Juveniles

This is the time of year to see juveniles. A number have already appeared in this blog, and a few of these appear again with new images.

A juvenile Great Blue Heron was fishing in the shallows before sunrise when it decided to take off and to look elsewhere. Its lack of a white crown means that it is this year’s youth.

The fawn of a White-tailed Deer walked across a lawn. Not only is it covered in white spots, but its white tail is small. This is the first time I have noticed white hair covering the tarsal gland (on the inside joint of the hind leg). The hair is black on all of the many adults I have seen. Apparently this normal black colour is due to the combination of urine and bacteria. This is clearly a deer of this year. Photo by Cynthia Fraser.

I have seen Striped Skunks kits at other times this year. This time I saw five of them, of which three appear in here. Skunks are generally solitary animals, so three travelling together (let alone five) are clearly young. All of them had their tails raised the whole time for no apparent reason.