The Hunting Beast

My sources say they also like dogwood berries.

I am starting to really notice that they seem to love buckthorn leaves... I have observed them walk right past lush food plots and crops to feed in a buckthorn thicket. Watched one yesterday walk right thru a clover plot to feed on buckthorn, then later come back and eat a little clover before laying down.

dan wrote:I am starting to really notice thatthey seem to love buckthorn leaves... I have observed them walk right past lush food plots and crops to feed in a buckthorn thicket. Watched one yesterday walk right thru a clover plot to feed on buckthorn, then later come back and eat a little clover before laying down.

If its edible bears will eat it, especially this time of year...notice how green those buckthorn leaves still are.

Do you have witch hobble in the upper midwest? The berries are only on them for a short time here in the northeast, but when they're in bloom, you can't even stand up near them...the ground is slippery with bear turds. They love those things.

peteinvermont wrote:Do you have witch hobble in the upper midwest? The berries are only on them for a short time here in the northeast, but when they're in bloom, you can't even stand up near them...the ground is slippery with bear turds. They love those things.

Haven't heard of them in our area

Jim Wallner wrote:

Mike Foss wrote:Bears love Mushrooms

I've told people this for years and they didn't believe me

bears and deer love mushrooms

one thing they hammer by us is hickory nuts you can hear them eating them for hundreds of yards away

Jonny wrote:Maple leaves is a new one I never knew of until singing bridge and dan mentioned it.

Ya, I’m including maples in the planting plans on the family farm for this reason.

Other natural browse that deer in our area like:

Flame leaf sumac leaves (early spring and after color change)
Sassafras
Greenbrier
Viburnum
American beauty berry (actually makes a tasty jelly, believe it or not)
Arrowood
Virginia creeper

Also, check with your local wildlife biologist because they may have some hard data to give you. Texas parks and wildlife did a 2 year study in my eco-region where they harvested numerous deer throughout spring, summer, fall, and winter. They then examined their stomach contents to identify species eaten, and preference.
Nothing like having 73 pages explaining what (and when) they are eating.

https://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/pwd ... 0_1017.pdf

I know a guy with land in Price co that told me he sees ant hills ripped up cause they eat ants. I have seen many time ant hills beat up when I am in northern Wis. and never thought it was bears. It is still hard to believe they would bother but it just would not surprise me . They eat grass too, and mushrooms are a favorite for deer and bear. I hunt S.E. WIs . and scout in the winter. I have seen many times this winter deer coming up to a Pheasant back mushroom and eat them up pretty good.

ihookem wrote:I know a guy with land in Price co that told me he sees ant hills ripped up cause they eat ants. I have seen many time ant hills beat up when I am in northern Wis. and never thought it was bears. It is still hard to believe they would bother but it just would not surprise me . They eat grass too, and mushrooms are a favorite for deer and bear. I hunt S.E. WIs . and scout in the winter. I have seen many times this winter deer coming up to a Pheasant back mushroom and eat them up pretty good.

Its not so much they are eating the ants, its the larva they are after.

Young Red Pine trees. They rip the bark off to get at the sap. I’ve seen them rip the out of telephone poles and snowmobile bridges. It’s the tar and sap. Look around where old telephone poles are and you will see wire wrapped around them. I’ve seen some gnawed so bad it looked like beaver chewed on it.

dan wrote:I am starting to really notice that they seem to love buckthorn leaves... I have observed them walk right past lush food plots and crops to feed in a buckthorn thicket. Watched one yesterday walk right thru a clover plot to feed on buckthorn, then later come back and eat a little clover before laying down.

Are you referring to Bears or Deer or Both? ????

john1984 wrote:

dan wrote:I am starting to really notice that they seem to love buckthorn leaves... I have observed them walk right past lush food plots and crops to feed in a buckthorn thicket. Watched one yesterday walk right thru a clover plot to feed on buckthorn, then later come back and eat a little clover before laying down.

Are you referring to Bears or Deer or Both? ????

I probably shouldn't speak for Dan but it looked to me like he was referring to bears.

I live in upstate New York. One of the areas I hunt has a large population of both Black Locust and Buckthorn. For the longest time I didn't even know they were different plants. The sapplings of both have woody stems with thorns (so I hated them equally) and I'd observed deer eating the chutes of the new leaves from both. It wasn't until later that I learned to tell them apart.

Shorty story; deer eat chutes from Buckthorn sapplings.

Sorry, I did not look close enough at the forum categorize... You got me, I was referring to deer.