Welcome visits from wild neighbors

Since my wife Wendy and I live in a largely unspoiled portion of Texas County high above the Big Piney River, it’s not at all unusual to see all manner of four-legged and winged residents of the same neighborhood.

We’ve had the pleasure of viewing numerous deer, turkeys and all sorts of big birds, and have even each had one cougar sighting. Last weekend presented two prime examples of what can happen in the wildlife scene in our neck of the woods.

BUCK MASTER

On Saturday morning, Wendy was at her work desk in the guest bedroom. The room’s window facing north offers a great view of the surrounding forest and river valley.

She looked out and saw a large white-tailed deer buck, and called me to see it, too.

He was gorgeous. Not the biggest we’ve seen by any means, but a nice, healthy 6-pointer with interesting white markings near his belly on his right side (which was the side we could see).

This guy was obviously a confident and content animal, and he was certainly not in a hurry. He just sauntered slowly along, dropping his head now and then to see if what was there was worth munching on.

He had a smaller antlerless friend or relative with him, and the two just wandered along like a couple of hikers enjoying a trek in the woods. The smaller one eventually disappeared from view into the forest, and the big man finally walked assuredly across our gravel driveway and was obscured by the thicker foliage in that area.

What a cool experience; we were both left smiling after being able to watch such a magnificent animal in its element for an extended period of time.

AMAZING AVIAN

Because of our home’s proximity to the Big Piney, we often get to see bald eagles in action – but not like we did last Sunday morning.

I was sitting on the couch sipping coffee and checking email on my laptop when a big adult eagle did something amazing. With its 7-foot wingspan opened wide, the huge bird weaved its way through the trees at the top of the drop-off about 200 feet above the river and landed on a pine tree branch no more than 25 feet from the deck at the back of the house.

I couldn’t believe it, and I called for Wendy to slowly come into the family room, so the unexpected visitor wouldn’t get startled. To our benefit, it didn’t leave for quite some time.

Instead, it just stood there with that steely-eyed look on its face (that eagles pretty much always have) and looked in each direction for at least a couple of minutes.

Fortunately, my camera was sitting on the ottoman right in front of me, and I snatched it up and carefully approached the sliding glass door to the deck, in hopes of getting a few shots before the remarkable moment was over. I got a few photos, and the eagle continued to remain.

So I moved to a slightly better angle and took a few more shots through the kitchen window. I’ve taken dozens of photos of bald eagles in the past, but never from such close range. Several of the photos are absolutely wonderful.

Interestingly, our immense feathered guest seemed to be checking us out, too, almost as if its purpose for landing in such a tight space was to do just that.

Inevitably, the eagle finally decided to lift off, rise above the tree line and headed south. But not before Wendy and I had enjoyed what had to be the most incredible eagle encounter we’re ever had.

Anyway, we who live in the South Central Missouri Ozarks are certainly fortunate to have the opportunity to view wildlife on a regular basis.

And sometimes, we’re offered far more than just an average opportunity.

Doug Davison is a writer, photographer and newsroom assistant for the Houston Herald. Email: ddavison@houstonherald.com.