There were two hummingbird feeders on our deck this week. Now there is one.
A Dine Until Dark Curfew has been imposed on the little hummers and the one remaining feeder is taken inside when the sun goes down.
What happened?
A mystery intruder visited and vandalized our peaceful Virginia home.
If you are interested in solving mysteries, here are the clues:
- A favorite old hummingbird feeder was lying in three pieces on our deck,
- amid a wide swath of sticky sugar water,
- replete with large animal footprints, and
- unidentified animal scat on the deck stairs.
“What critter (or person) could it be?”we wondered.
Bill thought it was a raccoon. I thought a bear. Can you tell by these observations the differences in our personalities and outlooks on life?
I Googled SCAT and found some that looked like ours (NO, NOT HUMAN). Oddly, there are actual animal “poop charts” so you can compare and identify droppings! Somehow I find this offensive to my sensitive senses.
Bear Scat
Anyway, that was as far as I got researching when an email came in from our immediate next door neighbors warning they had seen a mama bear and her two cubs in their back yard!
Mystery SOLVED! IT WAS DEFINITELY A BEAR!!! AND A VIRGINIA BLACK BEAR WITH TWIN CUBS!!! Well, what did I expect when we chose to live in the country – civilization?
Then a second email came and a third. The word is out and we have a NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH with friends sending email alerts!
- “We saw a mama bear and two cubs in our back yard this morning. If you think this is information that should be shared with the neighbors, would you pass it on?”
- “Yep! We had some work being done at our house a few weeks ago and they videoed two cubs and the mom on our property.”
- “Also I saw them crossing the hunt road, heading up the hill into the woods between the pond and the riding ring, just like last summer. My mare has indicated their closeness to our place too. I have not viewed them there personally yet (but, she doesn’t fib).”
Virginia Views 
I lived in Fredericksburg sixteen years … only once did a black bear go through the apartment complex and destroy a line of thirty plus feeders of all sizes and arrangements. This was a bear within the city proper. Thanks for jogging a fun memory!
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So much excitement. I can honestly say there’s never been a bear in my backyard. City living does have its benefits!
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That is definitely bear scat. I could tell from the photo.
Do you know how lucky you are to have bears visit?
That is a dumb question.
Of course you do.
Lucky you.
And the bears too,
who get to visit you!
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OMG ! Dora I would be scared to death. Hurrah for your neighborhood watch.
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Wow! Please keep your eyes peeled while outside, Dor.
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What are you doing hiding? Go outside and get some pics :).
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Well that’s scary! I’m not sure what to do in that case. I have to take my bird feeders in too. They are full of sunflower seeds but it’s raccoons and not bears. I’m also wondering if they can scale a my garden fence. Definite signs of something eating my tomatoes that isn’t chipmunk or bird.
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What a marvelouspost! It was full of mostly solved mystery with lots of tension thrown in. Fun reading! Be careful of the bears, though. They are not known for their appreciation of the written word.
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We were staying at a cabin near Lake Tahoe that had put up an electric fence on the outside of the house to keep bears out. It was like sleeping in a fort – I suggested that the grand kids stand “bear watches.”
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30 feeders???? Amazing! I guess we were pretty lucky even though the bear also turned over an ash bucket and dented it in the process. 🙂
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Judging from some of the comments, it is not unknown to find bears in civilized cities. 🙂 Keep your eyes peeled Patti. 🙂
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No, Cindy I do not know how lucky we are to have visiting bears. I know you are a naturalist so, “Help!” Why are we lucky? I know the bears are opportunists though and once a big guy sauntered by and he was a beautiful shiny specimen and a delight to watch from the inside.
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Not scared to death – yet – Rita, but you can bet I stay close to home. 🙂
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Hahaha! I need to find a very loud noisemaker I think…. or carry a metal pan lid and a wooden spoon when I go outside. 🙂
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Hahahahahahahahaha! Photographing a mama bear protecting her cubs may be a death wish! Mauled is not the way I want to go…. worse than having axe murderers come for a visit. 🙂
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Oh, I’m sure raccoons can scale the fence. I once saw a squirrel carrying one of Bill’s garden tomatoes along the top of our pasture fence! He looked like he was on a freeway heading home. 🙂
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I love your sense of humor Anne – and the part about bears not appreciating the written word!
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Ooooh! That stay near Tahoe had to be tense. From what I can tell, bears don’t seem to mind pain and just barge through human barriers. Our pasture fence boards tend to fall (or be pushed) down for no good reason.
