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"Bear" Bird Feeder Damage and How to Prevent it!
When I woke up and looked out the window to check my morning bird feeder activity, I was upset to see the feeders were once again. gone! I new right away just how they disappeared and was quite upset and wanted revenge. Early in the spring each year we are visited by one or two black bears that just cannot resist our feeders. I can't say that I blame them for going after an easy meal. They don't know it's not for them; they are opportunists and are hungry. But the destruction is a little upsetting when you just put up a nice new feeder thinking you're were past the normal "bear threat window". I keep forgetting they don't wear a watch or carry a calendar. My search in the nearby woods turned up the carried away feeders or what was left of them and I took them to the house for repair. I was not able to salvage the thistle feeder. The last time the bear paid a visit he smashed one like it too! I think because of the latch cover he couldn't carefully get it opened, so he must have decided force was then necessary to get in. This still failed but I'm sure after his attempt he was satisfied it was now rendered unusable, so he went on the next one. The others escaped total destruction due to the covers probably falling off on impact on the ground or a flip of his paw or mouth. He then neatly cleaned up the seed and moved on. By the time I was done repairing and re-hanging what I could, my revengeful thoughts had disappeared and I realized who was at fault. Not the bear! He was just living in his woods looking for something to eat.it just happened to be in my back yard where he found it. After the first "attack" I removed the feeders at night and hung several jackets out around the parameter for the scent. This worked, as he never came back. As time passed (two weeks) I was thinking he had moved on and was not interested in my yard, plus I was getting sick and tired of taking down the feeders at night. The night of the 23rd of May, it was raining and I did not feel like going out and getting the feeders. After all, he had not been back for sometime and he was now visiting someone else's back yard enjoying a free meal. Big mistake! Waking up Monday morning to the overnight destruction was upsetting. But at this point I was upset with myself more than the bear (although not at the first moment looking out the window), I instantly new my mistake and realized the simple answer to a 100% prevention of attack.remove the feeders! It's the simplest way to correct a problem and save many feeders in the process. Not that its fun to take down and put back up day in and day out, but it will force the bear to go somewhere else and sooner or later (in my case anyway) not return for the rest of the year. Bear proof feeders? Yes, they work, but they will keep returning because they know the food is there. and I think. they like the challenge! |
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MichiganNature.com
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This
picture represents a second visit this spring season from a black bear.