A list of common natural foods eaten by northern white-tailed deer in Spring

By Matt Ross, Whitetail Stewards, Inc.

• Wild oat grass (Danthonia compressa)
• Orchard grass (Dactylis glomerata)
• Bluegrass (Poa fendleriana)
• Kentucky bluegrass (P. pratensis)
• Panic grass (Panicum spp.)
• Quackgrass (Andrpyron repens)
• Little bluestem (A. scoparius)
• Three-awn grass (Aristida spp.)
• Redtop (Agrostis alba)
• Bluejoint (Calamagostis canadensis)
• Downy chess (Bromus tectorum)
• Canada wild-rye (Elymus canadensis)
• Winter wheat (Agropyron spp.)
• Bluebunch fescue (Festuca idahoensis)
• Rough fescue (F. scabrella)
• Timothy grass (Phleum pratense)
• Red clover (Trifolium pratense)
• Hay-scented fern (Dennstaedtia punctilobula)
• Spinulose-shield fern (Dryopteris austriaca)
• Sweet fern (Comptonia peregrina)
• Bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinium)
• Moonwort (Botrychium spp.)
• Sedge (Carex spp.)

It's important to note that scientific evidence has recorded the consumption of well over 700 species of plants nationwide by white-tailed deer, and the above regional lists only represent some of the preferred species; consumption of each item varies with soil type, timber stand condition, and land use, and may only comprise a small portion of any individual deer's diet. The amount of plant utilization depends on its regional availability, the preference of the deer in that particular area, and the types and availability of other foods.

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