Birds of West Cobb

A short story about how I first encountered Red-shouldered hawks, found a nest and watched these amazing birds. Ever since I was a young birder, I was extremely interested in birds of prey. Some have mixed feelings to put it mildly, about birds that eat lizards, fish, snakes, rodents and even other birds. I was always more interested in the speed and agility of these birds. Their eyesight is incredible, and considering their size it is even more incredible how agile they can be when hunting or when avoiding pesky blue jays, crows or mockingbirds. The first time that I can remember seeing a hawk as a child, and there were actually two of them circling overhead. I used to spend a lot of time outdoors playing in creeks, fishing for bream and crawfish. It was early Spring and the hawks were barely above the tree tops calling to each other and circling while they looked for a meal. A Red-shouldered hawk high in a tree, calling it’s mate (video from Spring, 2019) Over the next few weeks I would fish the same creek several times, and I kept hearing this pair of hawks. Eventually I was lucky enough to discover their nesting location. They flew over head on one specific afternoon and I watched one fly up to a tall tulip poplar tree growing up right along the bank of the creek. The other perched nearby and was carrying a branch in its beak. They were finishing the nest! I was able to see them well enough at this point to recognize that they were Red-shouldered hawks. These are the second largest hawks in the Southeast (only the Red-tailed hawk is larger). They are very, very vocal and it’s easy to know they’re in the area by their loud repeated calls. My Dad has an a pretty old Pentax camera he bought while in the Navy (1968-70 timeframe) , and has a few lenses and filters. I knew where he kept it and took it to hawk watch several times. I had some cheap camouflage from an army navy surplus store that was basically a bit of canvas fabric with leaf print/pattern. I slowly and quietly walked along the creek banks and climbed up to the base of a sizeable tree trunk adjacent to the tall poplar tree and sat motionless, waiting for them to return. I was able to visit several times in the following weeks and saw them carry back squirrels on multiple occasions and a rabbit once also. The top of the nest seemed to have a lot of fluffy down feathers (or maybe fur) strewn about. It is hard to say at this point in time due to the vintage camera and limited telephoto options. I also had a pair of Nikon Lookout III 10x50mm binoculars which were actually far superior in lense quality at the time to the Pentax camera. These gave me the best views I had. At the back portion of our property there is a small stand of tall Pine trees, it turns out the hawks found a perfect spot and built a nest right along the fence line, likely around 40 feet up in the tree. If memory serves me, I think this was actually late March thru early April for the nest construction phase. They had a couple of young and we were able to snap some photos from our back door 80-90ft away with my Nikon P610 camera. They aren’t great photos but I will post a few up for you anyway. This pair only nest here one season, and it seemed like our resident pair of crows were constantly antagonizing these hawks and eventually drove them out. I also saw Blue Jays, Northern Mockingbirds harassing the hawks and a brave squirrel that attempted to climb up into the nest and attempt to sabotage it. You read that correctly… Grey squirrels are known to exhibit this behavior. They will climb up into a hawk nest and push out the eggs or break them, which is likely some sort of survival instinct of theirs. Thanks for reading and please let me know if you enjoyed this post and the photos. Also feel free to comment if you have a story about Red-shouldered hawks that you’d like to share! #birdwatching #birdwatching #Hawks #Raptors #birding #Predators #backyardbirds #avian

