Tag Archives: Cole’s Bird of the Month

What Makes Cole’s Different From Other Brands?

If you have had the pleasure of using Cole’s, you already know the difference. Cole’s simply attracts the most birds because it’s the highest quality birdseed on the market. The reason Cole’s is so different is because of how the company started. It didn’t begin as a company focused on making big profits. Cole’s started out of a genuine love for birds and a desire to attract more of them.

Richard and Nancy Cole started the company after Richard created his own birdseed. He researched what birds like to eat the most. He combined the best seeds and nuts in order to bring lots of birds to his feeders. His family, friends and neighbors started requesting his blends of birdseed. That passion continues today. Cole’s is not focused on becoming the largest birdseed company with the most profits. Click on the video and hear more from Richard.

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.

Birdfeeder Basics

Bring on backyard birds with the right feeders.

When you dine, do you prefer clean and attractive tableware? Does ambiance enhance your enjoyment of your food? Birds feel the same way about their dining habits – the type and cleanliness of your bird feeders directly affects the number and species of birds that will visit your backyard this season.

To attract birds, you need to understand not only what they prefer to eat, but how they like to eat it. For example, while many species prefer seed, some birds like to eat their seed from elevated platforms, others prefer hanging feeders and still others are content to forage on the ground. All birds appreciate a clean feeder to prevent the spread of disease, and none of them like those pesky, seed-stealing squirrels any more than you do.

The bird experts at Cole’s Wild Bird Products offer some guidance for choosing the right feeder styles to attract the maximum number of feathered friends to your yard:

* Keep it clean – Everyone knows you should clean your feeders regularly to prevent disease, but many feeders are a pain to disassemble, clean and reassemble. Many people keep feeders less than pristine because of the hassle of cleaning. Look for feeders that make the process easy. All Cole’s tube feeders have a Quick Clean feature that allows you to remove the bottom of the feeder with the push of a button for easy cleaning access– no need to completely disassemble the feeders to clean them.

* Tube feeders are terrific – For versatility and wide appeal, it’s hard to beat a tube style feeder. These workhorses of the feeder world can handle seeds both large and small – from sunflowers to petite mixes. Tube feeders make great all-purpose feeders or excellent starter feeders for people just beginning backyard birding. Most songbirds will happily dine at a tube feeder.

* Some seeds are special – Niger is a favorite seed type for finches, siskins and several other appealing species, but not all tube feeders can handle this oily seed. If you’ll be serving niger, consider a specialty feeder like the Nifty Niger Feeder. The feeder dispenses the seed through special, tiny holes to limit the amount of waste.

*Cater to the clingy – Some birds, such as chickadees, titmice, woodpeckers and bluebirds, like to cling to the feeder. For these birds, a mesh feeder can be just what the diner ordered. Mesh feeders satisfy a bird’s desire to cling while also keeping larger birds from hogging the feeder. The Mighty Mesh Feeder is great for serving Nutberry Suet, Suet Kibbles, Suet Pearls, raw peanuts and any sunflower-based seed blend.

* The beauty of bowl feeders – Bowl feeders are another versatile style, and are great for serving not only seeds and seed blends, but also dried mealworms, fruit and suet in either kibble or pearl forms. The Bountiful Bowl Feeder comes with an adjustable dome cover that you can raise or lower to prevent larger birds and squirrels from getting to the food – and it also helps protect feed from rain.

* Hummingbird feeders are something to sing about – Hummingbirds are endlessly fascinating to watch, but you have to be quick to catch a look at them. Your best opportunity is when they’re eating, and a hummingbird feeder can help extend your viewing time. The Hummer High Rise feeder gives hummers a penthouse-view with elevated perches and keeps ants out of the nectar with a special built-in ant moat.

* Those darn squirrels – As much as you enjoy watching their antics, you probably don’t want squirrels on your bird feeder. These persistent bandits can wipe out a seed supply in minutes and damage even the best-made birdfeeders. One way to keep squirrels away from all your feeders is to install a Tough Bird Feeder Guard from Cole’s on your existing feeder poles. The simple device uses static pulse to train squirrels not to climb on feeder poles. Use your favorite feeders on your own shepherd staff or pipe-style poles and add the Tough Bird Feeder Guard to keep squirrels away. Only the tube portion of the guard is charged, so the pole and birdfeeder are safe to touch for humans and birds alike.

