Springtime Signposts in the Deer Woods

Whitetails use chemical signals for communication more than visual signs and vocalizations. Glandular secretions and body odors serve better in forested cover because they can be memorized and left on objects in the woods. They can identify the maker, permit scent-matching marks and produce long-lasting messages that continue to work in the maker’s absence.

Bucks produce highly visible signposts in the form of rubs and scrapes during the breeding season. They mark overhead tree branches at other times of the year, too. But these signposts are displayed much more subtly. In fact, most marking generally goes unnoticed during the nonbreeding season because few visual signs accompany the scent-marking.

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About 20 years ago, I learned bucks could easily be induced to scent-mark overhead branches and make scrapes at given locations. All that was necessary was to provide an overhead branch in the right place.

In 1988, I hung 100 limbs at likely scrape sites throughout Upper Michigan’s square-mile Cusino deer enclosure and used them to study various aspects of deer marking behavior. Sixty percent of the limbs were scent-marked before scraping started in early October. Most (83 percent) sites that were scent-marked during spring and summer developed into full-fledged scrapes during autumn.

Bucks marked the limb-tips most judiciously during May, October, and November. Although they displayed the full scrape sequence, complete with ground-pawing and urination, in autumn, they seldom pawed the sites in spring. Generally, the only evidence left in May was a few hairs stuck to the limb tip and a greasy appearance of the rubbed limb tip.

Wherever deer have separate winter and summer ranges, as occurs on Northern range, I believe scent-marking in spring helps bucks reclaim their familiar summering grounds. It also probably intimidates pregnant does, causing them to seek other areas for fawn-rearing.

Whatever its cause and function, springtime scent-marking at scrapes is a good indication that some of the local bucks survived the previous hunting season and winter. Use of automatic cameras at these sites will help to identify the markers and readers — and I’ll wager you capture far more images of bucks than does.

For an in-depth look at my scrape studies, check out this additional ARTICLE.

The author was one of the first deer researchers to use scouting cameras to document induced-scraping behavior. He accomplished this through his research at the Cusino Wildlife Research Center in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. (photo courtesy of John J. Ozoga)

Ozoga’s findings shattered several long-held myths on whitetail scraping behavior, including the age-old myth that bucks only worked scrapes in the fall of the year. (photo courtesy of John J. Ozoga)

A 5-year-old buck marks an artificially positioned limb on May 2. (photo courtesy of John J. Ozoga)

A yearling buck scent-checks a limb on May 29. (photo courtesy of John J. Ozoga)

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