We recommend feeding birds only during months bears are hibernating. Check with your local Fish and Game office to find out when bears are normally active in your area.

If you want to feed birds while bears are active, you’ll need to bring your feeders in every night before sundown, or hang them out of reach.

Out of reach for a bear is at least ten feet off the ground and ten feet from anything bears can climb - which includes deck posts and exterior stairs.

Don’t use a simple rope pulley to bring your feeder up and down for filling - bears are smart enough to figure out how it works. Use a clip-style latch that bears can’t open.

Keep the area underneath feeders clear of hulls and debris. Switching to a shelled or pre-hulled bird seed, often sold as porch and patio mix, makes that a lot easier.

Even if a bear can’t reach your feeder, the sight and smell will still attract them. Bears have been seen sitting under feeders for hours, trying to figure out how to get them down. And while they’re thinking, t hey may look around to see if there’s anything else interesting at your place. So if you feed bears while birds are active, you’ll want to be extra-vigilant and make sure you’ve thoroughly bear-proofed your home, garage, and property.

Water, especially running water, actually does a better job of attracting a wider variety of birds year-round than a bird feeder. In our semi-arid climate, providing a reliable place to get a drink or take a bath can even help attract many species that don’t visit feeders.

You can buy everything from a simple bird bath to an elaborate fountain at home centers and nurseries. Or use clay saucers designed to go under plants or pans and dishes from the kitchen.

Birds seems to prefer their baths at ground level, but raised baths and fountains also attract birds. Change water daily to keep it fresh and clean.

If your bird bath is on the ground, add a few branches or decorative stones in the water so birds can stand on them and get a drink without getting wet.

Adding the sound of dripping water will make your bird bath even more attractive. You can buy a dripper or sprayer or recycle an old plastic container - just punch a tiny hole in the bottom, fill with water, and hang it over the birdbath so water slowly drips out.

Birds need water all winter long. You can buy a bird bath heater to keep it from icing over, but never add antifreeze - it’s deadly to wildlife.

Nest boxes are m ore important for birds these days, with fewer dead trees being allowed to stand and provide nesting cavities. Unfortunately, beetle-killed trees don’t have the soft core cavity- nesting birds need.

Add brightly colored, trumpet shaped flowers to your garden, or buy ready-to-hang baskets of hardy annuals to attract hummingbirds, butterflies, and a variety of beneficial insects.Bee balm, butterfly bush, petunias, impatiens, penstemons and trumpet and hummingbird vines are just a few of the flowers that hummingbirds visit. Check with your local nursery for native species that will thrive in your area.


Learn about building and placement of next boxes: