What are they eating?

[NH Mountains]

Deer will dig for acorns all winter long. Not all acorns are on top.

You still have acorns in the woods that dropped this past fall???

 

[Muzzleloader]

You still have acorns in the woods that dropped this past fall???

From high mast years, under the surface.

 

[Muzzleloader]

 

[Muzzleloader]

 

[NH Mountains]

From high mast years, under the surface.

Ok, yeah they’ll definitely dig deep to find acorns if there are any. The reds will not sprout until the next spring. Whites will sprout a root radicle in the fall it they’re not eaten. I’d read somewhere their taste changes after they sprout so maybe the deer would be less apt to eat them.

 

[NH Mountains]

More ferns.

 

[NorthMaine]

Around where I am, I think the big heavy snow/ice storms helped the deer out by bringing some browse down to their level.