# a black bear visited our bird feeder



## Woodi (Jun 18, 2010)

We were eating breakfast at 7:30AM when I looked up from the table and saw this:







It wasn't too shy either....gave me enough time to run to the other room, grab camera and shoot through the window. It even seemed to pose for a minute or three:






and then it looked directly at the camera:






Hubby and I went to get a pot and spoon, opened the sliding glass door in porch and went out, made some noise. It ran off, but not far, and turned to look back over its shoulder.






I didn't leave the house for the entire rest of the day....<shudder>. We do live surrounded by wilderness, but in a neighbourhood where children are picked up by school bus. We all have small acreages so don't see our neighbours, and cannot be heard shouting, if we need to.


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## mariflo (Jun 18, 2010)

Wow, Diane!!!
... what a cutie  I'd say it was a girl by the way she posed for the camera 
Does it happen often that you see bears in your back yard? I love animals but, cuteness aside,  I would honestly freeze to death if I saw that girl outside my door. 
You are very brave!!! 
She is probably used to living in the vicinity of human communities and wouldn't hurt anyone but still ... wow !!!!


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## Woodi (Jun 18, 2010)

No, not often do we see a bear. In our 14 years here, this is only the second sighting on our property. We did see one two weeks ago, running across the next road.
 I may have to stop feeding birds for the summer because of her...which would be a shame, cuz we have red-breasted grosbeaks, doves, finches, blue jays, blackbirds, and also a few red squirrels and some chipmunks depending on the birdseed. I'll wait a bit and  see, as I do believe this bear has been sighted on other roads, so I gather her territory is large. I'm hoping not to see her again, ever.
I have a call in to a wildlife officer hoping he can advise me.


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## gekko62 (Jun 19, 2010)

Far out.That's amazing.Freaky but amazing. I always think oh wow but realistically you don't really want a bear in yr backyard eh?Bit of a worry when wild creatures become accustomed to being near humans. Saw a goanna in my suburban yard once,freaked me completely.


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## Woodi (Jun 19, 2010)

I had never heard of a goanna, Lisa, so looked it up. For those of you interested, here's what Wikipedia says:

The Sand goanna is a large Australian monitor lizard  - also known as Gould's monitor or the Sand monitor.

 ....reaches an average length of 140 cm (4.6 ft) and can weigh as much as 6 kg (13 lb). 

I think this would scare me too!


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## mariflo (Jun 19, 2010)

Definitely do get a wildlife officer's advice. 

Does she come in because she can smell the bird food? Would it be possible (if not the smell of the bird food attracted her to come) to suspend the feeder higher up from a tree branch for example out of her reach? When I was little I had a tree house and had a bird feeder suspended on a rope from a tree branch. I loved sitting there watching the birdies eat. I would just pull the other end of the rope to bring it down to the ground and fill it up.

I really hope ms' bear stays well away and doesn't come back.


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## Woodi (Jun 23, 2010)

The wildlife officer never got back to me. Perhaps he's too busy chasing bears...

but several of my neighbours have seen a mother and her cub, nearby. One neighbour thinks that the bears got  her old dog. They kept him _outdoors _at night,  :shock:  and one time, she told me " he wandered off, never to be seen again." It was a rather large dog, so I doubt a fisher could have taken it.

Everyone insists that the bears here are very shy, wary of humans, cannot see very well, rely on their smell.....so the one staring into my camera lens may not have seen me.....it ran off never to return since, after we made a lot of noise. They roam a large territory, so I may not see bear again this year.

I still feed birds though. I need two or three scares before I'll stop.


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## mariflo (Jun 28, 2010)

... the officer busy chasing bears   ... 
but he should get back to you, busy or not it's his job and you need his professional opinion. I don't like it when they do that.

I've been meaning to say I am sorry about your cat! I know how much he meant to you and how painful it was when you lost him. I lost my dear cat Merl in January and I still can barely talk about her without the pain coming back. She had CH and couldn't walk. She was black and white just like yours. Around Christmas she stopped eating and early January she left us. I loved her so very much.

