Backyard Problem-Solving

Bears and Bird Feeders: When to Take Feeders Down (and How to Feed Birds in Bear Country)

A bird feeder is a bear attractant — in most bear states, wildlife agencies say take it down. Here's the season-by-season timing, the laws, and how to still feed birds safely.

8 min read · Updated 2026-10-01

Rule one: Take feeders down whenever bears are active — spring thaw to late fall
Calories: One feeder of black-oil sunflower ≈ 20,000+ kcal — worth a raid
Legal risk: Several states fine feeding bears indirectly; repeat bears get euthanized
Safe window: Feed only when bears den: roughly Dec 1 – Apr 1 in most states
Also attractant: Hummingbird feeders, suet, unsecured trash, barbecue grills

The hard truth: feeders train bears

Black bears have a sense of smell in the tens-of-miles range, and a tube feeder full of black-oil sunflower seed is one of the densest calorie packages in your neighborhood — a full feeder runs to twenty thousand calories or more, roughly a day of foraging in one easy grab. A bear that finds a feeder once remembers the yard and the route. Every wildlife agency in bear country (Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, New England states, the Carolinas, Pennsylvania, and on) lists bird feeders among the top bear-attractant sources, and most ask residents to take them down entirely during bear season.

The stakes are bigger than a bent feeder pole. A bear habituated to neighborhoods — food-conditioned is the term agencies use — becomes a safety problem, and bears that keep returning are usually trapped and killed. In several states, leaving out food that attracts bears is an actual violation with fines, regardless of intent. The feeder you hang in April can, indirectly, cost a bear its life in June. That is why the standard guidance is blunt: in bear country, feed birds only in winter.

When to take feeders down: the seasonal rule

Use the bear calendar, not the weather. Black bears emerge from dens between March and early May depending on latitude and elevation — coastal and southern bears first, high-country and northern bears later. From the first thaw until they den again in November, assume a bear can reach your yard. The safe feeding window in most bear states runs roughly December 1 to April 1; in far-northern areas it can stretch a bit, and in southern Appalachia it's shorter. Your state wildlife agency publishes exact dates or at least a phone line worth calling.

Hummingbird feeders and suet are just as attractive as seed — sugar water and fat are high-value bear food. The same calendar applies to them. Water features and birdbaths, by contrast, hold no food value and stay up safely year-round, which is one reason a birdbath is the best summer 'bird magnet' in bear country: you get the water-behavior birds (bathing, drinking) without the bear risk.

Feed Dec 1 – Apr 1 in most bear states; check your state agency for exact dates.
Take down seed, suet AND hummingbird feeders — all are bear food.
Birdbaths can stay up year-round; water isn't an attractant.
Never 'bear-proof' a feeder in active season; bears defeat every commercial design.

Feeding birds in bear season, safely

If you live in bear country and want birds in summer, shift your effort from feeders to habitat. Native plantings that produce berries and seeds (coneflower, sunflower stands, serviceberry, elderberry, dogwood), a clean birdbath or dripper, and insect-friendly landscaping feed more birds across more species than any feeder, with zero attractant risk. Nest boxes add cavity nesters in spring. This is what bird-feeding in bear country mostly looks like, and many backyard birders find the habitat route ultimately more rewarding.

If you insist on limited feeding during shoulder seasons (late fall, early spring) when bears may still be moving, follow the discipline that wildlife agencies suggest: feeders out only during daylight hours and brought in every single evening without exception, small daily quantities that empty by afternoon, and nothing left overnight — including spilled seed, which gets raked weekly. Understand the residual risk: a bear that finds the yard even once may re-check it for years, and neighbors' trash then becomes the attractant you contributed to.

If a bear takes your feeder

Don't refill it and don't try to chase the bear off the feeder. If a bear has taken seed, treat the site as an active attractant: bring every feeder in, secure trash in a bear-resistant can or garage, remove barbecue grease traps and pet food, and leave the yard 'cold' for at least two to four weeks before considering any winter feeding. Report the visit to your state wildlife agency — in many states it's expected, and the report protects both you and the bear by documenting the food source that got removed.

Never store seed in a shed, garage or porch where a bear can smell it without also being able to defeat the door. Bears open standard garage doors and simple latches. Sealed steel cans inside a secured space, or a bear-resistant container, is the only seed storage worth attempting. A bear that's been rewarded once will test that door again — the fix is removing the smell and the food, not reinforcing the lock.

The Wyoming note

In Wyoming and much of the interior West, black bears (and occasional grizzlies) move through neighborhoods from roughly April through November, and state guidance is the same as everywhere: no feeders during active season. The pattern most western birders settle into is clean and honest — feeders up the day after Thanksgiving, down by April Fools' Day, birdbath running all summer, and a yard full of natives carrying the summer bird traffic. Your cardinals (in the East), chickadees, juncos and finches will still be at the winter feeders; the hummingbirds get habitat, and the bears stay wild.

Frequently asked

When should I take my bird feeders down because of bears?

Whenever bears are active — roughly April through November in most bear states. Feed only December 1 to April 1, and check your state wildlife agency's dates.

Do hummingbird feeders attract bears?

Yes. Sugar water is high-value bear food. Take hummingbird and suet feeders down on the same schedule as seed feeders.

Are there bear-proof bird feeders?

No commercial feeder reliably stops a bear. Wildlife agencies recommend removal during bear season, not hardware.

What should I do if a bear took my feeder?

Bring all feeders in, secure trash and pet food, report the visit to your state wildlife agency, and keep the yard food-free for 2–4 weeks.