First bird of the new year was my resident Sharp-shinned hawk nicely silhouetted against the brightening morning sky.

First mammal of the year was a black bear that has been marauding all the houses and feeders in our area our near Tahuya. It was caught in a live trap last night and will soon be on its way to wilder climes. It did take a fancy to my thistle feeder which it took down twice this week. Amazing what it could do to a metal feeder and pole it hung on. After taking in the feeders last evening I put down a line of thistle feed to see if it was the feed or yellow topped feeder the bear was attracted to. By 7:20pm the thistle seed was gone and only a trail of tongue prints were left. The bear also tore down a neighbors brand new feeder they had forgotten to bring in. Since last Monday night the bear has been around but usually in the wee hours of the morning.

Happy New Year.

Mary Hrudkaj
Belfair/Tahuya