11/29/06 Observations

Unseasonably warm, some wind, partly cloudy...lower 60s...

- Birds everywhere...but, again, no deer....which makes several days in a row...after seeing them every day for 2-3 months. Hunting season? No doubt their habits have changed, though they are protected here.
- Two Fox Sparrows on the ground under a feeder....
- First obervation...a Slate Colored Junco...thistle...
- Eleven Goldfinches....
- Two White Breasted Nuthatches....(photos shows one on the feeder)
- Seven Mourning Doves on the ground....
- A Red-Bellied Woodpecker nearby...it seems only the Hairy W and the Downy W visit the suet....
- A six-point buck crossed the road in front of my SUV this morning...no photo possible...the animal seemed sad and beaten, and who knows? Perhaps he had been in a tussle with the huge buck spotted in this area a few weeks ago...Odds are he will now make it. The deer season is a week and a half old, and if he has survived so far, he will probably make it....if he stays on our land!

Postdate From 11/25/06

A rare entry....

- Traveling on a hard surface road near the cabin...late PM...cloudy/cool/rainy afternoon....and, as always on the lookout for wildlife, and was I rewarded....
- From my SUV, looking across a fence down a seldom traveled side road, I saw an animal about 200 yards away. In the dim light ID was difficult. I backed up for a better view, and raised the binoculars....A very large, dark colored Bobcat...poised as if frozen in stone..no doubt anticipating the movements of a morsel nearby, perhaps a rabbit. I watched the animal for 2-3 minutes...then, in one long graceful leap it was gone. What a beautiful animal. Made my day. No photo was possible.
- The night before, after darkness had fallen, I was relaxed on the back deck, which is 12-15' high and looking down a slope into the deep forest, a feeling of a tree house.... an ideal vantage point from which to view wildlife, relax, and sleep on occasions, as now. An extremely loud noise in the dry, deep leaves below startled me, and in the darkness, raised some concerns. I waited, and on it came...the noises extremely loud in the still evening air. When the noises were almost under the deck, I made my move to stand and view the intruder..and, silhouetted against the pale fallen leaves in the glow of the half moon, a large raccoon could be seen as it made its retreat back down the slope. Cunning? Yes. Careful? No.

Postdate from 11/21/06

Seasonably cool (mid 30s) and a bit of wind

- No deer again this morning....?
On/near the feeders....
- Hairy Woodpecker
- Mourning Doves (7) on the ground
- The White-Breasted Nuthatch
- Several Goldfinches
- Another destroyed suet feeder (the raccoons...see attached photo...notice the Chestnut Oak on the right where the 'coons have tried to get at the feeder)
- A noisy Red-Bellied Woodpecker in a tree nearby

Seven Woodpecker species have now been identified here...They are...

- Hairy Woodpecker
- Downy Woodpecker
- Common Flicker
- Red-Bellied Woodpecker
- Pileated Woodpecker
- Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker
- Red-Headed Woodpecker

The Deer Noticeably Missing.....

Observations at dawn....Cold, windy, and clear...about 32 F.

- The deer, for the first time in many days, were not seen this morning....and my sense is that this coincides with the opening of the hunting season for deer. Though they are protected in our developments, they seem to know what late November brings.
- The suet feeder was attacked during the night....raccoons again I suppose.
- Downy Woodpecker, White Breasted Nuthatch, Tufted Titmouse, numerous Mourning Doves, and several Goldfinch on the feeders this AM. Crows were perched in the trees, but they did not approach the corn or the feeders.
- I built a feeder for squirrels last evening while at the cabin...simply a rough cut board (flat side up, of course) wedged between two tree trunks, with nails (sharp side up) to hold ears of corn. From a similar feeder I have taken great photos throught the years, and the squirrels seem to enjoy a flat perch from which to partake.
- The Cooper's Hawk...I have seen several of them lately...and it is refreshing, for they were endangered in parts of Tennessee not so long ago.

11/18/06 Observations

Clear and cold this morning......
- Two deer, a doe and a yearling, in the front yard....mom eating corn, the yearling busy in the fallen leaves....they do not seem to know the Tennessee deer season, with rifle, opened this morning....
- Five Goldfinch, a Hairy Woodpecker on the suet, a couple of Eastern Phoebes near the feeders, the White Breasted Nuthatch (as always), several Mourning Doves, and several Crows....

