A later encounter gave me another look at White-tailed Deer Bonding at Sequoyah. Moments like these are easy to miss when deer remain hidden in thick cover.

Photographing the Deer in Low Light

The wooded setting created difficult photography conditions. Very little light reached the bedded deer.

I almost passed on the photograph because the area looked too dark. Instead, I raised the ISO and took the chance.

My camera settings were:

• Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
• Lens: Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM
• ISO: 2000
• Shutter speed: 1/100 second
• Aperture: f/5.6

The high ISO added some grain to the image. Still, I preferred capturing the interaction over leaving without a photograph.

The slow shutter speed also required care. I needed the deer to remain still long enough for a sharp image. Their resting position helped make that possible.

Remembering This White-tailed Deer Encounter

I returned to this photograph in August 2019 after seeing far fewer deer at the refuge that summer. It was my first summer in more than ten years without seeing a fawn there.

The refuge manager had seen a few deer, but sightings seemed lower than usual. Heavy flooding had also affected the refuge that May.

I wondered whether the flooding might have harmed some young fawns. I had no way to confirm that connection, so it remained only a concern.

Remembering this doe and fawn made me appreciate the photograph even more. It preserved a close look at a quiet interaction that I might otherwise have missed.