Over the past few years, the bird feeders have been raided by bears. These early morning raids have generally occurred in the first weeks of April, but this year, it was the third week in March.
I had planned to remove this feeder on Saturday for this reason, but the bear came on Friday. Luckily the ground was soft from the rain and the pole went down without a fight, so neither the pole or the feeder were damaged. (I had been filling this feeder with only a cup of black sunflower seed per day due to the fact the Grackles were emptying it out each day, so it was surprising there was enough seed in it for the bear to be that interested).
I had planned on putting in a higher pole to make the bear’s work harder if not impossible. So after putting this feeder away for a few months, I put in place a new pole from which tube feeder could be hung.
This is a 10ft long 4×4 of treated lumber. It was placed into a 2ft deep hole with about 1ft of that being a hard clay sublayer.
At this height, I am still able to remove the feeders for refill without aid. But a rope and pulley system can be incorporated for a shorter feeder.
The pole does stand out a bit more than I would like, so the pole with be painted brown at some point. Plus it will help once the tree leaves pop out.
Pennsylvania Native Garden Journey 