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Hummers, bobcats & owls



Had my first female hummer Monday, 8 days after my first male below Mt.
Mitchell at 3,100 ft.  Had about 1 1/2 inches of snow Tuesday and noticed
the hummers behaving sort of erratic then realized the feeder ports were
covered and they were having trouble drinking from them.

Driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway about 1 mile south of Little Switzerland I
noticed what I thought was a bobcat about 100 ft. in a field off the parkway
about 1 hr. before dark.  I turned around and pulled off the road and was
able to observe the cat for about 45 minutes, he was eating what looked like
a rabbit.  About dark I decided to try to pull up closer, put the Blazer in
4 wheel dr and eased closer to within about 45 to 50 ft. he slowly got up
and walked off a few feet.,  longest period of time I have ever been able to
observe a bobcat.

This is one of the best time of the year to see bobcats along the parkway,
the grass is getting green along the edges of the parkway which brings
rabbits and ruffed grouse (saw a pair courting this week) this seems to
bring out the bobcats to hunt along the edges.

My son who lives in Chapel Hill was jogging on a trail near the airport
there off Hwy 86 today when he was attacked by a owl, it grabbed his head
then flew off to a limb and watched.  He said it was a very large owl and he
thought maybe a barred but he is not a birder could have been a great
horned.  He suffered some puncture wounds and was a little bloody but
nothing serious.  I told him it was probably protecting it's nest and young.
I told him to go back and check for a nest but he said not unless he could
borrow a football helmet.

Cheers
Don Patterson
Mt. Mitchell Lands
Yancey County, NC
donp@yancey.main.nc.us