Munching on dead leaves

A very grainy photo, but will still post it : ) Saw this White-tailed Deer (or is it a Mule Deer??) feeding on dead leaves and twigs when I was out for a walk with a small group of friends this afternoon, 10 November 2013. A cold day today, and I had to push myself really hard to leave the warmth of home, but only a few fine snowflakes were seen. We started off in Fish Creek Park at the Bow Valley Ranche, and then we walked over to Burnsmead. Surprisingly, we were unable to find either of the two Great Horned Owls today. However, we saw a couple of distant juvenile Bald Eagles who seemed to be fighting over a fish that one had caught. We warmed up afterwards over hot coffee at Tim Horton's - always most enjoyable.

"White-tailed deer are not grazers. They don't eat grass and hay like elk or cattle. Even though you may see a whitetail feeding in a grassy field, if you could look closer you would find that it is not eating the grass.

During the summer, deer eat tender broadleaf plants such as clover or alfalfa which grow near the ground, often among taller grasses. That's why whitetails may appear to be eating grass, even though they are not. Whitetails also like to eat various types of wildflower plants.

In the fall, when nuts and acorns fall from the trees, whitetails will be right there feeding on them. Deer love nuts and acorns. Whitetails like acorns from all the different types of oak trees, but their favorite is the white oak acorns.

In winter, when the lush growth of spring and summer vegetation is over, whitetails feed on the tips of branches of small trees and bushes. Willow bushes that grow near water produce tender branches which whitetails love to eat in the winter.

In addition to the whitetail's natural browse there are many agricultural crops they love to eat. Whitetails are true opportunists when it comes to garden crops. They love carrots, sugar beets, tomatoes, cabbage, squash and other garden vegetables. People who live out in deer country sometimes have a real problem keeping the deer from eating up their vegetable gardens. Farmers who plant large fields of com often find the deer living right in the middle of their crops. The tall corn offers thick cover where deer can hide, as well as a favorite food source! Deer love to live in the cornfields, and they get fat eating com all day long. That's why some of the biggest-bodied whitetails come from corn-growing country. Other grains like wheat, oats and barley also attract white-tailed deer. When the grain ripens in the fall, you can bet whitetails will be close by. Another crop deer love is soybeans.

White-tailed deer also love to eat the same kinds of fruit humans enjoy. Pears, apples, persimmons and plums are deer favorites."

www.buckmasters.com/what-do-deer-eat.aspx