Also, here's the learning experience regarding deer and hunting. 6-8 weeks ago I heard a sound in a tree from about 75 yards away. I decided to investigate and discovered a bear in a swamp white oak. I could hear him eating and chewing from that far away. He broke a good sized branch and the understory looked like a hurricane had gone through with acorn shells and leaves littering the forest floor. When he smelled me he came down the tree so fast he could have ran me over before I could have reacted as I was about 20 yards away. But he split and ran like a train into the swamp. That was before acorns were even dropping here. I did get a video of the event but accidently gave my phone the water treatment within a couple days-first phone I have killed-and lost the video as I had not uploaded it yet. I had never seen this behavior by a bear with my own eyes though I know they are opportunistic eaters.
Since then I discovered evidence of bears climbing white oak trees and eating their fill of acorns on 3 other public properties. The telltale signs are usually tracks, a broken branch or two (I think they push the limit and catch themselves) and claw marks on the trees. The ground is also always littered with acorn shells and caps and leaves with twigs. Being 130 lbs. has its advantages...I can climb most swamp white oaks without aid as their bottom branches are usually close enough to the ground and I can pull myself up and then just climb the branches. So I have seen the claw marks firsthand.
The point, at least for me, is that many, many animals that like acorns can climb up and get them. Deer are one of the few that have to wait until they fall. Maybe that's why they come in to white oaks so often and most times of the day...because the window is short and their are many competitors.
