Doris Wilbur had an overnight visitor of the dark hairy kind. Her dog woke her to find a bear had taken down her bird feeder and was still on her property. The footprints show the bear walked from the grass and up to the front porch. The DEC recommends removing bird feeders and securing trash bins during summer months. (Photo by Doris Wilbur)

CHENANGO COUNTY — As birds migrated from south to north, many residents put up feeders to attract the fair feathered songsters. Yet keeping feeders up overnight can prove to invite additional wildlife, such as bear.

As a Pharsalia resident my husband Brian and I enjoy feeding the birds and he has been an avid birder for most of his life.

We recently had an encounter with a black bear at our home and wanted to share it.

Last Wednesday, Brian had just filled our tube feeder with sunflower seed and went back inside the house. But a moment later when he looked out his window, instead of seeing birds on the feeder, he saw a huge black bear.


“I was in the house about five minutes, if that, and turned to look out our big picture window to see a black bear up on his hind legs, reaching for the feeder,” he said.

At this point I became involved. He called me over and we watched the bear drop down on all fours and quickly lumber away.

“I never would have believed it, had I not seen it,” said Brian.

We had our bird feeders knocked down a few times in the past few weeks, but I thought it was a raccoon.