Kevin,
We don't have many bears or (mountains) in western Loudoun County but we do
have a few & their numbers have been growing (the bears, not the mountains
...).
When I started participating in Calmes Neck CBC in the mid-'90's my sector was
up on top of the mountain & there were lots of feeders. Over the years the
number of feeders decreased as the bears moved in & took not just the feed but
the entire feeder. Dif. people tried dif. things. One, Leni Friedman, put her
feeders on her 2-story deck which was only accessible from the house (or at
least she thought that was the case) . They woke up one morning to find a bear
had climbed up the deck frames and was on their deck eating the bird seed.
The only really successful solution I've heard of is that one family brings
their feeders in about an hour before dusk and brings them out about an hour or
two after dawn - not sure I'd have the patience to do that. They're careful to
put the feeders and extra feed in a very secure building as bears have been
known to break through flimsy garage doors.to get to feed.
Good luck, Joe
----- Original Message -----
From: Kevin Shank
To: va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Wednesday, May 21, 2008 9:26 AM
Subject: [Va-bird] coons, red crossbills and bears
When I photographed coons some time ago, getting into our feeders at night,
one of you suggested I get a coon guard. I listened to the advice and moved
the feeders from S hooks on a tree to a pole with a coon guard. We have
enjoyed watching the puzzled, determined squirrels, and even the coons. They
walk around under the feeder picking up what they can, and put muddy coon
tracks on the guard. All was well until this past Friday night..
We were gone from Friday evening until Saturday noon. Sometime while gone, a
bear tore out our feeding station. In a hurry to get back in business to hold
interest of the red crossbills, I repaired the broken feeder and installed a
new pole on Saturday. A new feature on the pole was a deep wind chime. Okay,
maybe a wind chime won't scare a bear, but will it wake us?
That night I was awakened by the chime. I scrambled for the light, only to
discover the wind was blowing pretty stiff.
Monday was the first we saw the red crossbills after the bear had torn out
the feeder.
About 4:30 this morning my wife was awakened by the chime and this time it
was the bear. He had yanked the suet block off and was about twenty yards
away, devouring my brand new block. I awakened the boys in the next room and
let them watch. In time, the bear finished and headed back toward the feeder.
He soon spied a coon that was coming across the yard to look for spilled seeds.
He ran at the coon and chased it back to the woods, then came back to the
feeder and stood up to it. When the next job on his agenda was to pull the
feeder over, I shoved the window up and told him what any bear hunter would.
This time it was he that lumbered into the woods.
All I can say is it worked-this time. The chime saved the pole and the red
crossbills are here this morning. However, I realize I'm not going to want to
get up every time the wind blows hard. Do any of you have a plan for how to
feed birds and not feed bears? I'm thinking to run a line between the house
and a tree, and then hang feeders from the line. Does anyone have an opinion
if this will work, or will the bear tear the line down?
Thanks.
Kevin
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