I did not want to create a new thread for my question and this one seemed like the most appropriate one to post it in.
I have permission to walk these several adjacent fields (all different owners) to look for sheds. These few fields usually have a very high number of mule deer visiting them, probably one of the highest I have ever seen. There are some big bucks and a of couple giants among those visitors as well. They have always been there for the previous couple of years year-round (not much or hardly any snow in those couple of winters). This year, with a deep snow cover, the fields are empty, with hardly any deer tracks. A couple or a few fields have bales on them. I am not exactly an expert, but the bales are definitely different cuts since they are different in colour (none of them are straw though). One field has them stacked in one corner of the property, about 40 bales if not more, and elk has been coming to chew on them dozens at a time pretty much daily, a couple of times I saw definitely over a hundred elk. That same elk chew on bales on the other fields that were left where they were in the fall, spread out all over the place. The mule deer that is always around, on the other hand, are gone. So my question is where did they go? Since December, I have seen three deer there, all females; hardly any tracks or droppings. I was really looking forward to picking a few sheds there and was confident that those bales would be winners for that, especially with all the snow, but it seems I was wrong. Anyone has any thoughts on it? I would greatly appreciate any insights.
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