Mule Deer at dusk

This photo was taken on 3 February, when I called in at Fish Creek Park for some fresh air and, hopefully, find a friend or two. I was lucky with both - some of the time there were just three of us, watching and photographing this tiny, popcan-sized Northern Pygmy-owl (uncommon in Alberta). It gave us a few good views, including when it flew down to the bushes right in font of us (love it when that happens!). There had just been quite a few days that there had been no reports of the owl, so I always felt very fortunate if it appeared when I was there.

On the way out of the park, I stopped briefly to take several shots of this Mule Deer doe and her family that were feeding on the slope down by the road.

"The most noticeable differences between white-tailed and mule deer are the size of their ears, the color of their tails, and the configuration of their antlers. In many cases, body size is also a key difference. The mule deer's tail is black-tipped, whereas the whitetail's is not. Mule deer antlers are bifurcated; they "fork" as they grow, rather than branching from a single main beam, as is the case with whitetails. Each spring, a buck's antlers start to regrow almost immediately after the old antlers are shed. Shedding typically takes place in mid-February, with variations occurring by locale. Although capable of running, mule deer are often seen stotting (also called pronking), with all four feet coming down together." From Wikipedia.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mule_deer