A very choice late fall feeding area, red with browse.

Most whitetail feeding areas have certain physical characteristics. They tend to be relatively open (mature timber sparse) where sunlight can reach the ground and promote the growth of shorter green vegetation and certain woody shrubs, tree saplings and other foods relished by whitetails. Though whitetails find adequate food just about anywhere small or large throughout spring, summer and fall, they prefer to feed in areas large enough to enable them to continuously zigzag into the wind while grazing or browsing until they’ve eaten their fill, thus making it difficult for predators or hunters to trail or stalk near or wait in ambush undetected. Feeding areas 2–3 football fields in size (preferably end-to-end) or larger seem to be ideal when the wind direction is proper. During hunting seasons, whitetails of my current whitetail study area much prefer feeding in long and narrow sections of clearcuts 100 yards or so in width rather that wide clearcuts roughly square or round and 20–40 acres in size.