# The Birdseed Bandit



## RedGinger (Feb 20, 2012)

Woke up this morning and the top of this bird feeder was torn off.  I thought it might be a raccoon, but Joe thought it might be a bear because whatever it was had to be really strong to get the top off.  

 Tonight, I saw something out there and we turned on the lights.  This guy had birdseed all over his nose.  He was quite agile, for such a fat raccoon.


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## RedGinger (Feb 20, 2012)

At first, he was timid.  He'd hop down over the other side of the fence when I came outside.  Then, he stood his ground, with birdseed all over his nose.


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## RedGinger (Feb 20, 2012)

We put our Maine Coon, Leo, on the mantle so he could see outside.  He kept reaching up to the ceiling, after seeing the raccoon, but then seemed scared and ran off.


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## RedGinger (Feb 20, 2012)

He looks like a fox in this picture.


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## RedGinger (Feb 20, 2012)

Last one.  Hope you enjoyed it.


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## blobbottlebob (Feb 20, 2012)

It could be my computer, but he looks like two yellow dots to me. I can see him in the other pics, though. Glad it wasn't a bear. Not a critter to mess with.


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## RedGinger (Feb 20, 2012)

Is there any way to move your screen?  I'm glad it wasn't a bear, too!


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## blobbottlebob (Feb 20, 2012)

> Is there any way to move your screen?


 It was just that one where you said he looked like a fox. All the rest are fine. I suppose a bear wouldn't even go for seeds (unless it was starving). I think they like the higher calorie - sweeter stuff. I know somebody who hunts them and they use donuts to bring them around.


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## epackage (Feb 20, 2012)

Very cool...


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## RedGinger (Feb 20, 2012)

Thanks, guys.  Bob, they used donuts to attract bears when they set up a trap in Tom (Penn Digger's) yard a few years ago.


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## Penn Digger (Feb 21, 2012)

> ORIGINAL:  blobbottlebob
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
 Bob,

 The bears love bird seed!!  I have watched them dance around less than 20 feet from my dining room window on 2 feet trying to decide which feeder to rip down.  They have "gotten me" a few times and I have found their scat loaded with bird seed.

 A friend of mine has a picture of a bear in her yard standing on 2 legs "drinking" an elongated tubular bird feeder full of seed.

 PD


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## RICKJJ59W (Feb 21, 2012)

The bears destroy my dads feeders,he had a brown bear on his porch a few weeks ago. I always pray i dont run into one of those when I am walking in the woods in the dark.[:-]


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## RedGinger (Feb 21, 2012)

I wouldn't even want to run into a raccoon.  They are big and very strong!  Plus, they can have rabies of course.  This guy got bolder each time I came outside and stared me down like he might charge me.  He was not giving up that birdseed.  

 Rick, where does your Dad live?  Brown bears are grizzlies!  We don't keep our bird feeders out in the Spring or Summer, or take our trash out until the morning it is due.  This Winter has been much milder than usual, so bears have probably not gone into full hibernation.


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## div2roty (Feb 21, 2012)

Kinda glad that I don't have to worry about bears or when I take out my garbage.  


 Cool pics.  

 I believe that my Mainecoon is a bit of a sissy, but she makes up for it by being so pretty.


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## CALDIGR2 (Feb 21, 2012)

I had one of those damned things tearing up our pond. The SOB ate everything, even our turtle. I put a .22 hollow point between his eyes one night and solved that problem immediately. Raccoons learn fast so the others never came back. Eventually, I filled the pond in 'cause there was nothing left alive anyway. I hate them and will kill any that come into the yard.[]


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## RedGinger (Feb 21, 2012)

Luckily, they don't usually do any damage, except for the occasional bird feeder or birdhouse.  I'm not sure it's legal to shoot them here.  Our biggest problem, in the animal area, is beavers damming up our creek.


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## RedGinger (Feb 21, 2012)

> ORIGINAL:  div2roty
> 
> Kinda glad that I don't have to worry about bears or when I take out my garbage.
> 
> ...


 
 Yeah, I had never even considered something like that before I moved here.  The first time I saw a bear, I was like, "What is that thing doing in the woods?!"  I knew it was normal for them to be there, but it was such a strange and odd sight for me as I had never even seen a bear before.  They are pretty cool, but I am scared of them.  I do enjoy being surrounded by so much wildlife, and the opportunity to take pictures of all kinds of animals.

 Even though Leo seemed scared of the raccoon, in his defense, he did catch a mouse the other day []

 [:-]


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## RedGinger (Feb 21, 2012)

These guys will get into your trash, too.


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## div2roty (Feb 21, 2012)

I do like seeing wildlife, just not in my back yard.  The town I live in, in Delaware, has a big like with a Blue Heron living there.  I've tried to capture him with a picture but haven't been successful yet.  He is always close by when I don't have my camera, never the other way around.

 I did see an eagle in the Eastern Shore of Md last week when I was driving to an auction.  I was on this lightly traveled road when I came upon a car parked along the edge.  At first I thought they were in trouble, but then I realized a woman was taking a photo of something.  So I followed her line of sight onto a field and there was an eagle.  

 I thought that was pretty cool.


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## JOETHECROW (Feb 21, 2012)

> ORIGINAL:  RedGinger
> 
> He looks like a fox in this picture.


 

 Tried to fix it up so you could see it better....


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## RedGinger (Feb 21, 2012)

Yes, that's the picture.  On my computer, the original looks more like a fox, as I said or a coyote to me.


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## rockbot (Feb 27, 2012)

cool pics Red. That raccoon is a fatty.


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## blobbottlebob (Feb 27, 2012)

That woked Laur! I can see the picture so much better that I can see the stars and the moon at night.[]


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## RedGinger (Feb 27, 2012)

LOL.  Actually, I have been trying to get some shots of the stars at night.  Out in the country, on a clear night, they are beautiful.  When there's a full moon, it shines through the bottles on on of our shelves and it looks so cool.  Some night I'll get a clear shot of it.  Joe's friend has something on his phone where you can hold it up to the sky and it tells you what stars you are looking at.  That would be really neat.

 Rocky, he is fat!  I suppose it could have been a mama raccoon.  She hasn't been back since.  

 BTW, we are going to start working on a stained glass bird house as soon as Joe can find some materials to use (besides the shards).  I'm really excited about that project.  We'll post some pics when we're finished.


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## towhead (Feb 28, 2012)

Cool! -Julie


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## CALDIGR2 (Feb 28, 2012)

> ORIGINAL:  RedGinger
> 
> Luckily, they don't usually do any damage, except for the occasional bird feeder or birdhouse.  I'm not sure it's legal to shoot them here.  Our biggest problem, in the animal area, is beavers damming up our creek.


 

 Don't get me started on the "dam" things, Laur. We have a standing $50 reward for them dead or alive. They gird the young pear trees, clog up irrigation pipes and are generally a nuisance. They are mostly nocturnal so getting them involves night vision goggles, a powerful light and a rifle. Away from the ranch I never bother them. I must be weird 'cause I was driving along a levee road one morning and saw a beaver sitting smack in the middle. A guy with a ditch cleaning hoe had disturbed him and he was heading toward water. I picked the heavy bugger up and dropped him on the grass away from the road. He hit water pretty fast. If he had been anywhere near our property I would've shot his a**. Another fun critter we have plenty of are river otters. Those things have no fear and have come within a few feet of me. When the canal water is low thy have a heyday chasing fish.


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