A mid-March visit to one of our city’s parks can bring wildly different experiences on any given day. It is not uncommon to have below freezing temperatures and snow one day, and several days later have balmy weather that reaches 70 degrees. One thing that is certain in our parks no matter what the late winter weather may bring is the presence of deer. An early morning or dusk hike on the inner trails of Frick, Highland, Riverview, or Schenley Park offers a good chance to spot a deer — or at least the evidence that deer have been in the area.

If there is snow or damp dirt or mud, you may spot deer tracks. Deer tracks are shaped like two long skinny teardrops with top points that curve inward toward each other. You can tell how old or large the deer is by how deep the tracks push into the snow or soil. Larger and deeper tracks are likely those of a fully grown male deer, commonly referred to as a buck. Tracks that are smaller and do not dig as deeply into the dirt or soil are female deer (doe), or younger deer (often called fawns). If a track is especially small and light, it may belong to a baby deer, referred to as a kid.

If you see tree branches with young sprouts that look broken or chewed, it is likely that a deer has been gnawing on them. Some trees — such as red maple, a favorite of deer — quickly grow branches back, and will even regenerate if eaten to the ground. Other trees, however, are often seriously damaged by deer and will not survive.

Deer hooves — made of two split pieces — can give other insight as to what a deer was doing. Their hooves are especially adept at digging and foraging in the snow or mud for nuts and berries. As winter winds down and food becomes especially scarce, you may see a spot in the woods where deer tracks lead to a hole — up to two feet deep in the snow — where deer have dug in search of acorns, moss or tree saplings. Yellow birch and aspen sprouts are particular favorites. As weather warms, you may see tracks leading to sassafras, willow, oak, or sumac branches, or bark that shows evidence of dinnertime deer damage.

One of the most interesting ways to know that a younger deer has been in the woods is by spotting evidence of antler velvet. When a young male deer’s antlers are growing, they are covered with a velvety living tissue that keeps blood supplied to the antlers. When a deer’s antlers are covered with velvet, they are very sensitive and are easily broken. As the antlers grow and the deer matures, they become stronger and the velvet falls off. Bucks will often rub their antlers against trees and saplings to help remove the velvet.  A tree with scratch marks several feet from the ground — often with blood streaks and strips of velvety membrane – are a sure-fire sign that a deer has been in the area.

For park trail maps, please visit www.pittsburghparks.org.

First Published: March 8, 2016, 5:00 a.m.