For more info on birdfeed blends and where to buy visit www.coleswildbird.com

Broad-Tailed Hummingbird: Cole’s Bird of the Month for August

It’s greenish, shiny, quick, and always hungry – our Cole’s Bird of the Month is the Broad-tailed Hummingbird. This appropriately named medium-sized hummer has a relatively long and wide tail. It’s kind of the cowboy of hummingbirds, living in the meadows and mountains of the western United States and in the high elevations of Mexico.

The Broad-tailed hummingbird is an independent breed. The males and females will mate and then select their nest site together. But, they don’t like to be pinned down to one relationship. Once the female is ready to make her nest and raise her young, she’s pretty much on her own. The males don’t stick around to help out. In fact, during the nesting season, the males often spend the evenings in higher elevations where they can stay warmer.

One of the most interesting attributes of Broad-tailed hummers is their ability to withstand very cold climates. To stay warm when the temperatures drop, all hummingbirds enter what’s known as hypothermic torpor, a slowed metabolic state that can keep their body temperature about ten degrees warmer than the outside air. Unfortunately, this ability comes with a price – It takes more energy. So, the males often head for the hills at night where the warm air rises as the cold air descends into the valleys. This thermal inversion means the female must use extra energy to keep warm, while the male conserves his.

As it turns out, the promiscuous males need the extra energy to perform their impressive acrobatic courtship dances for the ladies. They fly high in the air, trill their wings, and then dive down to the females hoping the display catches her eye.

To keep up their energy, Broad-tailed Hummingbirds prefer flower nectar from Red Columbine, Indian paintbrush, sage, and Scarlet Coyote Mint; however they’ll also feed from flowers other hummers ignore such as pussywillows and Glacier Lilies. Like most hummers, they always enjoy a protein filled snack of insects when they can catch them.

If you’ve never had the pleasure of seeing a Broad-tailed Hummingbird, we recommend this video so that you can get a close up view.

This is another great video, showing a typical mountainous habitat for Broad-tailed Hummingbirds. This one is in Colorado. You don’t see the hummer until 2:50 into the video.

Used alone or combined with a pretty red flower bed, Cole’s High Rise Hummer is the perfect feeder to attract hummingbirds to your backyard. Hummingbird nectar should be made with a four to one ratio of water to sugar. No red dye is needed.

 

For advice on how often to change the nectar from company founder Richard Cole, click on the link below.

If you have photos or stories to share about hummingbirds, 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.

Greed Got The Best Of Them!

Stop Thief!

We’ve all heard of birds, such as crows collecting coins. But, this story surprised even our veteran bird experts. A popular story has been circulating on the web about a car wash where birds were doing more business that customers. As it turns out the original email was a bit embellished, but according to Snopes.com the main story is true.

Bill Dougherty, of Magic Wand Inc., installs and maintains the machines used at coin operated facilities. After installing one in Fredericksburg, Virginia, he discovered the car wash machine kept coming up short. He didn’t want to believe his trusted employees were stealing, but the machines could only be accessed by keys. So, he set up a surveillance camera and caught the thieves in the act.

As it turns out, his employees were innocent. The suspects were European Starlings. You can see the birds had to actually get inside the machines. They worked in tandem with one going in and the other grabbing the coins and taking off. The original email reported that the surveillance mission paid off when $4,000 in stolen coins was found on the roof. Turns out that part is a bit of an exaggeration. The car wash operator never found a big stash, but he did say that it was quite common to find a few hundred quarters on the ground some mornings.

Upon seeing the story, Elaine Cole,  of Cole’s Wild Bird Products said she had never heard of anything like it, though she knew certain species of birds like crows are attracted to shiny objects. She advises “keep your quarters out of sight lest you be robbed at beak point by that notorious Starling gang!” Richard Cole, the founder of Cole’s Wild Bird Products remarked, “wouldn’t it be great if we could ask them why?”

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.

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.

 

Pine Warbler: Cole’s Bird of the Month for June

Pine Warbler

Nature packs quite a punch in the Pine Warbler. This feisty little bird has no problem standing up for itself. Whether it’s a bright yellow male staking out his claim to territory or a more subdued yellowish female calling out sharp short calls to declare this is her “stomping grounds”, this warbler will not be deterred. In fact, Pine Warblers are daring enough to get up close and personal with people. Just watch this video showing a couple of them willing to venture onto a human hand in order to snatch up a few live mealworms.

