November Courting

     White-tailed deer and great horned owls are common in many Lancaster County, Pennsylvania woods, wood lots and woodland edges.  The owls are also present in older suburban areas with their many tall trees that were planted, especially coniferous ones the owls favor for shelter.  The deer and owls are most active from dusk and through the night until dawn.  And both these species court in November, though the deer start in October and the owls continue well into December.  The deer are mostly visible to us, but the owls are mostly audible.
     We set clocks to standard time early in November, so about 5:00 in the evening, bare deciduous trees and pyramid-shaped coniferous ones are silhouetted black against the sky.  Local deer and owls begin to be active for the evening about that same time, making autumn evenings and striking sunsets more inspiring and enjoyable, and adding to their beauties.  Little groups of doe deer and their practically grown fawns slip quietly out of the woods and onto corn, rye or alfalfa fields, or extensive, short-grass lawns to nibble vegetation.  The heavy-bodied, thick-necked bucks that are filled with testosterone and sporting big antlers generally come out more aggressively and, sometimes, one can see two bucks pushing each other in the fading light, antlers to antlers, to see who is stronger to have breeding rights.  If close enough, one can hear their antlers rattling against each other.  And, at times, if one stays in their vehicle, deer will browse and court close to the road and your car, allowing great looks at them.  I have had close views of deer at dusk several times over the years, including those engaged in courting, just by sitting quietly in my car. 
     White-tails are often active during overcast days, including during their rut or breeding season.
I have seen deer grazing and bucks fighting several times in the open during cloudy afternoons in October and November.  Those times are always exciting and enjoyable to me, as they would be for most anybody.  Sometimes one doesn't know deer are in an area until their mating season.
      Meanwhile, right around sunset, or just after, the partners of each pair of great horned owls begin hooting an eerie "ho,ho,ho-hoooooo, hoooooo" to each other.  That distinctive rythym of hooting, their courtship song, floating mysteriously out of a woods, or stand of planted and tall coniferous trees in farm country or older suburbs on a quiet evening, could only be made by horned owls.  It is a true call of the wild that sets some peoples' hair on end and gives them chills of fright.  But those calls are also thrilling and inspiring to those people who know horned owls are harmless, getting ready to raise young, and a welcome part of a neighborhood at night.  Those owls bring a bit of the wild to any neighborhood.     
     Great horned owls usually are heard more often than seen, but occasionally one or both of those big owls of a pair, with the two feathered ear tufts, will be spotted perched as silhouettes on the tops of tall trees before a brilliant sunset.  And one of those owls might be seen leaning forward to hoot.  And if one waits and watches, the owls may be noticed flying swiftly and quietly from their perches in trees to fields where they catch mice, rats and other nocturnal creatures.
     Watch for white-tailed deer and great horned owls in Lancaster County farmlands and suburbs this autumn, or succeeding ones. They are exciting and inspiring to see and hear on crisp, quiet evenings in October, November and into December.