Two deer paid a visit to a yard at 1719 Hinman Ave. in Evanston about 7:30 Saturday morning.
There’ve been reports in the past couple years of deer seen crossing McCormick Boulevard near the Ladd Arboretum, spotted on the Peter Jans golf course along the canal banks in north Evanston and wandering through yards in northwest Evanston.
But this may be the first time in recent years that deer have been seen so close to downtown and the lakefront.
Julie Tatge who lives next door at 1725 Hinman Ave., says she’s never seen deer in the neighborhood.
But Stephen Russell-Dempsey of 1719 Hinman Ave. said a deer visited his yard once before, about six years ago. And Mary Singh of 1711 Hinman Ave. said she’d seen a deer in her yard about ten years ago.
Mr. Russell-Dempsey said seeing the deer Saturday “was a nice experience.”
“I watched the deer in the yard for 20 or 30 minutes,” he said, “They browsed for a while and then laid down in the yard and finally wandered back through the yard of the Singhs next door.”
He said the larger deer seemed to have some fur missing from its neck and a scab on its head, which made him somewhat concerned about its condition.
“The larger deer seemed to stand watch while the smaller one settled down, then they both laid down for a while before moving off between the houses,” he added.
Ms. Singh said that when the deer laid down “one faced east and the other faced west. I started to think they might stay in the yard all day.”
“They’re terribly attractive animals,” Ms. Singh said, “but when they started eating our flowers, my husband went out. He didn’t have to chase them, because they wandered off after they saw him,” she said.
“It was amazing to see them lying down, with their bodies sort of spread out. They looked much bigger than I would have thought,” Ms. Singh added.
Representatives of Evanston’s Animal Control office didn’t immediately return calls this morning seeking comment.
Have you seen deer in Evanston? Login and post your comments below.
Deer in North Evanston
There have been deer up here in North Evanston for quite a few years – two years ago a mother gave birth to two babies in my neighbors yard. One was ill and the City had to remove it. It unforunately passed away. The mother lived in the yard for a few weeks and when the baby was big enough they left.
The female and babies were accompied by a male – he had red tags on his ears that were numbered. I called the City of Highland park and they knew the male deer he had been a baby in Highland park. They said the males travel over a wide range but the females stay local. The deer travel in the forest preserve between the suburbs.
This year I saw another female eating in a neighbor’s yard.It may have been the baby from last year. Deer also are at the McCormick community gardens. Deer will eat plants they like hostas, so many people are not to happy about them in thier yards. They have been in my yard also. I do not have a problem with them.
Our City no doubt does not have any policy on deer or any information to give residents. They are too busy worrying about bees. Last year they mess up the inject of our elm trees and wasted money and did not inject all our elm trees. If they created a policy on deer it would no doubt be harmful to them.
Junad Rizki
Deer seen near Dempster & Chicago
Last summer, on a walk to Dempster Beach, we saw a deer on Greenwood, 1-2 blocks east of Chicago.It was a Saturday morning around 8 a.m., and the deer was calmly having a shrub breakfast in someone’s front yard. We were so stunned to see a deer here and worried that it might wander into downtown Evanston, running the risk of becoming become frightened or injured. So, we consulted Evanston police, and they said that they let deer run around freely until they move on. Needless to say, it was a treat to see a deer on our morning walk. A few weeks later we saw a gorgeous fox just one block west of the beach. Evanston’s blend of nature and city life is one of the things that makes this city so unique.