Welcome to my bear page.. At no time did I disturb the bears or get within 50 yards of them. Sure, they saw me but sometimes that was all and they left quickly and sometimes they wandered off feeling I was as of no threat. I also had permission to be on the property. Enjoy the bears and please DO NOT FEED BEARS !
The same bear as in the last image…As you can see here, black bears love apples. This bear found the mother lode ! A black bear can eat a bushel (46 pounds) in one setting. I’d puke !!
This female bear has 2 cubs with her….. she was suspicious of me. Notice the cub on the left hand side of the image just peeking out of the woods. Even though she was about 75 yards away, and my Nikon D850 shutter was set on the silent mode, she still heard it click when I took this image and she abruptly left with both cubs running behind.
The 2 cubs bobbing for apples in the grass ?
On another evening about dusk I spotted the same sow with her 2 cubs walk out of the woods by this tractor used for mowing. The cubs spent a few minutes walking all over it. I don’t think they had ever seen one.
One of the cubs investigating the mower on the tractor. He’s probably wondering where the “bear grease” goes :)
The 2 cubs were slowly creeping out of the woods into the orchard, then they would grab an apple and then go crashing into the woods as fast as they could run. Five minutes later, the same thing. What a laugh to watch. I saw this a few evenings.
Planning the attack on those pesky, delicious apples !
This small bear was after apples. I was about 100 yards away from him when he appeared. He spotted me behind the wall and in the woods but the power of the apples overpowered him and he must have figured I wasn't a threat and carried out his plan.
“I sure would like one of those juicy apples” He was still suspicious of me but finally decided the apples were worth the risk and I wasn't a threat.
“hmmmm. that looks like a good one !!! ?”
the getaway…..
This bear walked out right in front of me one evening and started sniffing the air. Researcher say a bear can smell a piece of chicken grilling from 5 miles away. Their sense of smell is 7 times that of a blood hound. Within 15 seconds it shot into the woods like lightning. Black bears are very timid and skittish creatures. When I did see them run I was amazed how fast they could go. They can run up to 35 mph in short bursts.
This black bear (I named it “medium bear”), was just cruising the field one night at dusk looking for a midnight snack at about 6 PM ! …
A wet, soggy, hungry black bear walked out in front of where I was setting in the woods on the edge of a big field getting soaked. I’ve seen him a few times and nothing seems to excite him, the look he gave me when he discovered I was behind him says it all.
I just told this bear the joke about the 2 bears that walked into a bar :)
This large bear is zeroing in on a pile of apples that have fallen and thinking what a find !
“I want THATTTTT one !!”
Unfortunately this bear couldn’t hide behind this tree !
A friend and I were sitting there watching a loon chick when my friend say's "hey Dale, there's a bear" ! About 300 yards down the shore this black bear appeared and cruised the shore until he was out of sight behind some rocks. We sat there for three hours before he showed up. A fun sighting on a slow day. 11/10/15
While sitting in the woods this morning at a local beaver pond I heard something huge coming thru the woods about 100 feet from me. It was to noisy to be a moose. When it appeared it was a female black bear with a tracking collar from Masswildlife with 2 cubs about 16 months old behind her. 5/10/17
Here is one of the cubs that was with its mother this morning. Notice the size of the feet and a MassWildlife ID tag in the left ear.
Happy Halloween ! This little kid won the “most realistic” category at the Swift River School annual costume party. After bobbing for apples, he grabbed one with his teeth and ran into the woods :)
In September of 2019 I was taking photos of a beaver lodge and this black bear jumped up on a stone wall about 40 feet from me. It scared the crap out of me and I froze immediately wondering what to do next. It just stared at me and was there for what seemed like an hour. Slowly I turned my Nikon 500mm, F4 lens and Nikon D850 towards the bear and I took 2 images with my cable release I had in my hand. As soon as the bear heard the click it left. It took me 20 minutes to make myself walk :) :)
MassWildlife has radio collard bears all over Massachusetts that they are studying. The bears are darted with tranquilizers and the weighed, measured and released back into the wild with their collars on. Biologist have some bears with satellite collars on them.
A nice find this morning. A black bear with 3 cubs stashed in the woods….
I was paid a visit by a black bear that came bumbling out of a thicket 40 feet from me standing along a beaver pond. He looked and me, I looked at him, I took 2 photos and off he sauntered, none the worse for wear ! We locked eyes and he didn’t seem to be bothered! (40 feet away with a Nikon D850 camera and a Nikon 500mm prime lens).
Its bear mating time in Massachusetts and guys like this are on the move…. click the white triangle to play.
It seems that every where I go I run into a black bear. Course their mating season is May and June so big guys like this are on the prowl for love….
Black bears are becoming more common in the Quabbin watershed. I found this one yesterday turning over logs that were left on a logging site from about 6 years ago. He couldn’t quite make out what I was so he gave me the sniff test. Bears can small a roasting chicken on a barbecue from 5 miles away !
Another black bear appeared in the middle of the road…. he was on a mission!
I spotted these 2 cubs,( or they spotted me,) that were up in a tree about 40 feet high. I was about 100 yards away and I took a few photos and then promptly left. On my way out in about an hour, they were gone. Here’s the smallest of the two.
I saw this female bear with 2 cubs tagging along. She was standing up on her hind legs looking at me when I spotted her watching me. She has a radio collar on from MassWildlife used to follow her.
“How do cows do it?”