In this blog post, we share our close-up encounter with a Red-tailed Hawk. The largest hawk in North America came to visit and let me take some photos! Usually when I wake up in the morning the goal is simple. I must make some coffee. Everything else will follow. On the way down the stairs I’ll stop and take a quick look out the window. On this particular morning I looked and only saw a gray squirrel at the bottom of our larger bird feeder pole. He was staring up at the bird seed in the feeders above him and then back at the feeder baffle, which had definitely confused him. I had no idea I was about to have a close-up encounter with a red-tailed hawk! By the time I made coffee downstairs and turned back to look out the window, there was now no squirrel in site, but there was a huge hawk sitting on top of the feeder eating breakfast (and it wasn’t birdseed). After a solid 30 minutes of the hawk getting every single piece of fresh protein it could, it actually flew closer to the house, and perched on our deck railing. We have a couple of short video clips uploaded to YouTube also: Click here to view them on our channel! Another 20 minutes of this very full hawk hanging out, bluejays screaming, and wrens sounding their shrill alarm call, Lisa wanted to go feed the rest of the birds and asked me to see if it would fly away if I went outside. Just in case it didn’t get startled and take off, I brought my camera out with me. At most, the railing where the hawk was sitting is about 15 or 16 feet from the back door so theoretically I should be able to snap a few pics before it leaves, maybe even capture the launch and the first few wing flaps. I had no idea what was next. After a minute or two I got a bit closer, while snapping photos like crazy. Then I moved around to the right of it. While he saw every move I made, he was way more interested in all the activity around him in the trees above. Some small songbirds even came down to eat off the feeders less than 10 feet away because they must have understood that this hawk wasn’t a threat to them. I even saw another squirrel approaching from the furthest parts of the yard before seeing what was ahead and then freezing for a good 10-15 minutes. We named this bird Stephen “Red” Hawkings, just for laughs. Red tailed hawks come around our yard only a few times a year, we generally see Red-Shouldered Hawks or Cooper’s Hawks a lot more often. Stephen hung around for nearly an hour and a half, likely just having a bit of a food coma after eating that entire squirrel. At the closest, I was probably around 4-5 feet from him. Finally he flew up to an oak limb between our house and our neighbor’s. Lisa was able to feed the birds and everything went back to the regularly scheduled program. This was quite an experience that I recognize, and do not take for granted. Nor will I soon forget it! Thanks for reading! Please like and subscribe if you enjoyed this post! #eagles #wildlifephotography #birdsofprey #birdsofwestcobb #birdsofwestcobb #closeuphawkphotos #CobbCountyBirds #hawkphotos #mariettabirds #backyardbirds #redtailedhawk #juvenileredtailedhawk #predator #juvenilehawk #raptor #hawkphotography #mariettawildlife #falcons

In this blog post, we share some incredible artists inspired by Birds of West Cobb After around 30-40 posts on Instagram (referring to our @birdsofwestcobb page if you’re new here), we saw a beautiful acrylic painting of a bright, happy male Northern Cardinal in our feed from one of our followers that lives over in John’s Creek, Georgia. She tagged us and said thanks for the inspiration! This actually inspired us more to continue and see what else the world had in store for us! Thanks, Ali Leja! We appreciate you and hope you enjoy the shout-out here also! (Her Instagram page can be found @alelejaart, and her website can be found here: https://alilejaart.com Stop by her pages and support a local artist today! Check out this gorgeous acrylic painting by Ali Leja of John’s Creek, GA. A year or so after Ali was inspired to paint this Northern Cardinal in Acrylic, we had another artist tag us in a post and thank us for the inspiration. Tyler Swain from Utah found our page and has since painted many pieces. You can visit Tyler Swain’s art website at tylerswainart.com. We loved his pieces so much we bought a unique one from him of a young Mourning Dove. Here are some screenshots of the pieces he has since painted, below. Also, if you’d like to follow him on Instagram, his page can be found here! Check out this amazing Pine Warbler in Acrylic by artist Tyler Swain, from Utah. If you like to draw, paint, or any combination of the two, and would like to use our photos as inspiration, please just let us know! If you tag us in your posts on social media we can even share future full-quality images with you if that will help you further your art endeavors, and we can promote your work here as well! Thanks for the support! Thanks for checking out these artists inspired by Birds of West Cobb!

