The bears be out in Lebanon, Milton, so it's time to take bird feeders down ... now!

A bear strolls through a Milton back yard on Friday. (Courtesy photo)

MILTON - They're posting roads in Lebanon, Maine, requiring burn permits in Rochester and finding bears in their back yards in Milton. Surely spring is upon us.

But with bears out and about early this year, wildlife officials are urging residents to stop feeding the birds, because human-bear interaction often leads to the bears having to be removed, usually euthanized.

A bear estimated at up to 200 pounds was sighted Saturday in a Christopher Drive back yard just off White Mountain Highway.

Earlier in the week a bear was seen roaming the area of Prospect Hill Road in West Lebanon just across the Salmon Falls River.

Bears wake up hungry after hibernating much of the winter and can roam up to 120 square miles in their normal search for food, so it's possible it's the same bruin.

Fish and Game officials normally ask that residents take down their bird feeders by April 1, but with an early spring, now would be a good time, officials say.

"Purposeful feeding can result in bears getting accustomed to humans," according to the state's Fish and Game website. "This 'habituation' of bears may cause a variety of conflicts with humans. The end result may be the removal (most often with lethal consequences) of the offending bear."

Residents in the Greater Rochester area are also urged to secure any bear-attracting trash and garbage.

"If a bear is active in your community, you should cease and desist all bird feeding activity," the website advises, adding bird feeders shouldn't go back up until Dec. 1.

New Hampshire residents can be fined for deliberately feeding bears. In Maine it is discouraged but not illegal.