CONIFER, Colo. -- A long-time resident in Conifer trying to attract songbirds to his bird feeder instead attracted a bear.

Scott Budny has lived in Conifer for 28 years.

On Monday morning he heard a noise outside and went out to investigate. Budny told 7NEWS he often gets squirrels and chipmunks rustling around outside.

This time when he stepped out on his upper deck, he saw a black bear on his lower deck.

Budny told 7NEWS he's never seen a bear "up close like this except at the zoo."

Budny saw the bear grab the bird feeder and pull it over. He said the bear was really strong. Budny said the bear "pulled the feeder down, stepped on it and cracked the plastic open. It looked like he knew what he was doing."

The Division of Wildlife has told residents in the area to put their trash out only on their trash day, not the night before, to avoid attracting bears. The DOW told Budny he should keep the bird feeder locked away too.

Budny told 7NEWS he took pictures of the bear through his big picture window, so he was about 3 or 4 feet away from the bear. Budny said "it was an interesting experience to say the least."

Budny said he did scream and yell at the bear from the safety of the upper deck. He said the bear just looked up at him, then kept on eating.

The birdseed is a songbird mix, but the package didn't say it was good for bears, Budny said.

He told 7NEWS he did keep a baseball bat next to him while the bear was on the patio.