Postdate From 11/15/06

- Not much activity the previous evening at the feeders...a front moving in with the forecast of a lot of rain....
- I did manage to fill all the feeders before darkness fell...two were empty even though they were filled 11/13/06...A mystery?
- During the night however, a mystery was solved (attached photo)...at about 9 PM...

Some Things Speak For Themselves

11/14/06 Observations

- Late PM yesterday....three deer drift through the trees north of the cabin...almost dark...they were ghost like...ID impossible
- Filled all the feeders just before dark...thistle/black oil SF seeds/mix of seeds/corn...at dawn the mix feeder in the front yard was on the ground (it hangs about 6' up in a pine)and the mix gone of course. The feeder attached to the top of the deck pole on the elevated back deck...and just 6' feet away fromt he all glass French doors in my bedroom...was completely empty.....and some refuse on the deck below...though it was filled to capacity just before dark the previous day...A mystery begins.
- A single deer walks into the yard at dawn...and begins to have breakfast at the pile of corn...Very cautious...it circled the corn for 4-5 minutes before eating. Perhaps it was the feeder mentioned above, which lay on the ground only a few feet away. Machinery noise (a log home is being built a quarter mile up the ridge)I believe, kept some away this AM.
- Are crows smart? When my SUV is not in the driveway, they come to the corn...and I have interrupted them as I drove in many times...When it is in the driveway, then perch in the treetops but seldom come to the ground. Smart crows...as they are an unwanted predator of my corn.

Each Day is Different

On the way to the cabin late yesterday afternoon.....Overcast/rainy/foggy/53 degrees...

- Two deer beside the road just inside Gate 1 of Greenfields...

- Four deer in the fog just beside a newly dug pond on # 217...

- Photographed a small forkhorn buck beside the road on Stone Creek Trail....
The youngster acted very confused and stared at me for a time from the weeds...and as suspected this time of year, the buck was alone. The rut has not yet started here in southeast Tennessee.

- Seven deer in the field just east of the Stone Creek gate

- Six deer just before dark in the woods beside the cabin...I followed and got a good look at them....Four were yearlings and two were does

- Also saw a total of around 50 wild turkeys today...17 of which were eating newly sown grass seed in the yard of a neighbor....

Rain Time

Early AM Observations from the cabin...misty/rainy/about 50 degrees....

From 6: 15 AM - 7 AM

- Two wild turkeys come to the corn placed on the rocks in front of the cabin...more turkeys nearby.
- Nine Goldfinches on the feeders/one White Breasted Nuthatch
- Two Grey Squirrels on the corn...
- Four Crows ....their stay was short
- The deer were absent this morning....two possible reasons...a very windy/rainy night/ a strange dog seen nearby....the first one ever seen from my cabin.

Rain Time

Early AM Observations from the cabin...misty/rainy/about 50 degrees....

From 6: 15 AM - 7 AM

- Two wild turkeys come to the corn placed on the rocks in front of the cabin...more turkeys nearby.
- Nine Goldfinches on the feeders/one White Breasted Nuthatch
- Two Grey Squirrels on the corn...
- Four Crows ....their stay was short
- The deer were absent this morning....two possible reasons...a very windy/rainy night/ a strange dog seen nearby....the first one ever seen from my cabin.

Nature's Showtime

- 6:07 AM CST.....A deer walked into my front yard and began to munch on the shelled corn placed there for the wildlife.
- Over the next hour...ten more deer (not at the same time....in groups of 2-4) come calling...and three of them partake of the corn....all very cautious and nervous....as at times they are less than 50' from my front door. All are does and yearlings.
- Three crows fly in to eat the corn at 6:30...the crows and two of the deer have quite an interaction...trying to decide who is eating first.
- Some of the deer appear to be strangers....they are observed rubbing noses, much like dogs. Some that have eaten the corn before approach and begin to eat. One of the deer approached very cautiously, backing off and jerking the head several times, before deciding to proceed with the handout. Some of the deer walked within five feet of the corn and totally ignored it.
- Four feeders in the front yard and all are covered this early AM ..... the White Breasted Nuthatch, Mourning Doves, Field Sparrows, several Goldfinches (winter plumage)...and a Pileated Woodpecker, nearby but not on the feeder.
- 7:15 AM CST....the last deer leaves the yard and walks calmly through the woods behind my cabin.
- Not wanting to disturb this rare display of wildlife....I was late to the office.....not a bad problem to have.