Bird Watcher News February 18th, 2014

Local Bird News

It's time for the
9th Annual Youth Birding Competition!
This year's event will be held April 25th - 26th and anyone from K - 12th grade can participate. You do not need to be an expert, and if you don't have a team or mentor, you'll be paired with one. Registration ends March 31st. This event is sponsored by The Environmental Resources Network Inc., the Atlanta Audubon Society and the Georgia Ornithological Society. Contact tim.keyes@dnr.state.ga.us for info. It's really a lot of fun!

Berry eagles

The nesting eagles at
Berry College have taken very good care of their eggs during the snow storms and the eggs should be hatching any day now! Watch live at
www.berry.edu/eaglecam
or visit their
Facebook page to chat with others who are anxiously awaiting egg pips! We can't get enough of this local nest cam!

Want to learn more about attracting bluebirds and monitoring your nest boxes for the best success? Visit the North American Bluebird Society website at
www.nabluebirdsociety.org

Hi Birdwatchers!

Thanks to snow and the Great Backyard Bird Count, we had several days in the last week to relax and just watch our birds, without feeling too terribly guilty about missing work or not doing chores! We tallied 30 species on our GBBC count, and really enjoyed watching the local and national real time results come in at www.birdsource.org. How was your count?

Like many of you, we really love Eastern Bluebirds. We had a flock of seven that came in quite often this week for mealworms, Suet Kibbles and nuggets. A few of them already seemed paired up and were checking out our nesting boxes. Valentine's Day is always a good reminder date to clean out old nest boxes and inspect for any damage, or to put up new ones. Spring is just around the corner - many birds will be building nests within a month!

The ideal place to put a bluebird house is on a 4' - 6' pole or post, in a open, grassy area away from trees, bird feeders and other bird houses, and protected with a baffle to stop predators. It should be well-ventilated and faced away from prevailing winds or harsh afternoon sunlight. Bluebirds need a hole of 1.5", which should keep out aggressive European Starlings and Brown-headed Cowbirds. Remember that bluebirds are primarily insect eaters, so limit or exclude any use of pesticides.

If you live in a heavily wooded area, you may not be able to attract bluebirds, but "bluebird boxes" are still the best type of bird house to attract titmice, chickadees, nuthatches and wrens, who also need safe places to build nests and raise their young. Come see us and we'll set you up with the perfect home for bluebirds!

Kennesaw * Roswell * Buford * Marietta * Canton