Four Bucks

     On the evening of June 17, 2015, I was cruising around a section of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania farmland to experience the lovely, green scenery and whatever wildlife was visible.  I stopped at a two-acre clearing in a peninsula of woodland jutting out of the wooded Welsh Mountains and into that cropland to see what critters were active.  I stayed in my car so as to not scare wildlife away with my presence.  From my car, I saw a few kinds of birds and a couple of cottontail rabbits eating grass in that clearing.  Then, suddenly, I saw a doe white-tailed deer in the opening right by the woods, and about 130 yards from my car.  Through16 power binoculars I could see that she, too, was nibbling grass and other plants, seemingly without a care in the world.  She probably had one or two fawns hidden among ferns and other vegetation on the forest floor.
     After several minutes, the doe disappeared back into the woods.  Then about ten minutes later, it looked like she was back in the same spot in the clearing with three associates.  I looked at the deer with my binoculars and saw that these four were bucks with half-grown antlers in velvet.  Being in velvet means that the antlers had blood in them and wrapped in skin and hair.  The bucks may have taken a clue from the at ease doe that all was well before entering the clearing.  The bucks nibbled vegetation, but kept a wary eye on my car, appeared nervous all the while and would almost retreat back into the woods at times.  Finally one male dashed into the woods with his tail erect as a warning of potential danger and all his companions followed after him and gone. 
     Many white-tails live in this county, but it is still unusual, and thrilling, to see four bucks together in the middle of summer.  I have seen bucks together like this before, but only occasionally.  I see does a lot more than bucks.     
     Anybody could do what I did that evening.  Just get outside and look for wildlife in places where they probably would be.