Bears trashed our bird feeders!

We knew were were taking a risk, keeping the feeders up past the date when the bears emerge from hibernation. But we were SO enjoying seeing the Orioles, rose breasted grosbeaks and cat birds come to the feeders!
And watching the little men gold finches turn such a bright shade of yellow!

We were so careful to
take all the feeders in at night: the suet feeders, the safflower feeder, the sunflower feeder and the thistle feeder. Even the orange for the Orioles. But the bear, perhaps smelling the spent seed hulls, knocked our pole over anyway. It's a steel pole, impossible to us to bend back. He knocked it flat to the ground. Next fall we shall have to buy a new one.

BUT, the good news is that a friend gave me a hummingbird feeder along with instructions. It's been fun watching the hummers right outside my window. And the Mason bees, coming to the Mason bee hut. Hopefully the bear won't smell sugar water?

 

. lord have mercy! I am so glad we don't have bears. I am thankful all they did was mess with your bird feeder... what about putting up a solar powered electric fence? I know I sure would. two strands at least around my house area.

 

Okay Cayuga, your post just cured me of complaining about raccoons!

 

And we thought squirrels were a nuisance!

 

No bears here, but we do have some extremely poisonous desert snakes...

 

What a different sort of pest you have, Cayu. Such a shame that they destroyed your feeders. Hummingbirds must be so nice to watch, we do not have them here. Pity about the orioles--such an exotic-looking bird.
Lets hope that they will not go after your humming bird sweets. They do like honey. I can tell you that. fingers crossed for you here, meid.

 

I can't put out bird feeders as it will attract the bears to my yard.

 

@Islandlife the bears are a tribulation. We wait until they go into hibernation in the late fall.

The good news is that I got to know what catbirds look and sound like while we had the feeders up this spring. And we have at least one pair bopping around our yard. They do sound like cats meowing.

 

I've moved to feeding the hummingbirds only. Two feeders on the go all the time. Just bought a solar fountain and after 5 weeks wait it was delivered to me. IF I can get birds coming up closer to the house I might think about putting a bird feeder out on the deck (so I can also easily bring it in)

 

Island..... Hate to say this, but the bear went after our feeder POLE. A steel pole that he bent flat to the ground. We had been faithfully taking the feeders in every night.
But hopefully
your experience with the feeder on the deck & bringing it in at night will be different.

 

Yikes Cayuga. So glad we don't have bears. I have hung up all my feeders out of racoon, and squirrel reach. The one feeder that the squirrels can reach is squirrel proof. Here is a pic of one of the Fox squirrels sulking because he can't eat any of my sunflower hearts. It was pretty funny to see him just lying on the deck rail.

 

That is funny Toots!

 

All you need is the thought bubble coming from his head saying "oh, the torture..."

 

@Cayuga Morning - How are you with bird calls?
I'm also in New England and there is this bird call I hear that sounds like an accelerating diesel truck or something; the wining sound it makes. I can't figure it out and it's really frustrating!
I've listened to the calls of over 50 birds online in unsuccessful attempts to find out which bird it is.
The only thing I can figure, at this point, is that it is a mockingbird that has learned the sound from trucks nearby.

 

@Beeker sorry but I have no clue. My birdcall recognition skills are rudimentary! But I did attend a zoom talk & one thing the presenter said about identifying mockingbirds was this:. they change their calls incessantly. Like after 5 calls, so it's cheep-cheep-cheep-cheep-cheep then trill-trill-trill-trill-trill. Then something else 5 times. Etc. So unless your truck sound keeps changing, it's unlikely to be a mockingbird. But a truck engine?? I'm clueless. Clueless in New England.