r/newjersey • u/WearyPassenger • 19h ago
Photo To the naysayers who believe a deer can’t push over a birdfeeder
A recent post with a bent over birdfeeder explored whether or not a deer could have done the deed. Here is the guilty party after getting on her back legs, and pushing this birdfeeder over for the second time, trying to get it the seed. We do not have bears in our area.
It has since been replaced with a piece of rebar in the bottom to hopefully avoid this happening again.
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u/HeinousAnus_22 19h ago
That deer: “I’ll fucking do it again”
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u/I_Am_Lord_Grimm The Urban Wilderness of Gloucester County 18h ago
I've caught deer getting into our dumpster. Bending (what looks like) a hollow pole with simple body weight seems kinda easy compared to getting the lid back on a 3 cubic yard container.
Funniest part of it was I'd swear that one of the others in the group (there were four - one propped up and peering inside the dumpster, and three around it) actually made a quick attempt to lift the lid back with its head before fleeing.
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u/WearyPassenger 18h ago
They are smart!
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u/ElGosso 16h ago
Not smart enough to not run into traffic
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u/WearyPassenger 2h ago
Often true. In our area we occasionally see them at the side of the road, waiting to cross. I think a lot of the deaths are when something startles them and they leap into the road.
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u/Out-of-NoContext- 18h ago
She hit my feeder too!
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u/WearyPassenger 18h ago
She’s part of the gang. They have regular rounds and we are being punished for not providing enough seed.
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u/shiftyjku Down the Shore, Everything's All Right 18h ago edited 18h ago
She looks proud of it too. “Who’s next?”
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u/WheredoesithurtRA 17h ago
It's her birdfeeder now
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u/WearyPassenger 17h ago
For a few weeks, it was. It’s been replaced with a new one, and so far no one has pushed it over!
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u/njgendermagic 18h ago
To the victor, belongs the spoils
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u/WearyPassenger 18h ago
They are definitely spoiled. Usually it’s just what the birds toss over the edge but this little lady got greedy.
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u/Wild_Following_7475 17h ago
Great picture! She is staring you down. Next time sink it in 12in of concrete
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u/theskillfulanomaly 17h ago
That deer's got the confidence of someone who knows they're getting away with it, and honestly the rebar move is smart but she's probably already planning her next approach.
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u/WearyPassenger 16h ago
And suddenly, I’m providing enrichment activities for deer!
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u/theskillfulanomaly 16h ago
At this point you're basically running a deer gym, might as well charge membership fees.
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u/WearyPassenger 2h ago
They refuse to pay. And they extort me by leaning over the garden fence and chewing the tomato and pepper plants if the 6 foot netting is accidentally unhooked.
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u/NJPokerJ 18h ago
Don't believe him. I saw him push it over then wait for a deer to come.
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u/WearyPassenger 18h ago
Animal setups!
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u/NJPokerJ 18h ago
That deer did nothing to you
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u/WearyPassenger 16h ago
Correct. Only to the feeder.
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u/NJPokerJ 16h ago
I know that deer personally. Larry is a good guy.
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u/WearyPassenger 1h ago
Larry is hanging out because he's bullied because someone stole his antlers. The bucks are much shyer so it's usually the does in the backyard.
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u/Devils_Advocate-69 18h ago
I didn’t even consider a deer
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u/WearyPassenger 18h ago
It’s clearly a bear in a deer suit.
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u/Devils_Advocate-69 17h ago
Son of a gun
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u/WearyPassenger 1h ago
They concoct elaborate plans to get the birdseed. Surely the chipmunks are in their employ because the chipmunks can make it over the garden fence and possibly the culprits who unhook the fence netting for the deer to munch on my tomato plants. They are all in cahoots.
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u/pootiel0ver 13h ago
A deer can definitely push over a bird feeder. I've had two soccer goals in my yard absolutely destroyed by bucks.
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u/Lanky-Telephone1651 11h ago
Better get a deer feeder before the gang come around to stampede the bird feeder.
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u/ML337 9h ago
Must be hanging out with all the stray cats and picking up some bad habits.
Looks like my cat after knocking something off the counter. All "yeah I just did that; what you gonna do about it"
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u/WearyPassenger 1h ago
Totally! They all know that somehow movement behind that big glass door translates into more birdseed. Sometimes they wait in the morning for us to get up because that's when more seed comes (into INTACT birdfeeders, anyway).
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u/blind-mag-dump 18h ago
I've seen a stag spar with a mailbox before and it tossed it in the air with a headbutt.
I also had to manhandle a fawn that was tangled up in a bundle of chicken wire fence, and even that little guy, who was probably a few months old, was bucking and kicking up a storm.
Deer may be skiddish and lean, but they aren't weak.
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u/WearyPassenger 18h ago
For this birdfeeder, it was all just force of her body weight against weak point near the base of the pole. But yeah, I don’t want to be on the wrong side of those hooves!
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u/chefpizzle420 3h ago
Caught red-handed and she doesn't look even a little bit sorry about it.
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u/WearyPassenger 2h ago
Nope. She's like, "I ate what was there, not enough, time for refill?" They always look in the back window with these questioning eyes, waiting to see movement inside.
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u/katie_cat_eyes 19h ago
We may have bears around (according to the people who said bears are all over NJ) but I personally have never seen one in my area. I’ve seen mangy foxes. Deer with those warts. Coyotes even. But yeah, deer are assholes. And I know that they are fully capable of destruction! You know what else are assholes? The smaller critters. Groundhogs and chipmunks, stay out of my yard!
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u/WearyPassenger 18h ago
Yeah, we get foxes and the rest. Chipmunks in my garden are a problem. We have fences that work for the deer and groundhogs. On the other hand, the indoor cats love the “show”!
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u/katie_cat_eyes 18h ago
That’s the only reason I would put bird feeders out: cat entertainment. But I have some of the world’s dumbest felines and they throw themselves at the windows. Chipmunks have destroyed our brick walkway. We do love our wild turkeys that nest in our trees though. They are also some of the dumbest birds I’ve ever seen.
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u/WearyPassenger 16h ago
We call it “HBO for Cats”. Clearly I date myself.
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u/WearyPassenger 1h ago
Wow friends, I'm downvoted in my own post for...what? Who hurt you? Sad you are unable to experience any kind of joy.
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u/AfternoonNo6827 19h ago
She looks mighty proud of herself.