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Local Backyard Birding Class with real feeders, bird baths & gardens
New Backyard Birding Classes in Kennesaw, GA
Where: Smith-Gilbert Botanical Garden & Bird Sanctuary 2382 Pine Mountain Road, Kennesaw, GA 770.422.3384
When: On the 1st and 3rd Friday of each month, from 10:00 a.m. till 12:00 p.m.
Cost: $15.00 (includes admission to gardens) $8.00 (garden members)
Instructor: Pat Pepper, M.Ed. and Audubon Society Member
Materials Used: Binoculars (please bring your own if you have them), Spotting Scope, North American Field Guides (Sibley, Stokes, Kaufman & Peterson), Bird Songs (audio from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology), and digital bird pictures.
Class Content: This class is designed for anyone who enjoys watching birds, but would like to learn more about these fascinating creatures: their names, habitats, and food preferences. Lear what flowers and trees you can plant to attract specific birds. The study will mainly be on those birds most common to Georgia yards. First seeing their pictures and then trying to spot them at the Garden’s feeders, bird baths and other water features. The class will conclude with a walk through the gardens looking for birds who don’t usually visit feeders because they’re fruit or insect eaters. At the conclusion of the walk, there will be a Q&A session for more inquisitive minds!
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the versatile window hummingbird feeder
It’s kind of bittersweet-the end of hummingbird season. When the beloved flying jewels have left for their winter homes, and all’s that’s left for us is cleaning and storing the feeders for next season. But it doesn’t have to be!A basin style window hummingbird feeder can do double duty to serve your resident birds treats during the winter season. From seed mixes, or shelled peanuts, to suet chunks and even mealworms, window hummingbird feeders that feature a basin style can do a two-in-one. Lids remove easily, creating a window feeder for prefect close-up views.
Your resident birds will thank you, especially during frigid weather. So instead of storing that window hummingbird feeder this year, be creative and offer feather friends another feeding spot… without the cost of a new feeder!
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don’t take those hummingbird feeders down just yet…
It’s a total myth that leaving your hummingbird feeders up will encourage them not to migrate!Now that the autumn is officially here, daylight hours have begun to dwindle – which sends an innate message to birds and other wildlife as well. Even though temperatures are still on the warm side, (at least here in the south) hummingbirds know it’s time to leave for their winter breeding grounds, nature has hard-wired this instinct as a matter of survival.
Leaving your hummingbird feeders up, fresh and full will greatly help the little sprites on their long journey back to Central and South America. You see, hummingbirds need to double their body weight before their migration can begin, and it’s been a tough season for them here this year. Severe drought in the South, along with Hurricane Irene in the Northeast, has greatly reduced (if not wiped out) the nectar-producing flowers they depend upon for food.
Here in our GA backyard, hummer activity has been a constant buzz over the last two weeks and is just starting to ease up. There are still around 10-15 birds seen around our feeders daily. Extra hummingbird feeders were placed around the property and definitely put to good use! Stragglers from the north who are still heading south find the place a great stop-over, an oasis to re-fuel before heading on their way!
One other interesting fact: hummingbirds practice “site fidelity” which means if they find your yard inviting (food, water, and shelter) they’ll be back next year to grace your place!
Birding Tips, Information & News
