Jack, I live in the heart of bear country (Isabella) and have been struggling with bears/feeders for years. The only things I've found that work for feeders are 1) taking in the feeder at night, 2) putting the feeder higher than the bear can reach on a pole it can't climb. For the last year we've been dealing with a 400+ pound male, which has been challenging. I put a large platform feeder on a solid 4"x4" post 8' high. It couldn't reach it but he stood on his hind legs and rocked the post back-and-forth with such force he snapped it off at ground level. I'm in the process of replacing it with a 5"x6" post. A disadvantage of this approach is the need for a stepladder to service it. And forget a hanging feeder if the pull rope is at a level the bear can reach. They'll figure it out, skip the feeder and yank on the rope/cable till all the seed is shaken out or it's pulled to the ground. I don't have a suggestion for nest boxes except for height, but I imagine people aren't going to want to haul a stepladder around for that or go to the time and expense of a telescoping pole.
Steve Wilson -----Original Message----- From: Minnesota Birds <MOU-NET@LISTS.UMN.EDU> On Behalf Of MOU-NET automatic digest system Sent: Monday, June 30, 2025 12:00 AM To: MOU-NET@LISTS.UMN.EDU Subject: MOU-NET Digest - 27 Jun 2025 to 29 Jun 2025 (#2025-66) There are 2 messages totaling 50 lines in this issue. Topics of the day: 1. Black Bear Deterrent 2. MOU Field Trip - Bell Museum Behind-the-Scenes - July 27 ---- General information and guidelines for posting: https://moumn.org/listservice.html Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 29 Jun 2025 10:57:22 -0600 From: MOU <m...@moumn.org> Subject: Black Bear Deterrent (Posted by Jack Hauser <jgshau...@gmail.com> via moumn.org) Greetings, In the Spring edition of BBRP Newsletter, I recently read that Jean Olsen of Pine County lost 109 eggs/chicks from black bear attacks, during the 2024 nesting season. Because bears have such a keen sense of smell and Bluebirds cannot smell, I thought maybe some form of skunk oil would deter them. Does anyone have experience on how to deter black bears from bird feeders& nesting boxes? Cruising the web for answers, I found "Repels-All" and Pepper Spray. Has anyone had experience with any of these products? Reading more closely I found that Repels-All did not include Black bears. Jack ---- General information and guidelines for posting: https://moumn.org/listservice.html Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 29 Jun 2025 17:22:04 -0500 From: Matt Hoberg <mhobe...@gmail.com> Subject: MOU Field Trip - Bell Museum Behind-the-Scenes - July 27 July 27: Bell Museum- Ornithology Behind-the-Scenes 10 am In partnership with Dr Keith Barker from the University of Minnesota, Matt Hoberg will lead a unique field trip to the Bell Museum including behind-the-scenes viewing of bird specimens. This is a special opportunity to learn about ornithology research. For more information and registration (required), visit the registration page <https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F48A9AC2FA5FFCE9-57136325-bell>. Matt Hoberg MOU Field Trip Committee Chair ---- General information and guidelines for posting: https://moumn.org/listservice.html Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ------------------------------ End of MOU-NET Digest - 27 Jun 2025 to 29 Jun 2025 (#2025-66) ************************************************************* ---- General information and guidelines for posting: https://moumn.org/listservice.html Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
