My knee surgery had really limited my outdoor excursions. I needed to just find a way to “get out there” more. It was Nov. 1; a front had cleared the area and I had I good feeling about “getting out there.” I got to my blind with just a hint of light on the horizon and a cool 33 degrees. In less than a minute a distant great horned owl called. Fifteen seconds later a deeper hoot in response. Even though the male is smaller, his hooting is the deeper of the two. After about 10 minutes, the sky brightened a bit, the hooting stopped. What I heard was a pair of great horned owls, maybe the same pair I’ve heard in that area before. They are re-establishing pair bonds, will soon find an old hawk nest, tidy it up a bit, and by late January, have mated and begin egg laying.

About the time the owl hooting stopped a hermit thrush began “chipping” near me. Hermit thrushes do migrate, but a few hardy ones can overwinter in the Times News area if they can find a suitable berry crop. Insects are scarce to find in winter but autumn olive fruits, sumac, or green briar berries will allow them to subsist. Soon after the thrush awoke, a red squirrel in a hemlock near me chattered. Maybe it just wanted to let the area know he/she was awake.

As enough daylight filtered in, I sat hoping to see the bear that has been leaving some scat nearby, or maybe deer moving to their bedding areas. I also know that from late October through mid-November it is white-tailed deer breeding season, the rut. I wasn’t surprised when about five minutes later, a small 6- or 8-point buck appeared. It was on a mission and almost looked like a bloodhound on a trail. The buck was probably following the scent of a doe. Ten minutes later a young buck, sporting a small 5-point set of antlers moseyed over to a scrape. Scrapes are made by male deer for a few reasons, mostly to let his scent on head high limbs using glands on his facial area. He then urinates on the “scrape” on the ground too.

Soon after, another first year buck with even smaller antlers walked into the clearing and stared at the 5-point buck. In a minute, they were head-to-head, their ears laid back and a short staring contest began. Shortly after, they butted heads, shoved each other for a few seconds and then broke apart. The smallest buck walked away, browsed a bit, and headed back into the forest. Next year, when these two bucks are more mature and carrying larger antlers, these little battles will hold more meaning as they try to control which one is the fittest and does much of the breeding. Eventually, the first buck wandered off to find a spot to bed down for the day.

My morning wasn’t complete as an adult Cooper’s hawk darted through the clearing and scattered a small flock of juncos feeding in the weeds. It perched in a dead tree for a few minutes and soon flew away to find another potential meal. I was able to follow its movement through the woods when I heard a few blue jays and a pileated woodpecker screech out alarm calls. Maybe it made a kill this time. Even if I hadn’t seen any wildlife, the light breezes were just enough to loosen many of the remaining leaves and they drifted quietly down around me this morning.

Sometimes you just need to find a spot to sit and enjoy nature’s shows all around you. It was a better show than I could ever find on the TV.

Test Your Outdoor Knowledge: Besides great horned owls nesting in late January or early February, which of these often warm their eggs with snow falling around them? A. crows; B. bald eagles; C. turkeys; D. all of these.

Last Week’s Trivia Answer: The bat droppings are known as guano.

Email Barry Reed at breed71@gmail.com