Maybe it's just my area (and thus the reason I ask this on here) but it seems every year it gets harder and harder to see deer during daylight. I'm talking year round. I'm not just talking about while hunting. This is including Deer I see in the fields while driving and glassing fields even during the summer. My trail cams tell me the same thing. Very little movement during the day. Years ago they just never seemed to go real nocturnal until the heavy hunting pressure started. So is this a trend you have seen in the last 10 years or so in your area or is it just SE Wisconsin? I've heard other local hunters comment the same thing.
Brad I am not really sure. I can tell you one thing. I remember a recent season where I saw maybe 16-18 deer the entire season and I hunted hard. I only saw 3 bucks the entire season as well. I probably hunted 30 times so as you can tell it was a frustrating season. The deer you are hunting may be on another food source and you are catching them on the game cam during weird hours as they are passing through or are bedding down. Keep at it! KILL
Guys, I'm talking YEAR round. Not just during hunting season. I'm talking about when there is little or no pressure as well. I just see less deer exposing themselves during daylight then ever before wherever I look.
Funny, I was just thinking about this over the weekend. While driving around, not seeing any deer. Seems they know better than to be seen in the fields at all during daylight nowadays, I don't know.
It very well may be the case, maybe they are evolving to the point where they are trying to eliminate their deadliest predator, humans. Heck, people poach year round so maybe they are feeling it year round as well.
I think there is alot of things going on. Right now from my records coming up on a full moon late morning movement seems to be the norm, which leaves most of us out of the movement picture. Accorns are dropping hard early this year, I have also found on early heavy accorn years deer will bed close to accorns (while there is still alot of green cover) and not have to move much. We as hunters need them to move some distance to catch them moveing. My 2 cents on us think they have all went completely nocturnal.
This is exactly one of my theories. Evolution. Many Many years ago their biggest predator was wolf and coyotes, etc. Now it has switched to man. Wolfs and yotes are up in the night. Man is not. Over time have deer learned to stay alive by being more nocturnal. Just a theory.
My personal theory is that deer, especially bucks, are becoming more nocturnal. I believe that we are harvesting the bucks that spend more time out in daylight and the ones that have a propensity to be nocturnal survive to do a lot of the breeding. Just my two cents.
I figure it's just more human/urban sprawl. IMO, if not for humans, deer wouldn't be nocturnal (and they're not, inherently) at all.
It def has to do with the amount of humans. The whole mid eastern deer have become cautious at all times now, they tend to look up in trees more than ever before. We are constantly educating them and teaching them that we are after them so they've adapted to realize that they have ZERO pressure at night from humans. If you lived in the outdoors everyday and night you would realize the same thing and wait it out til dark. Weather it be hunting season or not, pressured or no pressure, they're encountering more humans and have adapted to becoming nocturnal, imo
Huh? They are indeed nocturnal.. actually.. I forget the exact term to describe them.. but it means they move at low light because of predators.. but they are much closer to nocturnal than the opposite. But to the original poster.. yes.. of course hunting pressure would push them even more so.
I agree. They have always been nocturnal. They come out late in the evening, out all night in the open eating, browsing, laying in the fields. Shortly after sun up they start the treck back to the bedding areas. Thats pretty much nocturnal. Ofcourse there are some major variances during breeding season.
Here in Iowa I notice less deer moving during the day also. I might buy into the "nocturnal fulltime" theory a little bit, but I also think the number of deer is getting lower due to the late antlerless season that the DNR has created to reduce the numbers.
During periods of no hunting pressure one will see deer moving at all times of the day. I have scouted at all times of the day and have come upon deer feeding in grass fields at noon when it is 90 degrees. I have seen them at all other times of the day as well. That being said, they prefer to move right before and after sun-up and sundown. Deer have to move during the day to drink and eat when necessary.
The term is crepuscular (sp?). And, it has as much to do with daylight as it does darkness. "Twilight/dusk movers". Not nocturnal (inherently).
I always heard that the whitetails eye was designed to see better in lowlight. Making nighttime activity the norm.
Twilight/dusk movers (predominantly) are referred to as being crepuscular. Deer/elk (and many others) fall into this category. Yes. Their eyes are designed (naturally) for lowlight. But, they lack depth perception of many other animals. Nightime movers/feeders (predominantly) are considered nocturnal. Daytime movers/feeders are considered diurnal (sp?).
Deer are nocturnal animals. Deer have more light-detecting cells in their eyes than humans, which aids their nocturnal vision. Like other nocturnal animals, their eyes shine when exposed to light at night. This is due to a reflection off a special membrane in their eye. Theory has it that deer can also see in the ultraviolet light range, which is abundant during the earlier morning and late afternoon. This ability to see better, in early morning and late afternoon, helps to explain why deer are more active during these time periods. Plagiarized from the Internet
I'm just giving you the scientific definition. Do they move at night (also)? Sure. But, they're defined movement pattern is crepuscular.