In this Blog Post, we are pleased to introduce you to one of our backyard favorites: the Tufted Titmouse! We’ve included photos and information about these energetic little birds for you! Everyone, we’d like you to meet Mickey. He’s our Tufted Titmouse friend from the Marietta, GA area. He wakes us up in the morning with a couple of high-pitch calls and tells us that we need to refill the Safflower seed and the C&S suet nuggets (aka Scoob balls). Mickey is not much for hanging around and conversing with the other birds, but when it’s hot enough outside he has been known to dive into a birdbath and play around like a puppy in a kiddie pool! We are lucky in Marietta to see these birds year-round. They are very quick and their aim (for grabbing a single safflower or sunflower seed, or a C&S suet nugget) is definitely something to witness firsthand. The tufted titmouse has the ability to fly in from a ridiculous angle, perch for a moment, and grab a seed from a tube feeder and fly away again in only a matter of seconds. You have to be patient to capture it, and hopeful that you grabbed a frame or two of them while they are paused and trying to find that perfect seed. Tufted titmice (plural form of Titmouse) often nest in bluebird nest boxes or boxes with similar size and shape. You can hear their call all over the Southeast United States whistling for their mates. What does the Tufted Titmouse eat? Well, we already mentioned Safflower seed and black-oil sunflower seeds, but we’ve seen them eat small chunks of peanuts, Suet Nuggets from C&S, and in the coldest months during Winter they can even be seen eating dried mealworms. Do you love Mickey and the Titmice as much as we do? Feel free to drop a comment below, we’d love to hear from you! Thanks for reading @birdsofwestcobb Don’t forget to share this with your friends and neighbors that love wild birds as much as we do!!

Is Red-Dyed hummingbird nectar safe for your Hummingbirds? Not likely! You know the stuff… that bottled, cheap red fluid you see at Walmart, your local home improvement chain or even your grocery store. You may even see a neighbor “giving it away to a good home” on Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, or on the Nextdoor app. But what’s the deal, anyway? Is it even usable? Is it safe for the Hummingbirds? Let’s look into it a bit further and I’ll let you decide for yourselves! Before we start though, let’s talk about our favorite DIY hummingbird recipe. It’s easy! So easy even a caveman could do it! DIY Hummingbird Nectar Recipe: Add 4 parts water to a small pot and boil. Stir in 1 part white, table sugar. Remove the super hot liquid from the burner and let it cool off until it’s at room temperature. (For speed, you can refrigerate it to cool it down a bit more quickly). If you already have been using your hummingbird feeders Be sure to thoroughly clean out your feeder(s). Refill them and hanging them back up for the birds! That’s all there is to it! You don’t have to take our word for it though; the Smithsonian National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute has an article about this specifically: https://nationalzoo.si.edu/migratory-birds/hummingbird-nectar-recipe Now that we have the recipe (our "Go-To", clean, safe and not to mention quick method) out of the way, let’s get back down to it: Is the red-dyed, store-bought hummingbird nectar safe to serve to your feathered-friends? First: Let’s look at a few of the brands out there. #1 that comes up in most of my searches seems to be “Perky Pet Concentrated Hummingbird Nectar Sugar” which claims that it is 100% Sucrose. Now, I looked further into this (as you might expect), and I found that Sucrose IS metabolized at nearly a 100% rate by hummingbirds, making it a definite “YES” for feeding to hummingbirds. However, there is a glaring detail in this product that just doesn’t add up. It’s red in color. The Smithsonian link above even states specifically that you should mix sugar and water and avoid using any dye. Why does Perky Pet do this then? Well, it seems to be a marketing ploy to get consumers to purchase it. People are far more attracted to the red dye and red-colored packaging than the birds they hope to attract. Reading further on this subject, and trying to help point you to the correct information more easily, I found this site by Sheri L. Williamson, who is a Hummingbird researcher that has publicly called out the makers of these hummingbird foods for the dyes that are unnecessary and also harmful. Their responses certainly left the feeling that they really just don’t care. Take a look at her blog site below! Feeding Hummingbirds: Seeing red over dye Are you curious to know more about Hummingbird Feeders, Nectar or something else? What details would you like to see? Thanks for visiting and reading! -BOWC #hummingbirdnectar #DIYhummingbirdnectar #DIYhummingbirdjuice #birdsofwestcobb #hummingbirdsatlanta #hummingbirdfood

