The deer have been coming down to the roads a lot lately, what with the deep snow, the high winds, and the low temperatures. That got me to thinking about memorable encounters I’ve had with deer, and THAT go me thinking about other encounters.
So just for fun (and for this column) I figured I’d make up a list, but keep it ONLY to encounters here in the 14-county Finger Lakes region. It has to be a good encounter (one I can look back on and smile), and it has to be with an animal truly in the wild… so an otter release, for instance, doesn’t count. Also, I pledge that I did not disturb or distress these creatures in the process. Since we’re in Academy Awards season, I decided to call my awards the Tories, since I once met Roger Tory Peterson. And the categories are…

WHITE-TAIL DEER: and the Tory goes to… a fawn we met while walking a trail at Ganondagan State Park near Victor. We were working through waist-high grasses where a meadow met a wood, and suddenly, there on the trail ahead of us, was a very young fawn – dry, but still a little unsteady on its pins. We all froze, meantime craning our necks for the mother, and quickly spotted her in brush a few steps off. The fawn spotted us and stumbled toward us for a few steps before suddenly panicking and lurching off toward mother, after which they made their getaway together.
Honorable mention A herd of thirty or so that our older son and I spotted driving a country lane, probably in Howard, on a misty summer’s night. They looked almost supernatural.
Curio A bi-colored deer I used to see along I-390 driving between Bath and Dansville. The hindquarters were all white, while the forequarters were the standard brown with large white dapples.
BLACK BEAR: and the Tory goes to… a yearling we all encountered shambling down a road near Buena Vista. It was (relatively) long and hangdog, and at first we thought it might be a mastiff, but quickly recognized it as a bear and coasted to a stop (car windows all UP). A few seconds later the bruin spotted us, raced to the side of the road, and leapt into a tree. This was a juvenile response, and it’s likely that the bear was a yearling that had recently been chased off by its mother – the size and the season were both right for that.
STRIPED SKUNK: and the Tory goes to… an utterly adorable TINY baby skunk who puttered into the path I was hiking around a pond in Owego. This was a great sighting, BUT the brush on either side was too high and thick to get around… and it was a LONG walk back. I racked my brains as to whether baby skunks could spray, decided that even if they couldn’t, their mothers certainly could. Deciding to trust myself to surprise I backtracked a few steps, then raced forward, vaulted over the baby skink, and raced onward, to no ill effects for anybody.
WOODCHUCK: and the Tory goes to… a delightful specimen that had is home in a high bank on Route 54 between Bath and Hammondsport. It had built itself a little parapet at it’s hole, about half-way up he bank. There it sat the livelong day, propped up on its forelegs, watching the cars stream by.
Curio A woodchuck near our house when we lived in Bath village. A local cat would stalk this woodchuck, and the woodchuck, which outweighed the cat by several times, was terrified. It would always run away and duck into its hole. I felt like I should give it lessons in self-esteem.
SHIRT-TAILED WEASEL: and the Tory goes to… a specimen at Twin Cedars near Avon. I was on the hillside, using binoculars to watch the waterfowl below, and had been standing still for quite a while. This weasel stepped out of the (relatively) all grass, sauntered across the path and almost across my sneaker, and vanished into the grass on the other side.
MINK: and the Tory goes to… a busy little number on the Geneva waterfront. I was at an onboard reception for the arrival of a sailing canal boat, built at Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, when I spotted a mink darting in and out among the rocks of the retaining wall. Pretty soon there was a small crowd of us watching the show on a lovely summer afternoon.

And that’s only half the list. We have something else planned for next week’s blog, but the Tories will be back the week after that!