Finding Bears And Berries

[BuckhunterBen]

Hey guys, I set some trail cameras over the summer in a drainage filled with berries and running water. Went back in today to pull them and no berries or running water(Which I was prepared for). Cams revealed bears running around until about 2 weeks ago.

Now obviously I’ve read a ton on here and done other research so I’m aware that bears generally aren’t gonna be where they were in July/August come September.

Is it even worth going into that drainage to sit some of the standing water?

No berries, no fresh sign, no bueno.

 

[Hem]

Hey guys, I set some trail cameras over the summer in a drainage filled with berries and running water. Went back in today to pull them and no berries or running water(Which I was prepared for). Cams revealed bears running around until about 2 weeks ago.

Now obviously I’ve read a ton on here and done other research so I’m aware that bears generally aren’t gonna be where they were in July/August come September.

Is it even worth going into that drainage to sit some of the standing water?

No berries, no fresh sign, no bueno.

They probably are all town bears now raiding dumpsters. No joke.

 

[Straight Arrow]

​ More than 60 bear sightings this week in Bozeman, as city urges bear-proof bins​

KBZK TV news.

 

[Hem]

[td] ​ ​ [td] ​ More than 60 bear sightings this week in Bozeman, as city urges bear-proof bins​

[td] Bears are showing up all over Bozeman and the city is urging residents to take steps to keep both people and wildlife safe. ​

​

[/td]

[/td]

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My daughter at Chi Omega has a video of one going in the dumpster behind the sorority.

 

[El Jason]

No berries, no fresh sign, no bueno.

No bears. Go somewhere else. Find the food.

 

[Coopers]

No bears. Go somewhere else. Find the food.

any tips for finding the food? Other than boot leather?

 

[El Jason]

Not knowing where you are, the food sources I’d look for are, in no particular order:

Fruit trees. Old homesteads.

Chokecherries in foothill creek bottoms.

Old burns and look for bears digging

High ish altitude and find the currant bushes

 

[Coopers]

How old of burns are we talkin?

 

[BuckhunterBen]

I’d imagine 5 plus years but I’m not familiar enough to give a solid answer

 

[El Jason]

How old of burns are we talkin?

Stuff with lots of rotten and down logs.

 

[Burn Pile]

They probably are all town bears now raiding dumpsters. No joke.

Thats what I'm worried about for my tag. My usual areas that have some food in rough years have nothing this year. And if I'm far enough from town then they're hitting campsites. Hopefully the archery boys and gals are supplying a few natural food sources.

 

[Burn Pile]

If you can find an area where there are some around then sitting water is a reasonable option if you have ok line or sight and wind conditions. If they're around they're going to need the water. But if there's no fresh sign or any food near by they won't be going all the way out there just for water. They'll be hitting water thats closer to their food zone. Whatever that is for this year.

 

[buffybr]

The road that I live on is called Bear Canyon for a reason. The lower 2-3 miles of that road is lined with choke cherries. Normally at this time of year the bears hit those bushes pretty hard, breaking branches and leaving piles of poop filled with choke cherry pits.

Two weeks ago there was one big pile at the bottom of my driveway and a few piles scattered along the sides of the road.

In the 50 years that I've lived here, this year had the lowest berry crop that I've seen. The choke cherry bushes around my house hardly had any berries, nor did my nanking cherry bushes, plum and crabapple trees. My mountain ash tree that normally has limbs weeping almost to the ground with berries didn't have any.

Yesterday I went hiking in the Bridger Mountains. Old logging roads and trails are normally full of various bushes filled with berries. Yesterday there were no rose hips, no raspberry, salmon berries, or eldlerberries, and only a few Oregon grape plants that had any berries. In a 3 1/5 mile hike I only saw 2 grouse. I think that it is going to be a tough winter for the critters.

 

[El Jason]

Very similar to what I found last weekend. Rose hips were the only thing I found in much abundance.