As the name suggests, the Pine Warbler generally hangs out in pine trees. They fly high in the tops of deciduous forests of the eastern United States, where they usually find everything they need. They enjoy snacking on pine more than any other seed, and they are the only warbler that will eat large quantities of seeds. For that reason, it is possible for you to see them at your feeders. In the winter, you can lure them with sunflower seeds, suet, mealworms, and yes, even peanut butter. Elaine Cole has the most success attracting these cute little birds with a home-made blend of Cole’s Suet Kibbles and Dried mealworms offered in a Mighty Mesh feeder. She finds their number two choice for a meal is Cole’s Hot Meats suet cakes.

When trying to identify the Pine Warbler, it is very easy to confuse with the more brightly colored Yellow Warbler. To tell the difference and spot the Pine Warbler, the distinguishing characteristics for both males and females are the white bars on the wings, thicker bill, and a stockier appearance. In color, the Pine Warbler has what looks like a coating of olive on the top of its head muting his otherwise striking yellow feathers.

 

Pine Warblers live year round in the southeastern United States. During the summers, Pine Warblers will nest atop or near the tops of pine trees and feast on all types of bugs in addition to pine seeds. In the fall when they migrate, Pine Warblers will form large flocks of 50 – 100 birds mingling with their friends who live year round in the southeast. Imagine seeing all those beautiful birds in one place!

Pine Warblers have an interesting song and learning their distinguishing call is one of your best tools to locating these elusive birds that can hide so well in the trees. Click on the video link below to hear the song. Be patient. It sings at about 16 seconds into the video.

These high flying daring little birds are making a comeback in the United States. Back in the 1950’s the herbicide DDT used to control Dutch Elm disease, killed many Pine Warblers. In addition, much of their native forests were changed or destroyed because of development and logging. Fortunately, in recent years extensive reforestation projects have led to an increase in the Pine Warbler population.

The Pine Warbler is a brave, colorful, and elusive little bird that can feel right at home flying in the tops of trees or grabbing seeds from your feeder or even worms from your hand. If you have photos of Pine Warblers, please share them with the Cole’s online community on Facebook. We’d love to see them.

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.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker: Cole’s March Bird of the Month

Photo by Beth Willis

What’s yellow, red, black, and white, loves to drink from trees, and sounds like a cat? Yes, the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, of course. This rather small woodpecker can be seen flying from tree to tree and to your feeder, if you serve suet cakes. Its distinctive, bold black and white patterned jacket blends beautifully with its yellow vest and bright red hat with matching neck scarf.

Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers can easily be distinguished from other woodpeckers by their soft yellow or tan breast and belly. The males and females look very similar, except she has a white chin rather than a red one. The juveniles are similar to the females, but they are more of a dull brown than rich black, and they sport no striking red markings.

Like other woodpeckers, the Yellow-belly has a distinctive undulating flight. Unlike its fellow woodpeckers, the sapsucker has an irregular drumming rhythm and very few vocalizations – the only one of note being a cat-like meow sound.

Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers may have gotten their names from their habit of drinking sap from trees. They drill holes in a pattern of horizontal rows in small to medium sized trees and once the sap starts oozing, they lap it up. It is a fortunate coincidence that bugs also find the sugary sapwells delicious. You can be sure the sapsucker enjoys every bit of that extra protein along with his sweet drink.

The sapwells are attractive to porcupines, bats, and other birds as well. The hummers enjoy the sugary treat so much that, in parts of Canada, the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds time their spring migration with the arrival of sapsuckers.

Elaine Cole keeps them hanging around her own backyard during the winter with a tasty blend of Cole’s Suet Kibbles™ mixed with Cole’s Dried Mealworms. “I also find that the Yellow-bellied sapsuckers love our Hot Meats™ Suet Cakes which I feed out of a homemade suet log feeder, though regular suet cages work just as well,” she advises.

In early spring, before mating, sapsucker pairs have a playful pre-courtship behavior. One sapsucker chases the other around tree trunks and branches. Courting birds will land on a tree and face each other. They raise their bills and tails while they stand with their throat feathers fluffed out and crest feathers raised then swing their heads from side to side. Ironically, while they use this dance as a courtship, it’s the same behavior used between competing males when aggressively facing off over a desirable female.

Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers build cavities for their nest. They have just one brood during mating season. The male usually excavates the nest in a tree that’s infected with a fungus, which causes the tree’s heartwood or sapwood to decay, making excavation easier.  The male and female stay together to raise the young and may reunite during the next mating season.

During the summer, you can find Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers from Alaska to Maine. During the winter, they migrate through the southern United States going as far south as Central America.

Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers are beautiful, striking birds that are fun to watch and entertaining to listen to. Their courtship, their meow-like calls, and their drumming on metal make them a true pleasure for any backyard birder.

