Thinking the bears were probably all fast asleep up on the mountain, I broke out the bird food about a week ago.

On Sunday morning I was surprised to find  the entire seed cake missing, but it hadn’t gone far.  It was under the birdbath, chewed on by something bigger than a chipmunk. I figured a bear would have devoured the entire thing, so I hung it back up.

It wasn’t until Monday when the food disappeared again (this time not a bite was left) that  I checked the wildlife camera to find out who the culprit was.

The young buck had come and gone several times starting Saturday morning, returning Sunday night at ten and again at midnight, which was probably when he finished the sunflower chips and millet.

He made one more visit before daybreak on Monday to make sure he hadn’t missed anything and even risked getting his antlers tangled in the chains of the birdbath to have a drink.

I haven’t seen any sign of  him since.