DEER FEEDERS ON-LINE

      The past couple of winters I've been watching two deer and wildlife feeders on-line, one in Maine and the other in Iowa.  Both these deer feeding situations are in openings in woods.  And both attract white-tailed deer and other kinds of woodland and thicket wildlife, day and night.  These wonderful wild creatures enhance the lives of the feeder owners, and everyone who watches those critters, live, on their computer screens.  Outdoor lights allow viewing of nocturnal animals at night.

     The seven big, oat-filled feeder troughs in Maine daily attract about fifty stately white-tails at once at dusk, though deer can be spotted there anytime of day and night (with spotlights at night).  One can experience the beautiful, graceful deer in all kinds of weather through winter, including during snowfalls.  We see the elegant antlers on the magnificent, bigger bucks.  We see those same bucks after they drop their antlers, mostly in February, and notice the buds of growing, new antlers toward the end of March.  And we can watch those deer walking casually from the woods to the feeders.   

     Late each afternoon in winter, up to twenty, sleek white-tailed deer come to a corn-dispensing hopper in Iowa.  As in Maine, deer come to that hopper through the night until dawn to consume corn.  Several big bucks, with large antlers, come to this feeder, causing excitement among many watchers I'm sure.

     Deer appear to be gentle when we see them, but they are aggressive towards each other, which is a pecking order.  The nearly-grown fawns receive most of that aggression.  But those same deer are cautious of coyotes, and wild turkeys, which are large.  Like many animals, including people, we want to rule at home, but are leery of "outsiders".       

     Many crispy mornings, at dawn, I've seen a flock of up to forty handsomely-feathered wild turkeys, including hens, Jakes and big, magnificent Toms come from surrounding woods to the feeders in Maine.  The Toms started strutting magnificently in March as lengthening daylight each succeeding day stirred their hormones.   These majestic birds roost each winter night in trees in the woodlands, where they are safe from ground predators.

     A few other kinds of birds and mammals come to the feeders in Maine and Iowa.  Up to a dozen mourning doves and about eight blue jays almost daily come to the feeders in Maine.  And A red squirrel came to those feeders for awhile.  The forest around those Maine feeders are mixed deciduous and coniferous, which is attractive to red squirrels.  

     I've seen up to a dozen raccoons and several deer mice feeding at the corn feeder in Iowa, along with the deer on winter nights, with the aid of spotlights.  The deer and coons always got along well.  

     I first noticed the mice by their tiny eye shine on the ground under the feeder.  Between feeding forays, those mice retreated to little burrows in the soil under the hopper.  Sometimes one or two of the raccoons tried to catch the mice to add meat to their corn supper.  But I never saw any of those ring-tailed, masked bandits catch any mice.  

     Several each of fox squirrels and gray squirrels fed at the Iowa hopper every day.  The fox squirrels are a bit bigger than the grays.  After eating their fill of corn, the squirrels retreated to their nests in trees in the nearby woods.  

     Several kinds of seed-eating birds daily fed on bits of corn at the Iowa feeder through winter.  Most notable of these lovely birds are several blue jays, northern cardinals and the striking red-headed woodpeckers.  Up to eight red-heads would be at the feeder at once to ingest corn.  I never saw so many of that type of beautiful woodpecker in my life. 

     Occasionally one or a few swiftly trotting coyotes came to those feeders to catch mice or other creatures feeding at those stations.  Those canines added another touch of beauty and wildness to the area around those feeders in the woods.      

     Wildlife at these deer feeders are interesting to watch in the comfort of our homes, via live cameras and computer screens.  The critters go about their daily business unaware they are watched. 

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