BEARS in the Hood (JT) !

[Hollis]

 

So can we think of any way to feed birds & not bears? 
Steve J.

Steve, I can't think of an easier way.

I had a red plastic hummingbird feeder once, enjoyed watching them sip sugar water, they luv the stuff, that feeder got a lot of activity, thought to myself I'd better get a second one, hung it from the eaves at the other end of the house, that doubled the activity, the hummingbirds seemed to be fighting over access, that made me ponder some. Was I creating a stressful feeding situation for the hummers, were they getting all jacked-up and strung-out on sugar water from a plastic feeder, was it a matter of me thinking I'm doing a good thing for them? 
Thought to myself, I'm messing with nature for my own enjoyment.

One day I bought the feeders in to clean and refill, then noticed the hummers were feeding on insects and flowers and seemed to be calmer.
Later that day a bear came sniffing around under where the feeders were hanging, that was all I needed to convince me not to hang the feeders again.

Now I see the hummers in the yard feeding on insects and what few flowering plants there are, they sit and rest on tree branches, I have a water source for the birds, they seem to enjoy it.

I've noticed when some hummers arrive, they head straight for the eaves of the house as if they've been conditioned to look for food there.

Knock on wood, I haven't seen a bear near my house in 15 years. On occasion I'll see one meander by, I've seen them attempt to access food in the neighbors bear resistant garbage cans, with no success and then wander down the road and try others.

This year I had 3 different types of birds nesting in my yard, all thrived with minimal effort from me, seems the less I interfere, the better off they are.