thistle seed

[sallie barker]

Hello, My (older and usually wiser) sister in law has just told me that the bears of (Norwich)Vermont do not bother with thistle seed feeders!  She says they are safe to keep up... She is an excellent birder, I hasten to add!  Does anyone know if bears of New Hampshire, particularly in the Springfield/New London area, have a similar culinary distaste!?!  

PS. I do take my suet/sunflower feeders down every evening, but SHE does not!  And thus far, she is proven right!  Dare I try?

Thanks,

Sallie Barker

 

[KC]

I, now, take in all my bird feeders every night. But until last September, I would leave the thistle feeder out because I, too, thought a bear would not be interested in it. Then late one night, I heard a noise on my deck. I peeked out the glass door and saw a juvenile bear standing upright with its paws on the hanging thistle feeder. I’m not sure if the bear was really interested in the thistle or he/she was just checking out what looked like a bird feeder that might have tasty seed in it. From that point on, I bring everything in at night and, so far, I have not had another bear encounter.

~Derry, NH

[Jill Thompson]

I don't know if my New Hampshire juvenile bear thief was interested in the thistle seed or just thought he might be, but he took it down, and carried it a ways down the trail into our woods.  Top was pried off and contents gone.  I haven't fixed it yet to try again....  Other feeders all (including hummingbird feeder) come in every night and so far, so good!

[Jill Thompson]

Suet feeder left up??  I have lost 8 of them through the years!  I think the sister is just lucky!