By Jeannette Violette

Making way for ducklings hatched at Ellsworth City Hall in the pre-dawn hours of May 21, Ellsworth Police Officers Rick Roberts and Kelvin Mote stopped traffic on State Street as mother led her babies from the City Hall parking lot to the Ellsworth Public Library lawn. From there, the duck family made safe passage to the Union River. see more photos of the Ellsworth Ducklings! PHOTO BY BARBARA AMEEN

The agency’s Union Street building borders a wooded area across from Maddocks Avenue.

Bear sightings are common this time of year, according to Maine Game Warden Phil Richter, because many of the homes and other places they visit border the bear’s habitat.

“It’s really their backyard,” Richter said.

As developments increase in woodlands, so do the number of encounters with bears.

Richter cited Ellsworth’s growth of the past five years as a factor in the sightings.

Tuesday’s sighting was one of about 20 bear-sighting calls the Maine Warden Service received this week in the Ellsworth area alone.

“We’ve gotten more calls than usual last year and this year, about a third more,” Richter said.

Reports of bears from Hancock and Washington Counties  have averaged about 70 to 80 a week since mid-May, the game warden said.

But that doesn’t mean 70 to 80 bears. Most likely, it’s often one bear being spotted at various sites as it forages for food.

A bear’s hunger after hibernation compels it to search for food.

Richter attributes the high number of bear sightings to the cold and wet spring, which has delayed the coming of the bear’s natural foods, such as tree buds and nuts, wild berries and other vegetation. He anticipates the sightings will continue through the end of this month until the bear’s natural foods become more available.

According to the state Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, Maine has the largest black bear population in the eastern United States, about 23,000 bears.

“They have no real predators outside of being hit by a car,” Richter said.

Although bears have poor eyesight, their keen sense of smell guides them to food sources — and that can mean suet, garbage, food leftovers in a compost pile, a pet’s food dish and grease left on an outdoor grill or spilled on a deck.

“If they feel safe, they will feed,” Richter said of the delicacies bears find in someone’s back yard.

Richter advises that birdfeeders and suet not be placed outside this time of the year. Even seeds on the ground should be cleaned up.

To discourage bears from tackling a trash can, Richter suggests that a little ammonia be poured on top of the can and over trash bag inside the can.

Other tips offered by Inland Fisheries and Wildlife are:

Keep garbage in airtight containers inside a garage or storage area.

Garbage for pickup should be put outside the morning of collection, not the night before.

Clean up or store outdoor grills after each use.

Don’t leave pet food dishes outdoors at night.

When camping, keep campsites clean; food should be kept in airtight containers in vehicles or out of a bear’s reach, never inside a tent.

If you do find a bear feeding at your home, you can scare them away by making loud noises such as banging pots together, according to Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

If you get repeated visits by a bear, call the Maine Warden Service at 941-4440 or Maine State Police.