Where We Live

From today's Reformer:

Thursday, April 10

BRATTLEBORO -- With the first warm week of spring here, wildlife experts are reminding bird lovers that it now is the time to bring in their feeders.

"With the weather we're having this week, I've already heard of a couple of bears wandering around. One already came by a bird feeder," state Wildlife Biologist Forrest Hammond said.

Although people like to see the birds as long as possible, he said, "now there's a lot of natural food for them. They don't need the feed like they do in the wintertime. It's more important to prevent bears from beginning a life of crime simply by taking in your feeders."

Young bears are more apt to go out to feeders, particularly if they got away with it the first time, Hammond said. "Individuals could play a role in educating the bear by making loud noises, trying to scare the bear enough so that it wouldn't want to try to approach the next house."

With the stronger winter, "there may be more bears than normal visiting bird feeders because there was not as much late fall nuts available to them before they went into the den," Hammond said.