 

Below is a video showing a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker enjoying a delicious treat.

Please share your photos, videos and experiences with this beautiful bird on the Cole’s Facebook page. Just click the link below to join the conversation and to be a part of our birding community.

Cole’s 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.

Yellow-rumped Warbler: Cole’s February Bird of the Month

Yellow-rumped Warbler: Cole’s February Bird of the Month

The Yellow-rumped Warbler is among the most bright and colorful of all the birds you will see at your feeder. In the winter, you’ll recognize them as fairly large warblers with a subdued color palette of yellow and brown. But watch out for the spring makeover when Yellow-rumped Warblers display a striking bright yellow against charcoal gray and black with some bold white thrown in for effect. The yellow for which they are named is on the face, sides, and of course the rump. “Butter butts,” as they are known to some, are very active throughout North America during the summer.

The Yellow-rumped Warbler feasts on a steady diet of bugs and spiders in the spring and summer. Insects have no place to hide with these birds. They will pull them out of spider webs, scoop them off the surface of rivers and oceans, pick insects out of seaweed on the beach and even catch them in mid-flight.  During the cold winters when there aren’t as many insects around, they eat berries. In fact, they are the only type of warbler that can digest the waxes found in bayberries and wax myrtles.

During the mating season, the female builds the nest and the male helps out by bringing her material. The couple will have one to two broods during a season then move on to the southeastern United States and South America for the winter.

If you want to attract Yellow-rumped Warblers to your feeder, try Cole’s Nutberry Suet Blend, Special Feeder, or Dried Mealworms. Since they are also greatly attracted to suet, a generous offering of Cole’s Suet Kibbles and Hot Meats suet cakes are guaranteed to get these beautiful little birds’ attention.

The Yellow-rumped Warbler has an upbeat song, and you can hear it by clicking on the video below.


Thanks to our Cole’s Facebook fan Jeremy Bock for nominating the Yellow-rumped Warbler as our Bird of the Month for February. Do you have photos of Yellow-rumped Warblers? If so, please share them with our Facebook community. Join the conversation on ColesFacebookPage

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.

Purple Finch: Cole’s Bird of the Month for January

What’s less than five inches tall yet poses a mighty threat to fruits? If you said the Purple Finch, you’d be right.  The state bird of New Hampshire may look non-threatening to you, but Purple Finches are actually considered predators when it comes to fruits. Unlike many other birds that help to spread the seeds of fruits, these finches eat the seeds, and that’s the end of the line.

While Purple Finches maybe an enemy of the fruits they like to snarf up, they are a friend to those of us in the birding community who love to see them at our feeders. Their distinctive coloring, upbeat song, and playful mating ritual are enough to motivate many people to stock up on Black Oil Sunflower Seeds, one of their favorite treats.

 

Purple Finches have no trouble opening sunflower seeds, as well as most types of seeds and nuts. They have relatively large beaks. The Purple Finch is often confused with its close relative, the House Finch. If you would like to learn about this differences, we have an article devoted to distinguishing these beautiful birds. This stocky little finch that is said to “look like a sparrow dipped in raspberry juice” loves coniferous trees which provide a constant source of food. In addition to feasting on seeds from trees such as evergreens and elms, tulip poplars, and maples, this finch has an adaptable palate and will also eat soft buds and nectar. It enjoys fruits, including apricots and blackberries, plants like dandelions and ragweed, and insects such as grasshoppers and beetles.

Because of the Purple Finch’s desire for the seeds of coniferous trees, they tend to migrate every other year keeping up with the latest cone crop. If you live in the eastern half of the United States, chances are you see Purple Finches every other winter. Those on the west coast and in the northeast may be lucky enough to see these stocky birds all year long. Purple Finches tend to spend their summers breeding in Canada.

When it comes to courtship, Purple Finches have one of the more entertaining flirtations in the world of birds. Courting males sing while hopping and fluffing their feathers in front of the female. The song is a “warbling” one typical of finches. During this ritual, he’ll hold a twig or grass stem in his beak. If the female seems interested, the next step is a flight about one foot straight up, followed by drooping the wings and pointing his beak to the sky. The next and final step maybe mating.

The females do all the work when it comes to nesting. She’ll build her nest far out on a limb up as high as 60 feet. Nest building takes about three to eight days of gathering twigs, roots, grasses, and animal hair. The female is much more drab in color, lacking any red. She’s brown and white with bold streaking on her wings and distinctive white bars on her face.

