Even though the amount of food in a bird feeder doesn’t seem like much, bears have been known to raid them out of desperation.
Bird feeders do attract bears, and once a bear has sampled the feeder’s contents, it will be tough to deter further visits. Bears of all sizes, from grizzlies to black bears, including their cubs, are welcome in the backyard. Bears’ excellent sense of smell makes it simple for them to locate feeders.
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Compared to a massive Grizzly or Black bear, the amount of food in a seed or peanut feeder may not seem like much.
If bears find your feeder, it will become a reliable food supply unless you take action to prevent it.
Bears have one of the strongest senses of smell in the animal kingdom, making them a constant threat to the backyard birds you feed with peanuts, suet, and anything else they can get their paws on.
The mother may bring her pups to feed at the various feeders if food is left out every day.
Even while she can easily knock over the standard bird feeders and any open platform feeder, that’s not what she’s wanting.
Bears, like the hummingbirds, will need to drink water, thus any hummingbird feeders in the yard are fair game because they also attract bears.
As you may be aware, bears will eat anything left out in your yard, including rubbish, but bird feeders must be taken apart and stored away until the bear family moves on.
Bears are attracted to feeders
You may count on bears to ruin your equipment in an endeavor to get to the bird seed in your feeders.
Bears have one of the best senses of smell of any animal, therefore any bird feeder containing food is fair game for any bear that happens to stumble across it.
It’s possible that bears initially weren’t interested in the feeders’ food, but when they got a good look at it during their first visit to your backyard, they started coming back for more.
Bears are able to associate the presence of food with the presence of a bird feeder.
It’s possible that the mother Grizzly bear and her kids are running low on food in the wild, despite the fact that it’s highly unusual for an animal of that size to be drawn to a food source in such meager numbers.
Thus, it can be said with certainty that bears are attracted to bird feeders and will seek them out if they ever find their way into your yard.
Generic feeders the target
It may come as a surprise, but bears aren’t drawn to bird feeders for the meat you’d think they would, but rather for the peanuts, seeds, and suet that they provide.
The food in a bird feeder is actually quite similar to what a wild bear would consume. Bears mostly consume vegetation such as grasses, roots, and berries, leaving any and all fruit, including fruit-based suet, for the birds.
Even though bears have acquired a taste for human food, especially waste, feeding them bird seed is far simpler and more appetizing.
When hungry, bears will tear apart a hanging bird feeder and devour the peanuts and, if they can’t find any, the seeds inside.
However, if you have suet, especially fruit suet, then this would be the objective first and foremost, but truly a big bear like a Grizzly or Black bear would eat everything that is accessible to them.
This is also true for platform feeders containing food for birds left out in the elements, however the bears may spare your feeders this time.
Can purge hummingbird feeders
Not only are bears likely to raid your bird feeders in search of enticing bird snacks, but they may also attempt to steal hummingbirds from your feeders.
A large Grizzly or a somewhat smaller Black bear may knock down your hummingbird feeder to savor the sweet nectar it contains.
Bears will have to work a little bit to get their drink, as they are known to dismantle water containers in search of a sugary beverage.
If bears discover this sugar water, the hummingbird feeder is doomed after just one visit.
While hummingbird feeders on their own poles provide a fall hazard, those securely fastened to the ceiling of the porch are far less of a concern.
Remember to keep feeders far away from the home if you have a bear problem or think it could happen there to avoid an expected clash with momma bear.
No current anti-bear feeder solution
There is no foolproof method to prevent bears from destroying a bird feeder in your yard, as their size and power will eventually bring down any feeder mounted on a pole.
No bear would be able to scale the side of your house to get to a bird feeder hung on a bracket up to ten feet off the ground.
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But again, they may approach the house to check it out; if you want to prevent this, you shouldn’t put up bird feeders or hummingbird feeders near the building. In the event that bears are in the area, it is important that you have a clear view from the window.
Unfortunately, there is currently no foolproof method to protect bird feeders from bears, other than moving them to a more elevated location in the yard.
You may keep the birds secure from bears by hanging the feeders from the ceiling of a shed or other outbuilding that is at least 10 feet high.
Even while bears won’t harass birds too much, if a family of bears is making a nuisance of themselves near the food source, the wildlife in your area won’t bother to eat.
Feeders MUST be removed
Bird feeders are an easy target for bears because of the bears’ large size and strength, both of which are put to good use when food is nearby.
Bears can easily knock over your feeding station, complete with bird feeders, by just grabbing the pole with their claws.
If you want to keep bears out of your yard, you should never leave bird seed or feeders out there, since this will just encourage them to return.
Bears can still smell the bird feeders and their food even if they are stored in a shed in the backyard, so putting them there may not be a good idea. If this happens, you’ll need to find a safe place to store the feeders and the bird food, preferably within the house.
Bear mom and her cubs will keep coming back every day until you get rid of them, so if you want to reintroduce bird feeders at a later time, you’ll need to make sure the trash is always picked up and any other food sources are stored away.
When it’s time to put away the feeders, it’s probably preferable to throw away any leftover bird food, wash the feeders, and leave them outside rather than bringing them inside.
To conclude
Bears will certainly be interested in your bird feeder because of the tempting treats it contains.
Bears will enjoy the peanuts, seeds, and suet that fill the feeders.
If you consider that the contents of a typical bird feeder are similar to what bears consume in the wild, such as berries, then the bears’ desire to eat the bird food shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.
Bears have an acute sense of smell, making them susceptible to being lured to a bird feeder despite the fact that the feeders themselves don’t appear to emit any discernible scent.
Hummingbird feeders are a potential source of excitement for a thirty bear because of the sugar water they contain if something goes wrong.
Bears are incredible creatures, but until they are stopped, bird feeders will continue to be destroyed.
Stop feeding the birds for a few days if you want to discourage bears from coming into your yard to eat every day; eventually, they will get the message that the food supply has been removed and will leave.
Source: https://petstutorial.com
Category: Birds
