I have had several tree top adventures with critters.. Most exciting was playing peep-eye with a pileated woodpecker who sat just above my head ( altitude 20 feet again) hanging upside down with its beak 6 inches from my nose. HE investigated me for about 10 minutes. My camoflage face net must have confused him. All I could think of was that if he could peck a hole in a tree, my head would not be a challenge. Another “investigation” a ruby hummingbird would hover inches from my nose and look at me, then “chirp”. I had never heard one do this before. Wouldn’t take anything for my tree stand adventures, including the 3 “mountain women” complete with flour sack dresses, brogan shoes, and .22 rifles that stopped under my stand to ummmmmmm take a rest break not knowing I was above them. Being the gentleman that I am,,, I closed my eyes... also changed locations after they were gone : )
The *squack* a pileated woodpecker can make is unnerving when you’re alone in the woods...can be very eerie.
Hummies are the best. We always a a pair that have so much personality. Generally when they are comfortable in their territory they can get very close, like in your encounter, and *chirp* to talk to you.
My dad had property in the mountains that he used for hunting. It was posted ‘no trespassing’. His favorite stand was at the edge of a creek overlooking a little meadow and in that meadow was a nut tree (can’t remember what kind). Anyway, he was hunting in his stand one Saturday and into the meadow comes this group of ladies with buckets, just jabbering away (by-bye deer). One of the topics of discussion was “the mean old man who owns this place”. Dad let them gather their nuts and when the buckets were about full, he climbed down out of his tree stand and strolled over to them and said “I’m the ‘mean old man’ who owns this place!” He then told them they were welcome to come gather nuts, but please don’t do it on days when he was going to be in his tree stand hunting. They were looking very chagrined since they realized he had heard every word of what they were saying & they promptly beat cheeks off the property. He never saw them again.