Tag Archives: bird of the month

Bird of the Month

The American Redstart: Cole’s Bird of the Month for September

Fall is a great time to watch for one of nature’s most lively and vibrantly dressed creatures. The male American Redstart, with its bold, black body contrasted against its bright orange and bright yellow wings and tail, appears ready for the Halloween holiday.

This lively little warbler isn’t just dressed for Halloween. It lives up to the spirit of the holiday by actually frightening its prey. American Redstarts have a unique style of hunting. They dart in and out of leafs while quickly fanning their tail feathers to expose the striking orange and yellow feathers in a flash. Those fast moving bright colors startle the bugs into the air, where the redstart gobbles them up.

The music video below shows you an American Redstart in action – flashing its tail for food.

Aside from their striking appearance and their ability to “jet” in and out of foliage, you might also identify them by their upbeat song. The males are known for their sweet song, which they use to claim their territory and attract a mate or two.

 

During mating season, the male won’t settle down with just one girl. He’ll stay with the first female until she starts incubating the eggs, then he’s off to find another one. In fact, while other bird species will do this same sort of thing, the American Redstart is a little different in that he chooses a completely separate territory for his new family.

American Redstarts spend the breeding season throughout most of Canada and much of the eastern United States. During the fall and spring migration, people all over America get the chance to see them as they take off to their tropical homes in Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. If they don’t normally live in your area, watch for them from September through mid-October and again in April and May.

Their diet is mostly made up of all types of bugs, including, leafhoppers, planthoppers, flies, and moths. During the late summer, they’ll change their diet a bit and will start to snack on various berries and fruits. If you want to attract them, you might plant things like barberry, serviceberry, and magnolia. Also, offering Cole’s Nutberry Suet Blend in your feeders will certainly get their attention.

American Redstarts are worth attracting. You’ll enjoy seeing their striking, bold colors, watching their unique style of hunting, and listening to their sweet songs. If you have photos, videos, or stories of your experiences with American Redstarts, please share them with the Cole’s community on Facebook.

Cole’s Wild Bird Products is a family-owned company that distributes wild bird feed and suet products. The company is known for offering the highest quality products on the market. Cole’s also specializes in chile infused seed products designed to make your feeder a bird’s only “hot” spot. Cole’s started in the garage of mom and pop entrepreneurs Richard and Nancy Cole back in the early 1980’s. Today it distributes to retailers nationwide. Cole’s is located in the metro Atlanta area.

Bird of the Month

The Bald Eagle: Cole’s Bird of the Month for July

It’s only fitting that in a time when we celebrate our nation’s independence, we choose the Bald Eagle as our bird of the month. The Bald Eagle has served our country as the national emblem since 1782 and while it is hard to believe that anyone would disagree that such a majestic and beautiful bird would be anything but perfect to symbolize the strength and freedom of America, The Bald Eagle was not always a favorable choice.

In fact, in 1784 Benjamin Franklin made it clear he had no part in choosing the Bald Eagle over the Wild Turkey. Franklin didn’t like the idea of choosing a bird that steals its food from others and could be so easily intimidated by small birds. “For my own part,” he wrote, “I wish the Bald Eagle had not been chosen the Representative of our Country. He is a Bird of bad moral Character. He does not get his Living honestly. … Besides he is a rank Coward: The little King Bird not bigger than a Sparrow attacks him boldly and drives him out of the District.”

As far as stealing food goes, indeed the Bald Eagle seems to prefer grabbing an easy meal from another bird or a human to going to the trouble of hunting. Bald Eagles are also happy to go dumpster diving or grab a bite on the road. While Bald Eagles are skillful hunters and fishers, they’re not picky about what they eat or how they obtain each meal. These eagles prefer fish but will eat snakes, turtles, rabbits, and waterfowl. The Bald Eagles’ love for fish is what drives them to set up territories near oceans, lakes, rivers, or streams. You’ll find them up and down the U. S. coasts during various times of the year.

Eaglesnest

Ben Franklin may not have admired the Bald Eagles’ hunting abilities, but he’d have to admire their home building and parenting skills. Their nests are huge, and year after year couples will return to the same nests making it larger and more elaborate. While most nests are about five to six feet in diameter and two feet high, they can be much bigger. According to the website for the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest bird’s nest ever built was constructed by a pair of Bald Eagles near St Petersburg, Florida. The site reveals that the nest was examined in 1963, and it measured nine feet six inches wide and twenty feet deep. The nest was estimated to weigh more than two tons.

Record Breaking Nest

Eagleonnest
Once Bald Eagles begin incubating the eggs, they are incredibly dedicated parents. They will stay in the nest through the harshest winter weather. A National Geographic documentary follows a pair of Bald Eagles who illustrate the challenges and the fortitude of these amazing birds. At one point, the father must make a painful decision about how long to stay with his nest. After he has lost hope that the female will return, he does abandon the nest. Sadly, the female did not return because she died from an unknown cause.

