Newborn fawn exploring the garden.

Doe watching me from the creek bank.    

When I saw this little fawn exploring the garden, I didn't know what to make of it at first. When I stepped out onto the porch, it didn't seemed frightened, but scampered about almost like it was playing, and then went underneath a large bush and stayed still. It seemed so small and even a bit ungainly to be wandering about on it's own. Then I remembered that a doe had been hanging around for the last couple days, acting strangely, watching me from the creek bank, but never coming up to browse as they usually do. I guessed that it might be her fawn and it had wandered off from wherever she had it hidden, which fawns will sometimes do.

I decided the best thing to do was to leave the fawn alone and stay out of the way as best I could. I didn't see the doe again until the next day when I noticed her staring at me again from the creek. I stopped working, turned the shop lights out, and watched from my workbench.

The doe finally came up from the creek, glancing over toward me often. She didn't go far when she began nosing about in a patch of high grass, and the fawn eventually stood up beneath her. She fussed over it for a while, licking repeatedly and then led it to the creek, which is when I took the photograph at the top of the page. She fussed and licked some more and eventually led her fawn into the woods on the other side of the creek.

I didn't see them again for over two weeks and was delighted when they returned to browse. Since then they have come fairly often, sometimes with other deer. The doe seems comfortable with my presence so long as I stay inside the workshop, but she always keeps a wary eye in my direction. Now four months old (October 17, 2025), the fawn is growing fast and is losing the spots that were so bright and distinctive the first time I saw it, scampering in the garden. For my part, I let the grass and weeds grow behind the workshop to provide buffet dining as incentive for them to visit often.

Whitetail doe with fawn after two months.