Swamps may facilitate deer aggregation to reduce the risk of predation under deep snow conditions. Increased use of swamps and decreased use of closed forests, open woodlands, and grasslands were associated with increasing snow depth. Weather variables influenced habitat use only during winter. Winter habitat use differed strongly from that in the other 3 seasons, with grasslands, swamps and bogs used more and closed forests used less than during other seasons. There were no marked shifts in use of vegetation types among spring, summer and fall. Effects of temperature varied with time of day, season, cloud cover, wind speed, and habitat. Deer activity was maximum at 6-16☌ and decreased at both higher and lower temperatures. Deer activity decreased with snow depth, even at slight snow depths, probably because of changes in food availability. The sexes did not differ in diel patterns except during September and October when males were more active at night and females more active by day. During most months, deer exhibited a diel activity pattern with peaks at sunset and just after sunrise. This seasonal pattern, and differences by sex, were consistent with seasonal and sexual differences in metabolic demand relative to food resources. Females were significantly more active than males during January through June. For Odocoileus virginianus on the George Reserve, Michigan, mean percent of time active for both sexes peaked in spring and fall with a pronounced low in January and February and a moderate low in June and July.

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