Although Purple Finches have two to seven eggs and one to two broods, they are declining in numbers. They simply have a tough time competing against House Finches, which usually win when there’s competition for food and territories. The Purple Finch is not considered endangered, but its population has been steadily declining by 1.4 percent a year since 1966.

Purple Finches can put a little spark of color and fun into your winter birding. Their cheerful song, beautiful coloring, and non-aggressive nature make them quite the welcome visitor.  Please let us know if you are seeing Purple Finches this winter in your area.  Do you have photos of Purple Finches? If so, please share them with our Facebook community. Join the conversation by clicking the link below.

 

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Want to see Purple Finches in action, click on this video. It shows a Purple Finch couple as they enjoy a snack with a few American Goldfinch friends.


A Purple Finch couple with a few American Goldfinch friends

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.

 

House Wren: Cole’s Bird of the Month for October

The House Wren is a small songbird with a big personality. With a reputation for being bold and curious, they are usually one of the first birds seen investigating a new feeder. While this little wren may be somewhat dull in color, it is anything but dull when it comes to behavior. Naturally comfortable around people, they’ll even fly right up to your home in an effort to catch insects or spiders or serenade you with a melodious tune as if to say “notice me!”

They are brown to brownish gray, with darker barring on the wings and back and a lighter colored brown or white on the belly. While the body of a House Wren tends to be compact, the beak and tail is fairly long. House Wrens are distinguished from many other types of wrens by the lack of a noticeable eyebrow.

Though common throughout the entire western hemisphere, this time of year you’ll find many House Wrens on the move seeking warmer weather for the winter. During the coldest temperatures, don’t expect to see them or hear from them. They prefer to stay quiet and hunker down in the protection of shrubs and dense forests. They’ll spend the winter in the southern most United States and Mexico then return as the thermometer rises. In summer, they are active singing and building nests near woods, forests, parks, farms, and suburbs. Not surprisingly, these petite birds with a strong spirit and a cheerful song are aggressive when it comes to territory and nesting.

House Wrens are known for taking over the nests of other birds – including other House Wrens! They’ll do everything from pulling twigs out of a competitor’s nest to destroying the nest or even breaking the eggs of another bird. Not even the size of their competition phases them as they do not hesitate to evict larger birds from a nest. As a result they often end up competing with chickadees and bluebirds for nesting sites.

Home thievery notwithstanding, House Wrens are resourceful creatures that can and will turn just about anything into a nest. They’ll just as soon use a cavity created by woodpeckers or a shoe left in your garage as they would regulation nest boxes created by people. They usually choose a site close to woods, but not too deep in fear of not having a clear sight of approaching predators.

Once in the nest, House Wrens have an interesting way of keeping parasites to a minimum. They often add spider egg sacs to the material used to build the nest. When the spiders hatch, they devour the parasites.

Single males will compete for a female even after she’s already started nesting with another male. About half of the time, the new male displaces his rival. When he does, he usually discards the existing eggs or nestlings and starts a new family with the female. While courtship is going on in the spring and summer, you can often hear the male with his happy and hearty song. For such a small bird, they have no trouble being heard. Click on this video to hear a male as he works on a nest and sings in hopes of attracting a mate.

Watch the male in full courtship mode.

Fledglings are born naked and helpless. They stay in the nest for 15 – 17 days. The video below shows some House Wren fledglings in a nest just before they are ready to fly. During this time, the mother feeds them every few minutes.

If you are perhaps interested in building a bird house to attract wrens, this link from the Missouri Department of Conservation shows you how.

http://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/outdoor-recreation/woodworking/build-wren-house

The House Wren is a small but hearty bird that doesn’t mind being aggressive when it comes to mating and survival. It has a strong song and a big spirit. According to Cornell University, the oldest living House Wren lived to be nine years old!

If you have photos or videos of House Wrens, please share them with the Cole’s Community on Facebook. Click the link below to join the conversation and like our page.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Coles-Wild-Bird-Products-Company/125017247634656

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 chili-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 – See more at: https://coleswildbird.com/2014/09/downy-woodpecker-coles-bird-of-the-month-for-september/#sthash.Zomt000m.dpuf

Downy Woodpecker: Cole’s Bird of the Month for September

In Above video, hear the drumming of a female Downy Woodpecker.

If you have backyard feeders, chances are you get the pleasure of watching Downy Woodpeckers on a consistent basis. These relatively small woodpeckers love to frequent backyard feeders, and they are amazingly friendly with people. Several youtube.com videos show Downys feeding from people’s hands.

