Front Yard Birding
I forgot to bring in the bird feeders one night. In the night a bear decided to take them down.
My wife and I enjoy front yard birding from our deck. We sit outside after supper and watch the birds visit the feeders. We have sunflower seed for the seed eaters, orange and jelly for the oriole, suet for the woodpeckers, dried mealworms for the bluebirds, hanging baskets of flowers for the hummingbirds and peanuts for the blue jays and occasional crow. It is busy place.
https://flic.kr/p/2oJSyaC Catbirds are one of the most frequent visitors. They seem to like all the food choices we provide, especially grape jelly.
Fresh Food
During the colder months, the bluebirds go crazy over the dried mealworms. However we noticed that now they prefer to catch fresh bugs.
https://flic.kr/p/2oJSy6Q Bluebird with dinner for the family, fresh food, not the dried worms from China
Unwelcome Damage
According to NH Fish and Game, bird feeders can be out from December 1 to April 1 to avoid problems with bears. This isn't a rule, it is a suggestion, one that I have ignored for many years. I was taking the feeders in at night which was successful until I forgot. In the morning all I could see was the top of the feeder.
https://flic.kr/p/2oKqQJP Later I found the bottom of the feeder in another part of the lawnhttps://flic.kr/p/2oKqQLx A suet feeder sans suet. This is going in the scrap metal pile.
When I found the bottom half of the feeder I believe it can be repaired, which is good since it was quite costly. It could deter squirrels but not an animal that weighs hundreds of pounds. The shepherd crooks are bent badly and I'll need a torch to straighten them out. This was all my fault for being forgetful. I'm sure my readers have similar stories.
