Northfield NJ, Where Have All Your Deer Gone?

For months they were there, and then.... nothing!

So, I like deer! I think they are cool animals and I love to watch them.

My backyard backs into a wetlands area and I often see deer in my yard.

I also often see deer on my early morning travels to work, at our studios in Northfield.

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For months, a colleague and I would have daily conversations about the deer we'd see each morning on our way in.  Harry Hurley and I both arrive at our studios between 3 and 4 am. (Yes, that's early - I call it "the best time of the day."). We'd each come down Burton Avenue in Northfield, the location of Birch Grove Park.

It would not be uncommon for each of us to see 3, 4, or 5 deer each morning on our way in. The deer would literally force us to stop our vehicles as they casually walked in a line across the street. They'd play on the grounds of the fire station and in the yard of the school. They'd be at the Northfield baseball and football fields. I'd even see them in our parking lot here at the radio station.

This went on for months, thru the fall and winter months.

And then, March happened.

All of a sudden, nothing. Not less deer - no deer.

For the last two months, neither of us has seen ANY deer! None!

We've gone from being afraid that one would bounce off our car to each of us literally searching for them.

Where have they gone?

Did they move more inside the park? With the onset of spring is food more readily available?

What the heck happened to the deer?

I know deer rutting season happens over the winter, but we weren't seeing boy deers chase girl deers  - we were seeing groups of deer - big and little - families of deer.

Where have they gone?

I haven't been inside the park, so maybe they are there - just chilling in a different place.

If you have some inside knowledge of the Birch Grove Park deer, I'd love to hear from you! My email is joe.kelly@townsquaremedia.com.