3:50 AM. Quill's bowl is empty--a quart of formula gone plus a big handful of peanuts in the shell. The scale is down 2 1/2 pounds. 
Pine marten female faceThe 2 pounds of pecans that were there are gone. No pictures. I forgot to put the card back in the trail cam. I refilled 5 cups of formula in his bowl this time. We'll see if he can drink it all.
At the Bear Center, no one has seen Tasha out of her den for seven days, making October 26 her official day of denning in the den Holly dug in 2014. Her official weight on October 15 was 192.5 pounds. She's been eating!
Pine marten femaleThe female pine marten is comfortable on the second floor deck. She's the one whose cute face was in an update a couple weeks ago after she sniffed my toe. This morning, I opened the door and she approached! Then she jumped up on the railing where she had a bit of date mash. She was lit brilliantly by the deck light against the dark background. This afternoon, she brought more date mash up to eat directly outside the window. I keep the camera at my desk all the time.
Frisky spikehorn buckWith the leaves gone, deer are into grass. Along the road in the dark this morning I passed 15-20 deer in grassy roadside areas calmly watching and grazing as vehicles whizzed by within a few yards of the close ones. The grassy yard here is popular. I saw interactions today I haven't seen before. Two does and two big fawns were grazing. One of the fawns listened in the direction where two 
Doe fawn grazingyoung spike-horn bucks shortly appeared. One immediately ran toward a doe. She bolted from the yard, leaving her two fawns, running like she'd felt the stab of an antler before. He went after the other doe, but she ignored him. She looked away as he ran right up to her and made a final thrusting motion. He never touched her. Was he feeling frisky? The two spike-horns hung out together full of energy. Could yearlings have that much testosterone? Mating season is upon us. As they left, they must've passed the scared doe who came running from their direction. She joined her fawns and continued grazing. It was all too fast and unexpected for pictures, although I know a couple professional photographers who would have gotten it. They were always ready.
Pine martenThe male hairy woodpecker that posed for a head shot a couple days ago is fearless against red squirrels. He flares his wings and points his beak and stands his ground for a pile of seeds. They don't dare mess with him. They make motions toward him, but they don't follow through.
Doe fawn on alertIt's almost GiveMN time. Scheduled giving for Give to the Max Day 2016 is underway! All gifts made using GiveMN.org/organization/BEARS through November 16 will be scheduled to process on November 17, making these donations eligible for all Give to the Max Day prizes. Click here to schedule a donation!
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center
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