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
On Tuesday, May 12, 2026 at 2:07:44 PM UTC-4 sallie barker wrote:
> 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
>
>
