Deer Yard-up

Many of you may have noticed that some of the deer in the community are eating plants and shrubs that aren’t normally a part of their daily diet.

Deer yard-up (group-up) occurs every year during the late winter/early spring months all over the country, including in The Landings. During this group-up, the deer key in on dwindled food sources that still are available before spring green-up comes, which produces new food. Their new food source becomes the less nutritional plants and shrubbery that the deer typically avoid. Although this behavior may appear abnormal, it is a naturally occurring act/process, and most plants during this timeframe are fair game, as the deer’s quality food sources are either dead or depleted.

The deer do tend to stay in these groups for a couple of months; however, they will eventually disperse and return to their normal home ranges. Males will stay in smaller bachelor groups consisting of three-to-six animals during the late spring and summer, and the females and fawns generally form smaller family groups during this period.

Jonathan Smith, The Landings Association’s USDA wildlife biologist, continues to cull the deer and manage these larger groups of deer throughout the community.

If you have a specific deer concern around your property, please report the issue via SeeClickFix (https://www.landings.org/service-requests) so that Jonathan can put the area on his list for concentration.