POACHERS

Deer love our sunflower feeders

We have 7 bird feeders in our back yard as we get a large number of birds throughout the year. In most of the feeders we have black sunflowers. We couldn't understand why the feeders were emptying so very quickly until one day, we saw the deer emptying the feeders. Yes, the deer also love black sunflowers!

her feet are actually off the ground

My husband thought he had solved the problem when he tied the bottom of the feeder to the post with a wire. However, as this picture shows, the deer are pretty creative in getting enough food. Her feet are actually off the ground in this picture and her tongue is angling the feeder so that it is emptying right into her mouth! Any that she spills are quickly picked up by the fox and porcupine who regularly visit the feeder too - but under the cover of night or early morning!

Right now, these deer are being poached - right in our own backyards. A stag was shot last week, decapitated, and the body left to rot on the side of the road. One woman was walking her dog last night before supper, and a gunshot rang out, scaring her "to death" because it was so close! (It is dark before 5:00 these days.) Several other gunshots have been reported over the last week, yet no one seems to have seen the poachers, and the Fish & Wildlife officer is very difficult to get ahold of in time for him to investigate the shots. (I am sure he is very busy with the wide area he covers, and I think he is doing his best.)

Bird/deer feeding station

I am concerned for the wildlife in our area. We have always enjoyed the creatures, whenever they show up on our acreage. We have deer, moose, coyotes, porcupine, foxes, the occasional ermine and skunk, as well as a variety of summer and winter birds such as wild pheasant. Our land is private land, and no one is allowed to hunt here unless they have permission - which they don't. 

However, I am concerned about more than the wildlife. I am concerned that we cannot even go out for a walk after dark. We feel unsafe. I am praying that these guys are caught soon, and prosecuted with more than just fines.