Fawn at dawn

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Fawn at dawn

July 21, 2015 by Mike Powell

Sunrise yesterday was at 5:59 and I managed to get this shot of a beautiful little fawn in the cattails at 6:05, when there was just barely enough light for my camera to focus.

Summer weather in the Washington D.C. area is often miserable—hot and humid—and I decided to visit my local marshland park really early to avoid some of the oppressive heat. When I left my house in the pre-dawn darkness, however, it was already 80 degrees (27 degrees C) on a day that was forecast to reach 96 degrees (35 degrees C).

I could hear a lot of movement in the marsh as I made my way along the board walk and occasionally would catch a glimpse of some activity as it grew progressively lighter. I encountered another photographer and he was the one who spotted the fawn and pointed it out to me—I am pretty sure that I would not have seen it without his help.

We didn’t see any adult White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) with the fawn, but their presence could easily have been hidden by the thick stand of cattails. I had time to snap off only a few photos before the fawn slowly turned his back on us and slowly faded into the background.

What a wonderful way to start my day.

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, dawn, deer, fawn, Huntley Meadows Park, Odocoileus virginianus, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto, white-tailed deer | 8 Comments

8 Responses

on July 21, 2015 at 5:13 am | Reply fluidicthought

Wonderful capture. That must have been a thrill 🙂
on July 21, 2015 at 6:11 am | Reply Laura (PA Pict)

Beautiful photograph. It doesn’t matter how many times I’ve encountered deer, it always feels magical.
on July 21, 2015 at 8:46 am | Reply Lyle Krahn

Beautiful shot and start to the day. My goodness you have miserably hot temperatures there.
on July 21, 2015 at 9:05 am | Reply New Hampshire Garden Solutions

That’s a great shot. Definitely worth braving the heat for.
on July 21, 2015 at 9:50 am | Reply Garden Walk Garden Talk

Fawns are so precious. When they grow up an eat your landscaping they lose a bit of their appeal. Nice photo, a gentle touch like the fawn.
on July 21, 2015 at 1:18 pm | Reply Lucy

Beautiful shot!! It must be amazing to see one so close.
- on July 21, 2015 at 4:35 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. I was relatively close, though I should note that I was shooting with a pretty long telephoto lens.
on July 25, 2015 at 4:54 pm | Reply Sue

They are such beautiful animals…especially the fawns.