Hugs to you and be safe!
mari


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## Woodi (Jun 28, 2010)

Thank you, Mari. I feel your pain for your cat also....so sorry you are suffering. May it ease really soon.

Meanwhile, making soap is a pleasant distraction, isn't it? What are you making lately? I made a batch yesterday, unscented....no fun, but a necessary part of the inventory as there are always those few people looking high and low for unscented bath bars.


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## mariflo (Jul 1, 2010)

Thank you Diane. 
Yes, soaping is indeed a pleasant distraction. Unscented soap is actually what I am looking into right now. I am trying to perfect a doggie formula that my bf. wants to take over to a vet's office and have it analyzed and approved for sale as dog soap in his office. We've been using my soap on our dog and it's doing a wonderful job at maintaining his coat healthy and shiny.
For human usage my last soap was a batch with carrot puree and calendula petals with grapefruit and litsea essential oils. It smells lovely and I love the orange color the carrot gives it.


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## Woodi (Jul 2, 2010)

That sounds like a blend I would love, Mariflo! how does the vet's office actually ANALYZE the soap? ....hope it works out for you, as you could have a lot of customers there.

I have made unscented bars for a horse owner here, and she was hoping I could make a citronella one to keep mosquitoes off the horses too, but I don't make any claims for eo's in terms of medical effects etc....so I'm leary of advertising it as a mosquito repellent soap. 

I made an unscented bar for a dog owner once, and she used it, but the dog grabbed the bar at the end of it, and ate the whole thing down. (piggy dog)....had a bit of "the runs" after that, but otherwise ok.


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## mariflo (Jul 3, 2010)

From what my bf told me, this vet's office is very well equipped and he says they would be able to lab test it for doggy toxicity elements if they consider that any of the ingredients are questionable. I imagine it would be fine and there will be no need for that since I had the recipe "safety assessed". I don't sell soap yet so this is very exciting  I can't imagine selling much this way, but knowing that somewhere a doggy would benefit from using my soap pleases me  We'll see how it goes.
Now that you mentioned horses, I have a friend who has 2 horses and asked me what "natural products" he could use to keep the flies and nasties away. Apparently the flies are pretty aggressive with horses and drive them nuts. This friend has 2 wonderful stallions and says they are often attacked by horseflies. Scary! He tried lavender to no effect. Do you think I should suggest citronella to him?
Have a wonderful weekend!
mari


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## April (Jul 3, 2010)

What a cute bear.  I guess it was nice to see her disappear into the woods though.  That backward glance was a little heart breaking.  Banging pots and pans is exactly what I read you should do when a bear arrives.  

Even though I live in the city, in a less urban area, we have ground hogs (2), racoons, geese (hundreds), swans (about 50+) and once in a while, a fox.  We also had something that looked like a mink a while ago (I don't think it was a ferret).  So far no bears, thank goodness.  I heard this week that our street also has bats (outside).  I am happy about this because they eat a lot of insects.  

I too am sorry to learn about your cat.  They are such loving companions and when they go they leave a emptiness in our hearts.    

Thank you for sharing Winnie with us.

Regards,


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## Woodi (Jul 5, 2010)

Yes, April. We get flyers in the mail each year, warning us about black bears and how to live amongst them.

I love feeding wildlife, so have a hard time saying no, but will discourage large creatures such as bears.

 I won't stop filling my birdfeeders though, unless the bear comes again, or does more damage than emptying one feeder. I have no fear of wildlife (perhaps cuz I don't fear death any longer....getting old now, need to prepare). I have two mother raccoons coming every suppertime. If one misses a day, I worry about where she got to. Cars get a lot of them. We also have coyotes, and now bears....


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## Lynnz (Jul 6, 2010)

Wow Woodi how cool are those photos!!!!!!


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## Woodi (Jul 7, 2010)

Well that's not the only wildlife which visits our bird feeders.. This gal is just toooooo cute!
I just love little raccy feet and hands!






and she's not afraid of our cats either, nor are they of her.


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## mariflo (Jul 8, 2010)

Awwwww, cuteness!!!!
She looks so comfortable in that bird feeder


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