Tuesday, October 20, 2015

The Wildlife Outside My Window - Good and Bad

I love the wildlife outside my window! Even when I was living in the city I had a little bird feeder and a bird bath outside my bedroom window. I took such delight in that little bit of wildlife that would come eat the treats I would put out for them.

On that note, most of these photos were taken through the window so excuse any fuzziness.....

I felt sorry for the little critters when I moved away, as I do with each move. They get used to having regular meals provided for them and then all of a sudden....nothing.

Well, that's not happening again since I've decided I'm never ever moving again. Ever.


I love looking out and seeing all the critters, large and small, that bring me such joy. Like my little chipmunk friend.  And my neighbors' horses, seen so clearly out my bedroom window now that the trees are getting bare. They are my favorite neigh-bors - ahem. Sorry. 


Not all the creatures bring me joy and some of the wildlife up here on the mountain can be quite scary. 

Like the coyotes. And the bobcats. And the snakes. Ewwww, I hate snakes. And the skunks. And the porcupines. 


And the bears. They are the scariest of all. 

And I had my first real visit from one last night....well, first time in this house. 


I went to put the peanuts out for the birds this morning and one of my feeders was missing. I found the feeder pole on the stairs and a chunk of wood torn from the deck railing where the bear had climbed the stairs, reached over the gate, and tore off the feeder pole. And took the feeder. 


He carried it down by the driveway and broke it to bits. Destroyed it. Grrrrrrrrrr!


It's not the first time I've had a bear take the feeders....not in a long shot. It's just the first time in my new house. 


Crap. I was really hoping they didn't know where I lived!


We gathered the pieces and my sweetie will figure out what parts I'm missing and I'll contact the company for replacements. This company is fabulous, they truly stand behind their product. 


Funny that it's a squirrel buster isn't it? I wish they  made a bear buster! 

It doesn't exist. Not that I know of. If anyone knows of a way to truly keep the bears away from the feeders please share! 

I'll have to bring the feeders into the garage every night before dusk now. Until I'm off his regular feeding route again. Or he goes into hibernation. 

The bear at my last house didn't hibernate in the winter. I had to bring the feeders in every single night, all year. It's irritating to have this extra chore every evening but for me, watching the birds outweighs the annoyance. 


I found a replacement in the garage, installed the feeder pole again, and waited. It wasn't long before we were back in business!


The Nuthatch is coming for the suet. He'd like to get to the peanuts but the Blue Jays won't let him. 


This will do for now!


This is the first time I've seen the Mourning Doves on the flat feeder. 


I honestly wasn't all that sure they were bright enough to figure out there was seed in there! My sweetie calls them the Doofus Birds. He's kind of right....but don't tell him I said so!


The Blue Jays have been regular visitors for a while now but this is the first time I ever captured three on there at once - usually they are too busy fighting!


It didn't take the Gold Finches long to figure out how to work the replacement feeder. Smart little pipsqueaks!


The Dark Eyed Junco comes around looking for tidbits on the ground. Although they are primarily ground feeders they will come to the feeders as well on occasion. 


The Finches like this little thistle feeder outside the kitchen window. I really enjoy being at the sink and watching them up close! 


This poor little Mourning Dove was trying to stay warm on Sunday morning when the temps were in the teens - I felt so bad for him! Look how he fluffed up his feathers to try and stay warm! Yup, that was snow on the railing. That was this cold blustery day.


I love watching the antics of the squirrels. They are such goofy little critters! This guy looks like he has ants in his pants waiting for the other squirrel to have his fill. 


Waiting not so patiently for his turn at the feeder.....he's looking a little anxious now. 


And he gave up. Perhaps the Blue Jay bullied him away. 


The Blue Jays are ganging up on the squirrel but he doesn't seem to be bothered at all. 


Getting a little impatient now....."Come on, you've had enough - it's our turn!"

What kind of wildlife do you see out your window? 


30 comments:

  1. Squirrels, which drive Charlie nuts. And also cats that aren't supposed to be outside walking along the fence. Which also drives him nuts! Never had a bear. Had a big tortoise once in my back yard at my old rental house. Now the dogs REALLY went crazy with that. I do love the birds. I don't see as many here because as soon as I open the patio doors, they fly away.
    Brenda

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    1. What about Abi? She doesn't care?

      Wow, a big tortoise, that's something to see!! I saw a giant snapping turtle once crossing the road when I was driving and never saw it again. It was huge, the size of a kitchen sink!

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  2. Squirrels, which drive Charlie nuts. And also cats that aren't supposed to be outside walking along the fence. Which also drives him nuts! Never had a bear. Had a big tortoise once in my back yard at my old rental house. Now the dogs REALLY went crazy with that. I do love the birds. I don't see as many here because as soon as I open the patio doors, they fly away.
    Brenda

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  3. Life outside your window is very nice and so different from mine -- I'm in southern California and we were still in the 90s last week! Fun to see how different things are at your house.