Eagles are depicted as strong and powerful, but in reality this top of the food chain raptor has a very hard time just surviving to the mature breeding age of four years. Born weighing just a few ounces, the odds are stacked against these vulnerable creatures from the beginning. Mom and dad feed the young for the first four months, then they must fend for themselves.  It’s at this time that the young eagle struggles to survive. In fact, it’s estimated that only about one in ten eagles makes it to four years old. The ones who do make the cut are powerful hunters and can be expected to live to be about 20 – 25 years old.

Although at one time Bald Eagles were endangered because of hunting and herbicides including DDT,  efforts in the 1970’s to bring back this national emblem have worked and populations have increased. It is no longer considered endangered.

If you want to see Bald Eagles, head for water where they winter in large numbers at lakes and national wildlife refuges. Below is a link showing the best places for spotting Bald Eagles.

Where To Spot Bald Eagles

If you have photos or experiences with Bald Eagles, we’d love for you to share them with the Cole’s community on our Facebook page.

Cole’s Wild Bird Products is a family-owned company that distributes wild bird feed and suet products. The company is known for offering the highest quality products on the market. Cole’s also specializes in chile infused seed products designed to make your feeder a bird’s only “hot” spot. Cole’s started in the garage of mom and pop entrepreneurs Richard and Nancy Cole back in the early 1980’s. Today it distributes to retailers nationwide. Cole’s is located in the metro Atlanta area. For more information, visit www.ColesWildBird.com.

If you have any questions for the experts here at Cole’s, please contact us directly. Your quickest response will be from our Contact Us form. We are happy to help.

 

Bird of the Month

American Robin: Cole’s Bird of the Month for April

They are a welcome sight no matter where you live. The American Robin with its flash of burnt orange and its upbeat song is a sure sign that the cold days of winter are coming to an end. You’ll often notice them foraging for earthworms in early spring. The American Robin is as at ease in the city and around people as it is in the wild of the deep woods.

While some American Robins migrate for the winter, others stay put. For instance, the robins that spend the spring and summer breeding in Canada and Alaska migrate south to the continental United States in the fall. Others winter as far south as Mexico. Many American Robins live year round in the United States, but you don’t often see them in the winter because they seek food in the forests during those cold months.

This time of year, American Robins are often heard voicing their desire for a mate. They’re considered to have the nicest voices and the most cheerful of songs. However, it takes more than a nice song to attract the female. Males have quite the courtship. They sing while raising and spreading their tails, shaking their wings and inflating their throats. If she’s interested, you may see the female approach him. They hold their bills wide open and touch them together. Perhaps it’s their way of kissing.

Once paired, female robins choose the nest site. They build their nests from the inside out. It’s usually in the lower half of the tree. American Robins also nest in gutters, eaves, on outdoor light fixtures, and other structures. The pair can produce as many as three successful broods in one year. The females sleep on the nest, and the males go to roosts.

Robins have a taste for lots of types of food. While in spring, they love earthworms and will even fight each other over a worm, in the fall and winter, they feast on fruit. In fact, they’ve been known to get intoxicated when they eat honeysuckle berries exclusively. If you want to attract them to your feeder, you’ll want to use Cole’s Nutberry Suet Kibbles™. It has the right combination of fruit, nuts, and insect suet. Since robins feed on lawns, they are especially vulnerable to pesticides and herbicides. So, if you do want them to visit your feeders, you may want to avoid lawn chemicals.

One of the most endearing things about the American Robin is seeing it go through its ritual of capturing earthworms. You’ll see a robin run a few steps and stop suddenly. Then, it stands motionless with its head cocked to one side just waiting to see its next meal. The average life expectancy of a robin is just two years, but the oldest known American Robin lived to be almost 14 years old. The American Robin is noticed for its beautiful reddish breast, loved for its upbeat song, and remembered for its unique foraging style. The American Robin is among the most popular of song birds. It’s the state bird of three states – Wisconsin, Connecticut, and Michigan.

Wanna hear the song of an American Robin. Click the video below.

Join the Cole’s conversation about birds on Facebook. We’d love to have you.

Cole’s Wild Bird Products is a family-owned company that distributes wild bird feed and suet products. The company is known for offering the highest quality products on the market. Cole’s also specializes in chile infused seed products designed to make your feeder a bird’s only “hot” spot. Cole’s started in the garage of mom and pop entrepreneurs Richard and Nancy Cole back in the early 1980’s. Today it distributes to retailers nationwide. Cole’s is located in the metro Atlanta area. For more information, visit www.ColesWildBird.com.