April 1: A Reminder about Feeders

Black bear near our well in 2009.

It is April 1. Today is the day we are supposed to take our bird feeders down so the bears don't come and eat the feeders. They are, or will be, waking up. We know where the bears on the mountain hibernate in the winter. We know they come down to the house to see how careless we were about leaving food about (or kitties about). Click here and here for the story. We see their tracks and scat all summer long in our apple orchard, the woods and under the choke cherry trees. So bring in your feeders today.

Raccoons are a huge problem in spring, too.

But bears aren't the only problem. The raccoons destroy more of my feeders than bears do. And we have had recorded outbreaks of raccoon rabies in Orleans County in the past five years. Minks and fisher cats will be by, also (as happened to me last week when a big mink ran right by me under the feeders when I was photographing birds). So get your feeders in today!

I will be taking the feeders in as soon as they are empty. Probably tomorrow or Sunday. I put out the last of the sunflower and thistle today because of this snowstorm we are having. The redpolls were crazy happy that I filled the little thistle socks  and the chickadees were irritated at my slowness, as always. The woodpeckers are back because the others are back and the robins, doves. blue jays and red-winged blackbirds stop by to take a look now and then. It's been another great photography season with the birds and squirrels. The photos are not all posted yet, though, so you will see more!

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Another Black Bear

Saturday, May 16, 2009 about 2:30pm, another and different black bear showed up behind the house in the little field behind the break of tamarack and willow. We are debating if it is bigger or smaller than the first bear. Matt shot the video from outside the back door. Of course, I was not home. The baby geese hatched and bears are tramping all over my land. They do this when I'm not there. Of course.

So we are now in a bear corridor. This is probably a male bear either following the first female bear or following another male bear. A female won't follow a male, so this is the same bear or a bigger male. It is probably not the first bear because she saw us and learned that there was no food here for her. She will probably not return in the daylight hours. The muzzle on this bear is bigger and browner than the first bear, also. So no more wandering around the mountainside looking for new wildflower photographs.

Technorati Tags: Ursus americanus, black bear

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Black Bear Still Photos

Here are two of the promised still photos of the bear that visited us on Tuesday. They are not as good as they should be with the care I thought I took when I shot. I was very excited and happy and, obviously, shaking. More (and better photos) can be seen here and here.

Black Bear Set

Technorati Tags: Ursus americanus, black bear
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Black Bear at Back Door

Matt was wandering about the house tonight talking on the phone when he saw this bear in the back dooryard, very close to the house. I was shooting with the Canon XSi, he was doing video with the Canon Power Shot. She was there longer than the video shows. I am processing the still shots now and will post them as soon as possible. As Matt says, she was cute, but not something you want to go out and play with. You can hear a wood thrush singing in the woods at the end of the video. The bird feeders were taken down and destroyed by the raccoons a month ago, so the bear was not coming for the feeders. John says the average size for black bear is 125 lbs and that this bear is around 250 lbs. She seems to be timid as if looking for food for her cubs.

Technorati Tags: Ursus americanus, black bear, Barton, Vermont
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