It was a long night. I woke around 2:30 am and never got back to sleep. In the wee hours of the morning, I heard a sound outside but was too tired to investigate. When I finally dragged my weary behind out of bed to let Gidget out, I spied something odd at the chicken coop. I pulled on my boots and jacket over my jammies and headed into the pouring rain to inspect.
This is what I found. We’ve had bobcats and raccoons attempt to get into the chicken coop and run, but this is a first. Poppy and the Peeps, as well as Hazel, are all accounted for.
When I returned to the house and looked out the living room window, it was clear to me who had been causing trouble.
Just a few minutes later, my neighbor messaged over his backyard video, which caught this fellow who took out their bird feeder as well.
What an unprecedented level of rudeness for this early in the season. I knew after our earlier bear sighting this week I should pull in the feeders. I didn’t; I was hopeful that I could continue to enjoy the birds for a bit longer.
Rude bear.
Update 4/2/21: He returned to the scene of the crime last night!
Good morning, I have a resident bear too, living in a national forest. I have “fixed” bird feeders being raided and stolen. I sunk a 4x4x 12’ in the ground 3 feet and cemented it in. I attached 2×4’s at the top and don’t let the feeders hang lower than 7 feet of the ground. I have not had a raid since I made this, for 18 months. If you want a photo, just email me.