Identifying common black birds on your feeder in the Southeast This page is intended to help our fellow “backyard birders” identify those black birds on, under or nearby their feeders. Here in the Metro-Atlanta area, we have a number of birds that appear black at some angles or in certain lighting. It’s pretty interesting that most of them look very different in direct sunlight than they do on a very overcast day. I’ve compiled a list of those that we have seen at our feeders in the past several years. We are hopeful that these images help you identify your mystery bird(s) and help further your knowledge of the birds in your backyard. #1. Common Grackle These birds appear very dark (and often shiny!) in direct sunlight and are approximately the same size as a Blue Jay. When they are young, they appear brownish-grey and as they mature the contrast gets more intense. On an overcast day you can see vivid purples and blues when you see their feathers. Grackles make some interesting sounds and we will attempt to capture some audio this Spring. The adults not only have very dark feathers but the adults have yellow eyes with black pupils. #2. American Crow Crows can be seen as a nuisance in some circles, but we find them to be very timid, intelligent and playful. Around 4-5 years ago, we started seeing a pair of crows early in the morning and later in the afternoon. They would arrive cautiously, and one would keep watch high up in a nearby tree as the other flew down and quickly gobbled up some C&S Suet Nuggets. After a bit they would swap positions and the other would come down for a bite. Around 2 years ago they had one baby and now the 3 of them come visit us nearly every day. They are actually very quiet unless there is a predator nearby. Crows really enjoy chasing away hawks, owls and even cats. #3. Brown-headed Cowbird (Male pictured on right) In our experience the Brown-headed cowbird is a very quiet bird, the Brown-headed cowbirds will usually flock together with grackles and starlings in early Spring. The male is quite a bit darker (nearly black, except for the head which is very clearly a brownish color). The female is more of a brownish color throughout and to us, resembles a large female house finch. These are native birds that get a pretty bad bit of publicity because they lay their eggs in the nests of other bird species, forcing these unwilling hosts to raise these offspring as their own. #4. European Starling (Male) European Starlings were literally brought over from (you might have guessed it) Europe, back in the 1970’s. It was a science experiment that went a bit sideways. These birds formed massive flocks and were notorious for eating entire crops of grains. To this day, they are considered pests by many although you have to admit that they have very unique colors in the right lighting, and once you have seen up close it is hard to mistake them for other birds. They are noisy, and sometimes flocks will cover your feeders and often you will find them on the ground beneath your bird feeders in groups, walking erratically and moving a bit like chickens. If you feed Bluebirds and other birds as we do with dishes of dried mealworms, you may need to put these dishes away for a few days to get rid of these birds. #5. Red-Winged Blackbird (Male) Red-winged blackbirds are considered songbirds and often arrive in flocks from 20 birds to well over 300. they move around in tight formations on the ground and cover entire trees. One chipmunk moving across the yard can startle them and cause an incredible burst of flight (and sound of all the wings beating) as they evacuate the area. The female looks very dull in comparison to the male. The male is mostly black and when they spread their wings you can see Red, Orange and or orange-yellow on the wings. It is truly a sight to behold when they all take off at the same time (not to mention the sound of it!) #6. Rufous-Sided Towhee (Male, often referred to as “Eastern Towhee”) The Towhees are also songbirds which are quite beneficial in gardens. They can be heard whistling what sounds like “Tow – Heee” or as we prefer to call them “Toby”. They will usually be found lower in the trees and shrubs, or on the ground flipping leaves while looking for insects, spiders and worms to snack on. The male appears black with “rufous” or a rusty orange color beneath the wings, with a white stomach and a bit of white on the tail and wings which can be seen while in flight. The female is More of a brown color instead of black, but similar in other ways. The adults have Red eyes with black pupils. It’s super cool to see them up close. They enjoy eating C&S Suet Nuggets, mealworms on the ground in Winter, and many live insects found naturally in your yard. #7. Rose-Breasted Grosbeak (Male) The Rose-breasted Grosbeak is a larger songbird with a beak that resembles that of a finch or a cowbird. They are huge fans of safflower seeds or a mixture of safflower and hulled sunflower seeds. The female is the same size but looks completely different – she has lots of brown, splashes of white and streaks of brown on the belly in different shades. Here is a photo of a male and female together sharing a plate of seeds. The juvenile male looks like a combination of the two birds, but clearly has more black and sometimes a touch of the rose-breast feathers can be seen also! Thanks for reading! Do you see other black birds on your feeders? Let us know! Which is your favorite? You may have noticed that we didn't include Woodpeckers in this list... why not? Well, we have a blog post already on the common Woodpeckers found in the Southeastern United States. Read it Here! #blackbird #rufoussidedtowhee #redwingedblackbirds #blackbirds #easterntowhee #grackles #crows #towhees

