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 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 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