The Downy Woodpecker dons what looks like a black and white checked coat. They’ve enjoyed this classic black and white look long before humans caught on. The wings are black with white spots, and the belly is mostly white. Downys have black and white tail feathers, and watch for a white bar above the eye. The males are also easily distinguished with a spot of red on the back of the head.

These striking birds also have a short bill which helps to set them apart from other woodpeckers. While it’s hard to tell a Hairy Woodpecker from a Downy Woodpecker, you can usually differentiate by the smaller size of the Downy and the smaller bill. In fact, the Downy is the smallest woodpecker in North America. Downy Woodpeckers mix well with others. They can often be seen mixed into a flock of  chickadees, nuthatches, creepers, and kinglets.

You can find Downy Woodpeckers in just about every habitat. They love forests as well as residential areas and city parks. Listen for their drumming and for the characteristic high-pitched pik note and the descending whinny call.

The best part about the Downy Woodpecker is that Americans can enjoy them year round. Downys can be found from Alaska to Florida and almost everywhere in between. The desert southwest is the only part of the United States where Downys are not present. They can also be found in most of Canada. Only the far northern regions of Canada are excluded.

The males and females work well as a team, with the male chiseling deep into wood with his longer and stronger bill. The female is smaller than the male, and her beak is as well. The female pries under the bark with her shorter bill. The pair is able to share the food resources without competing with one another.

If you want to attract the Downy to your feeders, be sure to use suet. They love suet, but they will also eat peanut butter, peanuts, millet, and Black Oil Sunflower Seeds.

See just how friendly Downys are in this video by Kelly Dodge. She’s an artist who paints birds. The video shows her hand feeding one.

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

The Indigo Bunting: Cole’s Bird of the Month for July

The Indigo Bunting isn’t just another pretty face in the world of birds, it’s also as upbeat and cheery as it is beautiful. The bright blue male of the species sings with gusto from sunup to sundown during the spring and summer. He loves to perch high in the trees or on telephone poles to sing out his song for the world to hear.

Indigos are small, stocky birds with thick bills. The adult males are a brilliant indigo blue all over, while the females are mostly brown with a whitish throat. They will sometimes have just a touch of blue on the wings, tail, or rump. The young males are brownish blue. Indigos are often mistaken for another striking songbird, the Blue Grosbeak; however the grosbeak is much larger and has rust colored patches on its wings. Indigos are about the size of a sparrow. Also, the Blue Grosbeak has a significantly thicker bill.

If you want to attract these brightly colored, attention getters to your backyard then fill your feeders with Niger seed or White Proso Millet. Along with seeds and berries, they love to eat insects. So, you may want to avoid pesticides to keep this food source in ample supply. If you live near a weedy or brushy area, that’s another enticement. Indigos love to forage in seed-laden shrubs and grasses.

This is the perfect time of year to watch for Indigo Buntings. They breed in late spring and summer as far west as the California border, as far north as the southern central part of Canada, and all across the Midwest and eastern United States. This time of year Indigos are found in pairs, but during the winter they travel in flocks when they migrate to Central America.

Another fun fact about Indigos is that they are known to sing as many as two hundred songs per hour at dawn and then sing about one per minute for the rest of the day. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, young Indigo Buntings learn their songs from older males near the younger male’s breeding ground. This leads to “song neighborhoods” in which all nearby males sing songs that are similar to each other and that are different from those sung more than a few hundred yards away.

If you’d like to hear the songs of the Indigo Bunting, click the link below to watch the video and hear him singing.

We’d love to see your photos of Indigo Buntings and hear about your experiences attracting them. Please join the conversation on the Cole’s Facebook page by clicking the link below.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Coles-Wild-Bird-Products-Company/125017247634656

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

The Rose-breasted Grosbeak – Cole’s Bird of the Month for May

It’s one of the most striking birds around. The male Rose-breasted Grosbeak has beautiful contrasting colors. He’s black and white with a rose-red chest. The female is not so colorful enabling her to blend in with her natural surroundings. She’s brown with streaking and a white stripe over her eye. Young male Rose-breasted Grosbeaks have brown and white streaking, a pinkish chest, and a bold face pattern. These songbirds are medium sized and stocky with large bills.

You can find the Rose-breasted Grosbeak at feeders, forests, and woodlands in much of the central and eastern United States at this time of the year. Some are migrating to their summer home in Canada. Some will breed in the central and northeastern parts of United States.

