A bear wandered down Bethel Church Road a few years ago. And lucky residents near the Peninsula golf course saw a young red fox hidden in pine straw observing the world go by this past summer, its mother presumably keeping a watchful eye on her cub.

VAUGHAN

Cornelius is full of wild fauna, some it uncomfortably comfortable with human neighbors. Deer, fox and even coyotes can be found anywhere near open fields, such as those along Westmoreland and Highway 115. They are coming here for winter wheat and rodent-rich fields, says Gene Vaughan, a scientist with Duke Energy who studies wildlife in and around Cornelius and Lake Norman.

“The reasons these animals are here is food and habitat. Animals will not be where they are not provided with those two things,” he says. The presence of rabbit means there's a fox not far away, too.

Winter is a time of animal sightings and the urge to feed them. But wild animals can fend for themselves even if they come into your backyard to graze or grab a quick rabbit breakfast.

“A lot of people do put out food and the animals become habituated to that treatment,” Vaughan says, explaining he has mixed feelings about the practice. “I don't like animals coming into places where they would not ordinarily go, putting them into a situation they are not used to.” Wildlife can lose their fear of people.

Besides eating garden flowers and sprouts on fruit trees, a male deer can be downright aggressive during mating season. Sadly, the explosion in the deer population is evident on the side of semi-rural highways and byways. Nature has a way of controlling its populations, Vaughan says. An outbreak of rabies indicates an over-population; the disease will decimate a species, putting it back to a size in proportion to the environment.

You don't need a petting zoo to appreciate these animals — from a distance — in Cornelius

Red foxes

These are hungry animals, “much more abundant than people generally realize, quite secretive,” Vaughn says. Although they are a relatively rare sighting, members of the Cornelius fox population may trot across your backyard in the evening. It's not uncommon for them to grab — and consume — a medium-size cat. “They do well around our citizenry, although they do have habits that people do not like,” Vaughan says. Their dens may be in the side of an embankment, or in a storm drain.

Coyotes

Coyotes, once rare, have spread to this area from out West. Vaughan, who recently saw one scoot across I-77 at 8:30 a.m., says coyotes look for small rodents and frequently come close to residences. Coyotes are attracted to dog food and small animals that appear to be prey. Even bird seed can attract a coyote.

Loons

Lake Norman is like a new resort for loons. For the past few years, these birds from the frigid north are diving into Lake Norman — literally. From the far northern United States and northern Canada, these aquatic birds are excellent swimmers. They require fish and like “big, open waters,” so Lake Norman is perfect. Vaughan has seen them, eight, 10, even more at a time, wonderful things to see.” And hear. They have a haunting, eerie cry.

Bears

A few years ago a black bear wandered down Bethel Church Road. But bears aren't setting up housekeeping in Cornelius, Vaughan says. While their population is indeed spreading out, it's mostly a case of young bears being driven out of an area by older, more dominant bears. They're in search of a new habitat with plenty of room, not a cul de sac here.

Beavers

With all the water in Cornelius, you'd think there would be plenty o' beaver. Not so. Vaughan says they tend to like small streams with flowing water. Dam the streams, they do. Beavers are a real example of an animal that has come back. In the early 1900s there were practically no beavers left after rampant hunting and trapping. The state government restocked them, much to the chagrin of anyone whose property adjoins a suitable creek or stream.

Muskrats

Muskrat love is not going to be found around the Cornelius waterfront. Vaughan says these semi-aquatic rodents have gobbled more than their fair share of Styrofoam floats underneath boathouses, “causing no end of concern to the people who own them.” Even worse, Vaughan says he has actually seen boats that have sunk because the muskrats have nibbled their way through the rubber boots that house stern drives. Homeowners can get a permit to trap them from the N.C. Wildlife Resource Commission. Don't worry, Vaughan says, they will be back.

Eagle

Look for eagles that want to take it easy this winter around Lake Norman, a giant refrigerator full of tasty fish. There are eagle nests, called eyries, on the Catawba River, as close as Lookout Shoals, but none here in Cornelius, according to Vaughan. “There are more and more eagles every year,” Vaughan says, explaining that these birds of prey take it to the limits of the bird kingdom with wingspans of six feet and more. Many of them are visiting us from places like Michigan and Minnesota. Pet rabbits left untended in your backyard might lead to heartache tonight in your family.

Osprey

If ospreys were people, they'd eat at Big Daddy's seafood restaurant in Mooresville a few times a day. Serious fish eaters, these are large birds of prey, not quite as big as eagles, but big. This species was almost wiped out by DDT in the 1960s, but scored a major comeback thanks to help from environmentalists and the government. Vaughan says there were none here in the 1960s, but, starting in 1983, Duke University and the Carolina Raptor Center brought young osprey to Lake Norman. There are a few osprey nests on poles in Lake Norman off Jetton Road. Their favorite dish: Shad. Distinctive features: A handsome black eye patch and a very businesslike beak.

Great Blue Heron

The largest heron rookery on the entire Catawba River system is on an island off the southern end of Bethel Church Road. Set aside by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, Vaughan says, the island has more than 70 nesting pairs of these statuesque birds. They love to wade in shallow water and gobble their fish whole. The island is absolutely off-limits during nesting season in the spring time. These long-legged birds really do stick together, forming waterfront colonies of up to 500 nests. “They come back year after year after year,” Vaughan says. In the spring, they chatter and call with a harsh croak that's nevertheless fascinating to hear.