For some reason 90% of the deer movement on my cameras ids in the middle of the day. It's 97 degrees and no rain for 3 weeks. Non coming for 2 more. Raccoons are hitting corn feeders from 2-5 pm. NOTHING AT NIGHT.
Must be moon phase. OR Nothing to eat in woods. Son put the feeders out last week.

I have video cameras on my driveway. I am getting mutiple videos of deer almost every day. About 2/3rds of the videos are at night and about 1/3rd are during full daylight. The daylight videos have been at almost every hour of the day, over time, which has really surprised me, especially the late morning, early afternoon videos. There are frequent videos where the deer are there a few minutes before or after us. There are some videos where deer are present at the same time within 40 yards of us, which is very surprising. I have had as many as 9 deer on video at once. They are usually walking within a few feet of my front barn.

Sometimes deer traverse my entire driveway from front to back, going past 4 vehicles and 2 kenneled, very large dogs, within just a few feet.

Keith

I noticed a bunch of squirrels working my pine tree in the middle of the day. I thought it was kind of odd. Squirrels don't go out at night of course so I'm not sure what to blame. I know the nights have been pretty hot here lately. I wonder if there is more breeze in the day so it might actually feel cooler?

No acorns yet. That is my guess.

deer move at all hours of the day.

I have an apple tree that the deer are visiting regularly right now.
We can see this tree from the house and its being watched by us.
Typically deer hit it after dawn for about the first 2 hours of the day and in the evening for the last 2 hours before dark.
Can't say if they hit it at night but rarely during the middle of the day.
Of course I see deer regularly as I walk the paths in the woods on my daily hikes.
I'd say roughly 1/2 the time I'm kicking them out their beds and the rest of the time they are out feeding moving around and I see them before they see me.


As far what they are eating/looking for its different depending upon whats available.
They will hit this apple tree for a couple of weeks then ignore it.

Same here jbyrd, most movement during the middle of the day.

My parents have 4 apple trees that were loaded down. Mom picks them up so dad can m ow twice a week. He's taking 7-10 5 gal buckets and putting them in front of my cell cam. Got 4-5 does that show up on occasion at night. But normal for 2 weeks now is 10 -3 each day they stand there like cows and eat until the apples are gone. BUt its every farm me and my son have cams on. Even got racoons at noon.

Thirst.

In that dry heat I think
insects get them on their feet too.

Exactly, deer flies and horse flies will flat drive them out of the thick stuff this time of year....does me too

It’s the 5G towers.

Deer are the only critters out there that spend 24 hours a day looking for something to run away from. You get a decent wind blowing with all the branches moving around and the deer are on high alert. They know which sounds belong and which don't. The deer right by us are semi tame. They lay down right on your front lawn and just look at you walk by. Our deer feeder is about 50 feet from my shop porch where we sit watching them eat. I can tell when a new deer comes in even thou there's other deer eating the new one is super spookie. Head bob's foot stomps, looking every direction at once.

Alot of midday deer movement around here right now.Bucks are all hanging togather.

I'm in WI. Major and minor times will vary across the country, but ultimately, it explains part of the equation. For SW WI, acorns are still green, third crop hay is still being cut , abnormally hot, varying water supplies, and plenty of humidity and insects to drive them nuts. I have does/fawns in the yard throughout the day. They bed very close by and they need to pee/poop every 30-45 minutes. See them frequently walking around, do their business and lay back down. The grouped bucks have been following the major/minor times pretty close. The only exception is the 3 or 4 most mature bucks in the area. They bed in much more secluded areas so I don't see them as much. But trail cam activity has been mostly nocturnal and lining up with the major/minors at night. Daytime has been very brief - quick drink and water tank and a few bites along the edge of the field and back into seclusion.

Times for today by me:

Major Periods (Peak Activity - 2 Hours)First Major Period: 3:02 AM – 5:02 AMSecond Major Period: 3:28 PM – 5:28 PM [1] (https://www.tidespro.com/solunar-tables/state-city/wi/madison), [2] (https://www.tidespro.com/solunar-tables/state-city/wi/madison/2026-09)Minor Periods (Secondary Activity - 1 Hour)First Minor Period: 10:55 AM – 11:55 AMSecond Minor Period: 8:51 PM – 9:51 PM

Deer feed in the middle of the day everyday, they get up go to the bathroom and eat they may not travel far but they do this everyday

I know a guy that has kept
mineral and salt on a stump for 4 decades.

He told me he sees the mature bucks there
in early velvet and almost never later.
He thinks the early racks are tender to thick
brush and the bugs.

He has taken buck most every year,
one was a smoker. Not off the stump
but he does hunt Pa legal bait.

Wont surprise me when a pro says
the 70 YO hunter is wrong.

Drought years can coincide with EHD outbreaks due to concentrating deer around water. For your sake I sure hope not.

Bring on the rain!!

I'm no pro, but I call BS on the tender velvet to thick brush and bugs. If this was true then all deep South bucks would live in a parking lot during the summer. ALL the woods down here are thick and skeeters, horse flies, and yellow flies are usually horrendous.

Oh....and deer seek out minerals and salts when they are consuming larger amounts of green browse (during spring and summer). They crave it and its aids digestion. In fall and winter it's not craved/needed.

Does and runts on the mineral all fall winter.
They yard there late season. That's BS too
cause deer don't yard right.
Ask the guys that have them in pens.
Oh they are all BS too right.
ok.

Deer don't yard in the southern US....has snowed here about 4 times in my 62 years......so I wouldn't know about Yankee deer.

But, I do know their velvet covered antlers don't keep them out of thick cover as that's the only kind of cover we have in these parts.

These Rebel deer don't crave mineral either. A lot of this Southern rough vegetation contains higher sodium content. They will occasionally stop at a mineral block but it is not common.

A lot of regional differences in whitetail habits across our Country.

I can speak to what Mr. Swamp is saying about Southern deer. ALL of my mineral sites get hit from April - Sept and then go ice cold. I know because there’s a camera on each one. When the soybeans start to brown, it’s a total stop. I’ve always read that they get such a high amount of their daily water from green vegetation during this time that they seek out the salt and it helps their digestion.

The only time I’ve witnessed any bedding outside of in the deer fly infested thickets and swamps are at night where they may lay up in the ag fields while eating. Almost never bedding in the day other than maybe if I have corn planted.

Jbyrd it is interesting that you’ve brought up daytime movement. I’ve had an increase over the last few weeks from noon - 2:00.