I think I was destined to hunt.

When too young for a license, I followed along when Dad hunted rabbits. At 12, I got my first license, and hunted the “first day” that year. I’ve not missed a first day of “buck season” since then: that’s 60 years.

I miss my hunting partner, but I still enjoy sitting quietly, waiting for a chance to bag a buck, but now, basically while just watching nature unfold around me.

On Nov. 29, a half-hour before sunrise, I made my way slowly to my chair, and within a minute, I heard the who, who, who, pause, who, who. Then 30 seconds later a more distant series. Two great horned owls, maybe the ones I’ve heard there the past few years, were cementing their pair bond. In about six or seven weeks she’ll by laying her first egg. The calling continued as I sat quietly until the slow arriving daylight ended their conversations.

About 15 minutes later, just when the woods were bright enough to see well, a black form passed through an opening in the trees about 100 yards away. A minute later, I watched a black bear cub, born about 10 months ago, wander from one side of a logging road to another. It stopped twice to push over and investigate some fallen tree limbs.

Soon, it was 40 feet away from me. The slight breeze apparently carried my scent and the cub stopped, and tested the breeze for this unfamiliar scent. It turned and slowly meandered away, eventually dissolving into the underbrush. The day was already a success. That was the only large mammal I would see today.

But … I was entertained all day. Every now and then I heard a tiny rustle in the leaves and I would catch a glimpse of one of the red-backed voles darting through the brown, dead hay scented fern fronds. Later, a short-tailed shrew popped out of the leaf litter a few feet from me. I saw it about a half-dozen more times.

When I sit in the quiet woods each season, I invariably see a lone brown creeper feeding along the tree trunks around me. Today was different; I saw two. But it appears that the usually solitary creepers don’t like competition. When the second bird saw the first, a chase ensued.

They circled a tree, chased each other about 40 feet, stopped, and then the chase continued. This went on for a while until one just gave up and left. I couldn’t help but wonder, with hundreds of tree trunks available, why the need to fight over one and waste all that energy?

Throughout the day, a lone raven flew through the trees near me. Going to and from a carcass somewhere or simply, just going somewhere? About midmorning a red-tailed hawk screeched, apparently startled by this blaze orange blob sitting in his woods. Every now and then the sun popped out, and in one of those bright moments I looked up to see an adult bald eagle winging east just above the treetops. It was so beautiful.

Other birds kept my attention as well. A small flock of dark-eyed juncos fed near me a few times. A red-bellied and downy woodpecker, along with some chickadees also made appearances throughout the day. I was busy watching all this bird activity, probably why I don’t always see deer.

The day was cold but not unbearable, and for about an hour early in the a.m. a few snowflakes drifted down, almost like the heavens shook off some dandruff. It made the already serene setting even better. You don’t have to be hunter to enjoy this, but most folks don’t sit it one spot from sunrise to sunset just waiting to see who knows what?

Soon after the sunset, I retraced my morning route and returned to my pickup. It was a great day hunting/sitting in Penn’s Woods. I saw no deer, but five different mammals, over a dozen species of birds, enjoyed the over 10½ hours of nature watching, and to make it even better, the two owls, almost on cue, started their who, who, who ... just before I closed the door.

What a fitting ending to another first day of “deer season.”

Test Your Outdoor Knowledge: Deer are browsers, but also eat acorns. ____ oak acorns are their preference. A. white; B. chestnut; C. red; D. pin.

Last Week’s Trivia Answer: A new record 686 bald eagles were observed migrating past Bake Oven Knob this year.

Email Barry Reed at breed71@gmail.com