Buck Deer in Velvet

The antlers on this buck whitetail deer are covered in velvet.  This photograph was taken yesterday, June 5, and the antlers are already quite large.  They should be much larger by fall.
Getting close to a buck is pretty exciting by itself but the photo is special for a couple other reasons.  One, the deer is laying down.  Not as many photos taken of that.  Second, the buck is engaging in self-grooming.  He is not merely standing and looking at the camera but instead is actually doing something.  Wildlife images showing "behavior" are much more interesting.
The light was tricky and hard to work with.  Direct sunlight coming through holes in the overhead canopy   made for extremely bright spots amid the deep shade.  The bright spots in the background of this image are objectionable but we couldn't alter our position because this was the only clear view of the deer through the trees.  Also, the shade was so deep that we needed a high ISO to get adequate shutter speed and this resulted in some loss of detail and contrast.
400mm IS lens, 1/250 second at f/5.6, ISO 3200.