A Peaceful Hobby Turns Into a Crime Scene
Brad, a homeowner in Northern California, had a simple dream: to sip his morning coffee while watching the neighborhood birds flutter around a feeder. To make it even more exciting, he set up a small camera on the feeder’s pole so he could capture close-up footage of his feathery guests.
At first, everything went according to plan. Tiny wings zipped across the lens, colorful birds perched gracefully, and the soft sound of chirping filled the backyard. Brad loved reviewing the footage at night, scrolling through the day’s visitors like a nature documentary unfolding right on his screen.
But his peaceful little project didn’t stay calm for long. After moving the feeder from his deck to a spot in the backyard, Brad woke one morning to discover absolute chaos: the feeder was snapped off its pole, the camera was damaged, and the buffet he’d so carefully set up had turned into a disaster zone.
Someone — or something — had destroyed it. And Brad was determined to find out who.
The Lineup of Suspects
Before reviewing the camera, Brad already had a guess. “If something’s broken, nine times out of ten, I figure squirrels,” he joked. “I suspect squirrels for pretty much everything.”
But when he finally opened the footage, the list of suspects quickly grew longer than he expected.
The first recording was innocent enough. A tiny hummingbird zipped into frame, hovering delicately as she drank from the sugar water. She fluttered off, leaving the feeder unharmed. Case closed on the hummingbird.
Next came the birds Brad had hoped for: a handsome black-headed grosbeak, a mischievous Steller’s jay, and a plump band-tailed pigeon. Each perched neatly, grabbed some seeds, and flapped away without incident. If only all his visitors were this polite.
Then, Brad saw the one animal he had already suspected — a western grey squirrel. The little troublemaker scampered across the feeder, twitching his tail and sniffing the pole. Brad braced for the inevitable crash. But to his surprise, the squirrel hopped away, leaving everything intact.
It wasn’t until the camera caught a shadow filling the frame that Brad realized this mystery wasn’t going to be solved so easily.
The Unexpected Culprit Appears
At first, Brad thought the camera was malfunctioning. A blurry, furry shape filled the entire screen. Then, suddenly, the image sharpened: a massive black bear had wandered into his backyard.
The bear sniffed the pole, pawed at the feeder, and in just a few seconds, the camera jolted violently. The final frame before the footage cut out showed nothing but the bear’s paw as the feeder crashed to the ground.
Brad sat back, stunned. He had been certain squirrels were the culprits — or maybe one of the larger birds. A bear? That hadn’t even crossed his mind.
“I knew squirrels would show up eventually,” Brad laughed, “but I never imagined a bear would be the one to crash the party.”
Lessons From a Backyard Whodunit
The mystery may have been solved, but Brad now had bigger things to consider. Leaving food in the yard had attracted more than just birds — it had invited a wild neighbor who could be dangerous if encouraged to return.
Brad has since decided that if he sets up another feeder, it will be in a place far less tempting for bears, both for his safety and for theirs. “I don’t want to train them to think my yard is a free buffet,” he explained.
Still, he couldn’t help but laugh at how many suspects had passed through before the real culprit showed up. “I can’t really be mad,” he admitted. “I mean, I put food outside. It’s fair game for whatever animals decide to come by.”
And so, what began as a quiet bird-watching hobby turned into a full-blown neighborhood mystery — complete with suspects, evidence, and a very surprising criminal at the end.
The Bigger Picture: Sharing Space With Wildlife
Brad’s story is more than just a funny backyard tale — it’s also a reminder that humans live side by side with wildlife, often more closely than we realize. From the smallest hummingbird to the largest bear, every animal is simply trying to survive, and sometimes that means raiding a feeder meant for someone else.
For Brad, the incident has only deepened his respect for the creatures around him. Now when he sees a squirrel dart across his fence or hears birds calling at dawn, he feels a stronger sense of connection. “It’s their home too,” he said.
