What noises put deer on alert?

[Stanley]

What noises do think alert deer into not coming your way? Squirrels chattering? Blue Jays screaming? Coyotes howling? Dogs barking? Leaves crunching? Limbs breaking off? Walking through water? Thoughts and ideas?

[Brad]

For sure any unnatural noise (metal bumping metal, coughing, sneezing, cell phone ringing etc. As far as walking and leaves noise they hear that all the time, during the rut (when the leaves are crispy) a buck cruising makes the most noise of anything, sounds like a train coming through the woods so I can't think that alone would scare them until they get a visual or catch scent, I think the biggest thing is to get out of the human cadence and mix it up, take some rapid steps, stop or slow down for a bit, and keep mixing it up. Kinda hard to describe but if you listen to squirrels one minute there really fast and the next they stop and make very little noise.

[natvbearhntr]

I'd swear those little chipmunks/red squirrels that sit and chirp and scream in your face are alerting deer something is out of the ordinary.

[Stanley]

ttt

[Uncle Lou]

I think a lot of noises have the potential to alert deer. I love to watch deer (video or natural) in the open while feeding. There ears are independently rotating and trying to pick up sounds. If they hear something they key in for a while with the other two senses and may go back to doing what they were, or start moving off, or run off if they really don't like it.

I think the mood of the deer is a big part of the reaction to both natural (birds, squirrels, etc) and unnatural sounds. The other day I was discussing bow noise (at the shot) with a friend. How deer hear it and how they react. I said think of it like this, remember the first gravel train of the day unloading and that bang from the back door kinda makes you jump, and the next 20 you barely notice it. You heard'em all.

Not that deer have heard 20 shots prior and your miss just didn't spook them. Just meant based on their mood is how they react. I think some people think their bow is so quiet that a deer won't hear it. As I pointed out in another thread - Sound Information- they definitely heard it, how they react is up to the mood of the deer.

[magicman54494]

A bit off topic but I am amazed at my dog. He can sit around - even sleep - and there is all kinds of noise. he pays little or no attention to the common everyday sounds. If there is any noise out of the ordinary he will jump right up. I believe deer are the same. They probably ignore all noises that are ordinary to their environment but their ears are always scanning for sounds of danger.

[Badger]

Defiantly cell phone...don't ask how I know that please..lol