In addition to its good looks, another distinctive quality for the Rose-breasted Grosbeak is its voice. They sound a bit like American Robins, but some say a robin who has had singing lessons. They also make a sharp chink like the squeak of a sneaker. Want to hear the song of the male Rose-breasted Grosbeak?  Click here:

These birds use their thick bills to feast on seeds, fruits, and insects, but they are not averse to stopping at backyard feeders for a little something different. If you want to attract them to your feeder, fill it up with Cole’s Special Feeder or Nutberry Suet Blend, which they will eat with abandon. They also like Cole’s straight Safflower seeds and Raw Peanuts.

Rose-breasted Grosbeaks breed in forests in the United States and Canada. They are most common in regenerating woodlands and often concentrate along forest edges and in parks. During migration, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks feed on fruiting trees to help with the long journey to Central and South America where they spend winters.

Thanks to Cole’s Facebook fan Kathy Panian for the nomination. Please click the link below to join the conversation on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Coles-Wild-Bird-Products-Company/125017247634656

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.

What Do You Do When A Bird Flies In?

This hummer wants out!

Many of us who love feeding birds have had the unnerving experience of having a bird fly in to our homes. So, what do you do when it happens? You start by trying to remain calm. Your goal is to help the bird get back outside without it getting too stressed or injured.

Wrens, in particular, are curious birds known to fly into homes. If you do have a wren in your home, just know they are also pretty smart about figuring a way out. The most important thing to keep in mind is that to a bird “up is out.” Loosely translated that means they will always look for a way out in an upward direction – even if they have an open window available down low.  You may have to consider getting the bird to fly away from an upstairs window. Usually though, just leaving the room will give the bird space to find the outside opening on its own,

 

Here are a few steps to take right away. 

Switch off all fans IMMEDIATELY. Birds often try to escape by flying up towards the ceiling and many die upon coming in contact with fan blades.

If you have cats and dogs, get them out of the area. Either put them in a closed room or outside. This way, they don’t stress or attack the bird.

If the bird is in the kitchen, switch off the stove, hood vent, and any heat-generating appliances that may harm the bird should it collide with the appliance. Cover all pots, pans and kettles that have hot food or liquids in them.

Open all the doors and windows to enable the bird’s escape. Close all doors to other rooms to stop the bird from becoming more confused and flying deeper into the house.

Do not use loud noises, sticks or hard objects to chase the bird out. Use your hands to gently wave, push, pick up or otherwise direct the bird towards and open door or window. A soft net, such as a swimming pool or butterfly net, may be used to catch the bird and get them outside – just be careful and gentle when releasing the bird.

If the bird appears stunned or injured, throw a light towel over the bird and gently pick it up. Inspect the bird for injuries. Injured birds should be brought to a vet for treatment. Birds that are merely stunned can be kept in a shoe box until they recover and are ready to be taken outside and released. Be on the lookout for dogs and cats that may be waiting to pounce on a dazed bird.

Do you have an interesting or funny story about a bird getting into your house? We’d love to hear it! Just email us at webbird@coleswild.com

Click below to join the conversation on Facebook.

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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 chili 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.

 

Cedar Waxwings are beautiful, social birds that love to eat fruit.

Cedar Waxwings are among the most striking songbirds, easily identified by the black mask on their faces and the bright red tips on their feathers. These red, waxy tips on their feathers and their appetite for cedar berries combine to give them their name. They are about the size of a robin and are usually brown and gray with a beautiful blend of lemon yellow on the tips of their tails and a lighter yellow on their breast.

Cedar Waxwings love to eat fruit. In fact, they can subsist on fruit alone more so than other birds.  If you want to attract them to your yard, it’s a good idea to have lots of berries around. In summer, the best plants to attract them are serviceberries, strawberries, mulberries, dogwood, and raspberries. In winter, you can’t go wrong with cedar berries, mistletoe, madrone, juniper, mountain ash, honeysuckle, crabapple, hawthorn, and Russian olive fruits. The one downside of their fruit rich diet is that they’ve been known to feast on fruit that’s overripe and fermented. Although “drunk” birds can be humorous to watch, in some cases such fruit intoxication can be life threatening. Here’s a video showing intoxicated a bird.

 

In summer, Cedar Waxwings have a taste for protein rich insects like mayflies, dragonflies, and stoneflies. They most often catch bugs mid-flight or pick insects such as spruce budworms and leaf beetles right off vegetation.

