About the Deer-Forest Study
Pennsylvania forests face many challenges - invasive plants, insect outbreaks, soil acidity, tree diseases, and even deer. This study is being conducted to better understand the role of deer in the context of all these challenges and to help Pennsylvania’s forest and wildlife managers better manage deer and the forest.
November 11, 2025
Night vs Day
The Rut Tracker has been updated as of 10 November. We will try to update the tracker on Sunday, Wednesday, […]
Read More
November 7, 2025
North vs South
Word on the street is that there are fewer acorns up north than down south and perhaps we might see […]
November 3, 2025
The Rut Tracker is Updated!
Sorry for the delay in updating buck movements on our study areas. A key member of our team who has […]
October 19, 2025
Rut Tracking 2025
The rut tracker has returned! You can check it out HERE or click the link on our home page. Within […]
January 6, 2025
The Heat Is On…
Almost 10 years ago we wrote a blog post about temperature and buck movements during the rut. If you enjoy […]
December 12, 2024
Was the 2024 Rut Unusual?
Memory is a funny thing. It can be influenced by many things – emotion, language, context. Facts are only one […]
November 12, 2024
Mean or Median?
Last week Shane asked how different a graph of median movements might be compared to the mean. A great question […]
November 8, 2024
Near Peak Performance
As I write this, we are 5 days away from 50% of females being bred. That means males are at, […]
November 6, 2024
How Useful is the Mean?
Well, have you heard the joke about the forester, wildlife biologist, and statistician that went hunting? The statistician had never […]
October 30, 2024
Exponential Increase
On average, you should be seeing an increase in buck movements – as in the ones you have never seen […]
October 23, 2024
Is Anyone Out There?
It’s been amazing October weather and the early muzzloader season is open! Are you out there? The mornings might be […]
October 16, 2024
Miles and Miles to Go
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,But I have promises to keep,And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to […]
2025 Rut Tracker
Last updated through November 10, 2025 (As data are uploaded, the most recent estimates may not include data from all […]
September 6, 2024
Pennsylvania’s Wild Kingdom
When I was a kid, I was a voracious consumer of facts. We had the Encyclopedia Americana and all the […]
February 7, 2024
Deer Crew Diaries – Entry 24-4
[Comments in brackets are by Jeannine and Duane] ———————————————————————————- From the Northern Crew: Greetings from the North. Last week we […]
August 16, 2023
Better than the Lottery
There is an ongoing debate in my house. Well, there are a lot of ongoing debates in my house, and […]
May 18, 2023
Pieces of the Puzzle
Springtime has always been a favorite for me. Even though we didn’t have much of a winter, I can’t wait […]
February 7, 2023
Deer Crew Diaries – Entry 23-1
It’s that time of year again! After a bit of a rough start filling positions, the trapping crews have started […]
November 2, 2022
Playing the Lottery – Part 2
I was sitting in my daughter’s tree stand this week (it’s really my tree stand that is named for her, […]
October 26, 2022
Playing the Lottery – Part 1
What’s the chances a buck lives 3 years? When you radiocollar a deer to monitor movements and survival you need […]
November 24, 2021
I’m Outta Here!
Don’t panic, neither Jeannine or I quit (although some days…). But we do have a buck who said “See ya […]
November 22, 2021
Thinking About Rifle Season
It has been a busy fall. In fact, so busy that Jeannine and I have had little time for writing […]
August 16, 2021
The Dog Barked
A few weeks ago, we sent out a call. And, of course, you answered! Many readers of the blog responded […]
June 1, 2021
The “Worst-Case” Deer
Previously I shared some movements our collared deer make across roadways. Whether you’ve been personally involved in a deer-vehicle collision […]