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Yes, we have squirrels too. I am cutting down the peach trees in the fall. Didn’t get a single peach even though there were hundreds on the tree. Too much work for no fruit.
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That’s true. I remember hearing of a cub or two that wandered away from the Great Dismal Swamp in search of their own territory and ended up in a residential neighborhood in VB. They were tranquilized and returned.
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We had the same problem with our peach trees – now died of natural causes. We managed to enjoy 4 peaches in 20 years though The deer got them from the bottoms up and the birds crows the top down.
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Yikes!
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The deer get the bottom but the groundhogs climb and get the tops ones. Saw them with my own eyes! We have groundhogs on steroids.
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Bears are famous for going after the hummingbird feeders. They steal my sisters all the time. One even bent the metal pole the feeder was hanging from.She diligently cleans up their mess and continues to feed the hummers.
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Tee hee 🙂
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What a great story . Can’t help but notice who was right . … glad the bears have been peaceful neighbors thus far .
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My policy is to make so much noise that they never come back – it has worked pretty well so far the past 26 years here. The younger they are conditioned to fear humans the better. Nothing worse than a bear that doesn’t back off – they usually end up being shot by the animal warden.
I clang two pot lids together and yell really LOUDLY and that scares them quite well. 😉 Bringing the bird feeders in at night and making sure no food source is available makes sense. Luckily, they are mostly nocturnal, so you are not apt to run into them in the daytime.
My brother’s girlfriend made a blueberry cake and left in on the counter once and a bear came up on the deck, through the screen door, trashed the kitchen, walked around the house, even UPSTAIRS and then left. Luckily, she had gone on an errand and wasn’t home. That was a heck of a mess to clean up! Lesson learned, lock up tight after baking. ;D
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Wow! I didn’t know groundhogs climbed trees! We have a groundhog living near the poolhouse who has been there for 10 or more years. He’s very fat now and maybe on steroids too. 🙂
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Glad you noticed woodlandgnome… about who was right. 🙂 On the other hand, I wish it was simply a raccoon.
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Thank you! I like your policy Eliza and I now have a plan to do a lot of clattering like that if I sense bears in the area. Scary story about the blueberry cake and the unwanted visitor. Yikes.
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Yes , sometimes we know we’re right yet still wish we weren’t . … may this one come out alright for you and the neighbors 😮
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How exciting! Be super careful.
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My first thought was a bear! But three? Yikes. And on your deck? Double yikes!! Ol’ Mama Bear will be very protective of those cubs too so be careful. I have heard of bears coming right into folks’ houses after yummy treats can be smelled by them. Freaks me out. When I had my bear encounter a few years ago in broad daylight, we had just put up a bird feeder and it was chock full of seeds and our raspberries were ripening too. More knowledgeable people than I am told me those factors probably enticed the bear into our yard.
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I remember your story of the bear! And tis no wonder you are still distressed. I am on the lookout now too, especially since there are cubs involved. They say mama bears are aggressively protective of their kids. I have abandoned regular bird feeders as well since something is always tearing them down, and was only using the ones for hummingbirds. Now that seems to be bear bait as well. Ah well…. such is country life. 🙂
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Oh, my, bears! I can see where a bear might like the sweet of the hummingbird feeder. At least you have a neighborhood watch but we careful out there. Your Virginia countryside is beautiful though! Maybe the bears will be hibernating soon!
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I noticed deer tracks in my yard recently. Are deers aggressive? I know deers from “Bambi”. We have lots of deer around here. I almost hit one on the road a few months ago. Cheers from Portland!
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I understand there is no hibernation period for the bears in Virginia… the weather does not get cold enough for a long enough period of time. So I will be looking over my shoulder forever. Sigh. 🙂
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Thank you for visiting my blog Lori. I do not think deer are aggressive except perhaps during rutting season when the males can get confrontational with other males. They are mostly gentle beautiful creatures. 🙂
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Thanks Suzicate. I am like your sister…. I clean up the mess and continued feeding the hummers, but I do take the feeder in at night. I am also making a lot of noise now to scare the bears away? Generally a quiet person I am now slamming car doors and stamping my feet on the deck. It is called self delusion.
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Put another one out and wait with the camera. 🙂
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Oooooh! Dangerous! We just saw a movie called The Revenant and a bear attack scene is giving me nightmares. Nope, No bait for photos…. nope….. uh uh. 🙂
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Great movie. Not so much what you want in real life on the porch!
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That bear attack in the movie was so real and so violent I am still horrified.
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