Cedar Waxwings can be found as far north as Canada and as far south as the northern tip of South America. Many of them migrate to Canada in the summer where they breed, usually one or two broods during a season. They can be found in the southern United States and all the way down to South America in the winter. People in the northern half of the United States have the chance to see them all year round.

These birds are very social and are almost always seen in large flocks. They have a mating ritual that consists of the male offering a gift to his mate. The two will hop toward each other and then away and then back. You may even see them touch bills together during this little tango. The male also likes to pass a gift to his lady friend. It might be a small fruit, a bug, or a flower petal which she will take and then return. This goes on for a while before she eats the gift.

Cedar Waxwings are beautiful, striking birds with a lighthearted song and desire for social interaction. In fact, this video shows just how social these birds can be. Here a woman is holding the nest as a mother Cedar Waxwing feeds her young.

Our Facebook fan Bethany Satterfield Feehery nominated the Cedar Waxwing for Cole’s Bird of the Month. Thanks, Bethany. We hope you will join the conversation on Facebook. Click the link below.

 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Coles-Wild-Bird-Products-Company/125017247634656

 

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.

People Have Been Feeding Birds for Centuries

Since February is National Bird Feeding Month, we wanted to share a bit of history about what is now one of America’s top hobbies. As it turns out, humans have been drawn to bird feeding for a very long time. Here are four interesting facts about the history bird feeding.

One) According to naturalist James Fisher, a monk who lived in the sixth century was one of the earliest known bird feeders. Saint Serf of Fife tamed a pigeon by feeding it.

Two) Henry David Thoreau wrote of feeding birds at Walden Pond in 1845. Around the same time period, John James Audubon wrote about feeding hummingbirds in his most famous publication, The Birds of America.

Three) In the harsh winter of 1890-91 in Britain, national newspapers asked people to put out food for birds. In 1910 in the United Kingdom, Punch Magazine declared that feeding birds was a “national pastime”.

Four) In January 1994, Illinois Congressman, John Porter, read a resolution in the Congressional Record declaring February as National Bird Feeding Month.  This observance was established because wintertime is one of the most difficult periods in North American for birds to survive in the wild.

Today, more than 50 million Americans put out a billion pounds of bird feed each year. In fact, according to Wikipedia about one in three adult Americans feed wild birds in their backyards. The relaxing hobby that helps people feel more connected to nature is now known as the second most popular hobby in America. Gardening is listed as the number one hobby.

Learn All About Common Redpolls

Common Redpolls are energetic little songbirds that travel in flocks, burrow in the snow, and thrive in the cold. They make their home in the arctic tundra and boreal forest and can survive temperatures of 65 degrees below zero Fahrenheit.  Since Common Redpolls live in these cold climates and aren’t used to humans, they tolerate people quite well and are very tame. They migrate erratically traveling to Canada and the northern United States depending on food sources. Common Redpolls are always a welcome sight at back yard feeders and have been spotted as far south as Kansas.

They are named Redpolls for their red “caps”. The males have a splash of red on the tops of their heads and a reddish pink blush on their breasts. In the breeding season, the male really stands out as his red becomes more vivid. The females have similar coloring on their heads, but their breasts are duller in color allowing them to better blend in with nature. Both males and females have brown streaking against white feathers on most of their bodies. The coloring is similar to that of the House Finch.

While birch seeds are a staple most of the year, Common Redpolls eat many types of seeds. In addition to their favorites Niger and thistle, they like black oil sunflower seeds. They have small beaks and must eat seeds that are easy to open. In the summer, this colorful bird loves to munch on spiders and insects for some extra protein. It’s a good thing their diet is so varied since they eat as much as 45% of their body weight a day.

You may wonder how these tiny little birds endure the bitter cold temperatures and harsh wind of the arctic tundra. They are resourceful, hearty, and smart. They create tunnels in the snow that help keep them warm. These tunnels can be a foot long and as much as four inches deep. When it gets too cold, several of the birds will sleep huddled closely together in the tunnels and escape the bitter cold wind.

Common Redpolls are also built to be resourceful. They have little pouches in their throats used to store seeds. Sometimes they fill these pouches completely, then fly away to swallow the seeds in a more safe and comfortable place.

Common Redpolls travel in flocks of several hundred birds, so you’ll rarely see just one or two. They have a sharp, buzzy call often heard when they are actively foraging. The oldest known Common Redpoll was 7 years and 10 months old. Not bad for a tiny bird that puts up with the harshest temperatures on the planet! They are truly tough little birds with the ability to make the most of their environment.

Click below to watch a video of a Common Redpoll eating in the wild.

 

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.

 

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