In this blog we explore which feeder attracts the most hummingbirds: We have found that there isn't a single feeder that matters. It is more important that the feeder is cleaned and filled often! Googlers want to know: Which feeder attracts the most hummingbirds? Our preference is a red glass feeder with colorful fake flower blossoms (They seem to prefer either red or yellow, but also will drink from other bright colored blossoms as well). We are located in the Southeastern United States, and aside from a few (very few) migratory hummingbirds, there is only one species that resides here: The Ruby-Throated Hummingbird. Here is some additional information about Ruby-throated Hummingbirds and the feeders that work for well for attracting them and supporting their nutritional needs as they prepare for migration. In most of the Southeastern United States, you’ll only see Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds throughout the Spring and Summer months, and they will depart in early Fall. The female is typically slightly larger and nearly all white/grey on the belly and throat. The adult males are a bit smaller but their throats absolutely glow red in the sunlight. Other times they may appear black, as they attempt to blend into the surroundings or perch in the shadows. Juveniles will look similar to females at first, and may only have 1 ruby-red feather or just a handful of them. They are a TON of fun to watch as they buzz between feeders and chase each other around relentlessly. Here’s the thing: Ruby-throated hummingbirds are extremely territorial. In all the years I’ve been feeding them I’ve rarely seen more than one at a time on a feeder. This usually only happens if there are too few feeders in the area and a lot of birds, and they are nearing their departure date for migration. For this reason, you can use a hummingbird with as few as 4 “blossoms” but more than that is really a waste. They will attack / chase each other so quickly that it’s pretty uncommon to see two sitting together sharing a drink. If you are in the area and you’d like to stop by the pollinator garden at Kemp Park, you’ll likely witness the hummers buzzing each other for the next few weeks! They are located at 4331 Burnt Hickory Rd NW Marietta GA, 30064 – or you can visit their website. I still recommend a feeder with 4 blossoms (or more), over just a single blossom because it does give the other birds a chance at grabbing a drink, before being chased away. Also, they will come at it from every side, and from below (in our case we have 4-foot tall purple salvia in the summer) as well as above. So it’s a great idea to have multiple angles. Now, another thing to consider is that many hummingbirds actually prefer to perch. They are the only species of birds that cannot walk, their feet are only designed to perch. So they will do this, and lean into the plastic/metal blossoms on your feeders and take deep rewarding drinks. So try to get feeders with perches for each of the blossoms. Red-dye or red glass? We prefer either the red colored glass, or a base that is red and the glass that is clear. You do still want to be able to see the level (and condition) of the hummingbird nectar inside of the feeder so I’d avoid getting a solid color or ceramic that you cannot see through. We talked about red dye / store bought nectar in another post… it’s so easy and fast to mix up a batch of hummingbird nectar that you should avoid the red stuff 100% of the time. (Hummingbird nectar DIY recipe: 1 part sugar, 4 parts water. Lightly boil and then chill to serve). The Feeder we have been using for that last few years looks similar to this one from Perky Pet. It is durable, easy to clean and refill, and the color stays bright. Direct Link Here. Are there any accessories that I should purchase to go along with my hummingbird feeder? Absolutely. You should consider how you will be hanging the feeder(s), and whether or not raccoons can get to them. Raccoons simply love them and will grab hold and tilt them over drinking every last drop (that doesn’t spill). So I’d recommend hanging them from a piece of soffit or facia with at least a 12″ long hook, so they cannot reach down to it. Additionally, you’ll want to invest in an “Ant trap” or ant guard. You and I both know how quickly ants will find anything sweet here in the South. So these little ant traps are worth their weight in gold. You just fill them with water (only a small amount), and it creates a protective barrier that the ants cannot cross and it keeps your nectar safe. Additionally, these little ant traps will double as a tiny bird watering hole for other small birds like finches, titmice and chickadees. We’ve even seen downy woodpeckers and nuthatches drinking from ours, so be sure to keep them clean! #attractinghummingbirds #birdfood #safeDIYhummingbirdnectar #birdfeeding #birdsofwestcobb #birdfeeders #feedinghummingbirds #hummingbirdfeeders #rubythroatedhummingbird #backyardbirds