White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
Tail held upright when alarmed White patch on throat under chin Ear lined with white
The White-tailed Deer is certainly the most obvious mammal on the Neck and is readily seen if one will take a short stroll in the wooded area behind the main beach or farther out on the Neck. There are probably close to one hundred deer here, a number approaching overpopulation. They feed mostly on grasses and the more succulent plants. Usually deer produce twins in early summer (June). The fawns are light tan and spotted with white. Deer may be seen readily in early evening when they come into the open fields to browse. They seem to have become quite accustomed to human observers and will frequently be as interested in you as you are in them.
MAMMAL STUDY—A LIFETIME PROJECT
Occasionally Whales, Seals, and Porpoises are sighted off the beach. These are true aquatic mammals. We have only listed the mammals regularly found living on the Neck. To see all of them is a summer’s project, and to study their life histories is equally exciting and challenging.
A few books to help you are:
William H. Burt and Richard P. Grossenheider, A Field Guide to the Mammals. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1952. $3.95 Victor H. Cahalane, Mammals of North America. New York: Macmillan, 1947. $7.95 William J. Hamilton, Jr., The Mammals of Eastern United States. Ithaca, N. Y.: Comstock, 1943. Out of print. Available in Museum of Science Library. Ralph S. Palmer, The Mammal Guide: Mammals of North America North of Mexico. Garden City, N. Y.: Doubleday, 1954. $4.95 Herbert S. Zim and D. F. Hoffmeister, Mammals: A Guide to Familiar American Species. New York: Golden Press, 1955. Cloth $2.50, paper $1.00
Chapter 7
WINGS OVER THE SAND
More than any other form of nature, birds invite the notice of the casual naturalist. Their specializations, their plumage, and their song all serve as attractive bait for our attention.