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    1. Southern California sure is gorgeous! I wouldn't mind a peek out your window! Thanks so much for stopping by my mountain home for a visit!

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  4. What beautiful photos and beautiful scenery! Bears are truly the worst...they ruin everything they touch!

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    1. They certainly are a nuisance, Benita! Thank you for your kind words and for coming by for a visit!

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  5. We have a variety of wildlife here(Pennsylvania). Deer, raccoons ( who love to raid the feeders), chipmunks (who love to see how many peanuts they can stuff in their mouth), fox, herons, snapping turtles and snakes. I also grew up in the city and love country living. Your blog is fantastic!

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    1. Thank you so much!! Sounds like you have the same critters as me - any bear in your neck of the woods?

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  6. I don't know why I came up as unknown???

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  7. You're surrounded by lovely birds and wildlife. But the bear thingy is a bit scary! I wouldn't go out in the evening! Thanks for popping in to see me.
    be a sweetie,
    Shelia ;)

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    1. Oh without a doubt, Shelia! I have to be on the alert when I wander around the property in the evening. It's a bit unnerving at times but I love it up here so much I'll take the good with the bad! Thanks so much for the visit!

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  8. I love seeing outside your window - we have a big feeder with birds that are constant entertainment! Happy Tuesday ~

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    1. It is truly one of the simple pleasures, is it not? It took the birds quite a while to find me in my new home and I am delighted with all the traffic at the feeders now...although I could certainly do without the bear! Thanks so very much for coming by!

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  9. i love reading your blog. i feel like i'm actually there looking out your window. kinda scary about the bear but u seem to have all ur bases covered :)

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    1. Thanks, Ellen! It is scary for sure but it is also a fact of life up here on the mountain top. Bear sightings are often a topic of conversation at dinner parties and neighbors call if they see one so you can be on the alert. This bear came in the wee hours so no heads up for me! Thankfully I was tucked into my bed sound asleep. Have a happy day, Ellen!

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  10. oh the jays waiting for the squirrel cracked me up. You have a nice variety of visitors but that bear is a bit scary!

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    1. More than a bit scary, Deb! I didn't sleep well last night, thinking I heard all sorts of noises....no sign of anything this morning so I think (hope) it was just my imagination or the horses next door!

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  11. A bear huh? I thought that the raccoons were pesky, but a bear is downright scary! Yikes!

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    1. Funny enough I haven't seen any raccoons at my house yet - of course, the garbage is in the garage so that helps. But they're up here for sure!

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  12. That bear story would do me in, I would say we are moving asap LOL I'm a city gal

    I feed my birds and squirrel all winter also. There is no way to keep the squirrels out of the bird feeders so I throw a lot of black sun flower seeds on the ground for all to have

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    1. That's a good idea - my sweetie does that at his house, also, He throws down a bunch of peanuts and sunflower seeds which keeps the squirrels out of the flat feeder. Thanks for coming by for a visit - I love meeting new blogger friends!

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  13. Here in southwestern Virginia, we have all of the same animals you have that come into our yard. We don't feed any of them, other than during the summer months we have a hummingbird feeder. (sugar water) The bear will go after any kind of bird seed so I won't let my husband put out seed feeders for the winter birds. They seem to do okay finding things that nature provides for them. We did have a bird seed feeder at our last home and my husband rigged a flange around the bottom of it and no squirrel was ever able to get at the seed....

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    1. I've tried the squirrel baffle thing also, it worked for a while. The squirrel buster feeder is fantastic, they cant' get to the seed. The flat feeder gets seed in the morning and again in the evening, a little at a time, so they can't go too crazy - when it's gone, it's gone. We feed the hummers also - I just took my feeders down a couple of weeks ago. The bear has taken down the hummingbird feeders also - I guess he was thirsty!! Thanks for your visit, it means so much to have all these amazing folks stopping by and commenting on my world!

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  14. I would be so afraid to know bears can come in my garden! I often joke "we have a bear in the garden" when I hear noises in the dark outside, but here it's more likely to be a fox!

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    1. Hi Magali - thank you so much for your visit! I have to admit I did not sleep well the past couple of nights, I thought every noise was the bear back again. It's just part of life up here on the mountain and my nerves will settle down again after a bit.

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  15. OH bears would freak me out. We get eagles, hawks, and owls...and they scare me with our dogs...but crows are pretty good about letting me know when they're around. We also have raccoons, opossums, and an occasional coyote...and we live in a suburban neighborhood.

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  16. OH bears would freak me out. We get eagles, hawks, and owls...and they scare me with our dogs...but crows are pretty good about letting me know when they're around. We also have raccoons, opossums, and an occasional coyote...and we live in a suburban neighborhood.

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    1. Honestly they freak me out, too! And I'm not too fond of the coyotes or hawks, either! However, living in the country and on a mountain top....and with a house with acres of woods surrounding it....I am bound to encounter wildlife. And I much prefer the wildlife up here over the rats, roaches and criminals in the city where I used to live!!

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