Birds Georgia

Fall Flyway Festival: September is for the Birds Join us in September for the Fall Flyway Festival, a celebration of Georgia's native plants and the key role they play for birds and other wildlife. We’ll be bringing you a host of programming and inspiration for creating a bird oasis in your landscape using native plants and showcasing some of the many Birds Georgia habitat restoration projects around the state. Join us for an event or a volunteer workday, and help us create more bird-friendly habitat across Georgia. * Saturday, September 7, at 8:00 AM – Bird and Plant Walk at Mistletoe State Park (Appling County) * Saturday, September 7, at 9:00 AM – Birds, Bees, and Botany at the Earth Day Nature Trail (Glynn County) * Tuesday, September 10, at 7:00 PM – Webinar: Rewilding Your Landscape, with Gabe Andrle * Saturday, September 14, at 8:00 AM – Round Robin, featuring keynote address by Jennifer Ceska * Tuesday, September 10, at 7:00 PM – Webinar: Rewilding Your Landscape, with Gabe Andrle * Tuesday, September 17 at 9:00 AM – Oak Woodlands Workshop for NRCS, GFC, and County Extension Agents (Madison County) * Wednesday, September 18, at 5:00 PM – Bird and Tree Hike at Lionel Hampton/Beecher Hills Park (Fulton County) * Thursday, September 19, at 9:00 AM – Native Gardening for Birds at Island Ford Unit of Chattahoochee National Recreation Area (CRNRA)(Fulton County) * Thursday, September 19, at 6:00 PM – Beginning Plant ID Workshop (DeKalb County) * Tuesday, September 10, at 7:00 PM – Birds Georgia BioBlitz at Cochran Shoals Unit of CRNRA (Fulton County) Learn more or sign up today at https://lnkd.in/gjtHcqxx

Great news for horseshoe crabs and the Red Knots and other birds that depend on them! This week, the US Pharmacopeia, which helps set quality standards for the pharmaceutical industry, announced a new standard that provides guidance to companies wishing to transfer their endotoxin testing away from the use of horseshoe crab blood to new synthetic agents that do not use the blood of a wild animal. This is a victory for the Horseshoe Crab Recovery Coalition, of which Birds Georgia is a member. "The health of the Red Knot population is linked to the health of horseshoe crabs, whose eggs the Red Knot rely on for food," said Bethany Kraft, senior director of coastal and marine resilience at the National Audubon Society. "A safe and expeditious transition from horseshoe crab blood to a synthetic alternative in the biomedical industry is an important step in protecting shorebirds, horseshoe crabs, and other wildlife.” You can read the full press release at https://ow.ly/GKaQ50SNevy Photo credit: Horseshoe Crab spawning on Cumberland Island. Photo by Sarah Manning.

Birds Georgia and Wildlife Resources Division - Georgia DNR will be hosting an Oak Woodlands Workshop for NRCS, GFC, and County Extension Agents in Madison County on Tuesday, September 17, from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM This event is intended for practitioners wanting to learn more about managing oak woodlands to benefit landowners. We will tour a landowner’s property who has been working with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to restore this habitat, and feature experts who will talk about the ecology, management, and restoration of oak woodlands. Light snacks, refreshments, and lunch will be provided. Free to attend, but registration is required. Learn more or register today at https://lnkd.in/gjtHcqxx

#FunFactFriday - A gray bird with a black cap and bright rusty feathers beneath its tail, Gray Catbirds are related to mockingbirds and thrashers. A spring and summer resident across the state, Gray Catbirds may be found in areas with dense shrubbery, vine tangles, and in thickets of young trees. During the summer months, Gray Catbirds eat mostly bugs, including ants, beetles, grasshoppers, caterpillars, and moths. They are also fruit lovers so plant native fruit-bearing trees and shrubs like dogwood, beautyberry, and serviceberry if you'd like to attract them to your yard. The Gray Catbird has a “mewing” call that is easy to recognize. They also mimic the calls of other bird species, stringing calls together to make their own song. Photo by Katherine Sayn Wittgenstein, Audubon Photography Awards

Another one bites the dust .... a Bradford pear, that is! Yesterday, Birds Georgia's habitat restoration crew cut down the largest Bradford pear tree at New RiverLands Park as part of our restoration work along the Chattahoochee River in partnership with Trust for Public Land. It was a whopper! What's so bad about Bradford pears, you ask? Bradford pear trees are native to Vietnam and China, and thus are non-native in North America. Being non-native is not necessarily problematic; many non-native plants and trees are used for ornamental landscaping and other purposes without causing problems. However, Bradford pear is considered an invasive species. According to the National Park Service, a non-native species is invasive if it "causes harm to the environment, economy, or human, animal, or plant health." Originally, Bradford pears planted in the U.S. were hybrid cultivars that couldn't, in theory, reproduce. However, a wide variety of cultivars were planted in massive volume, which led to cross-pollination and the production of viable seeds. Birds and other wildlife have developed a taste for Bradford pear fruit. As a result, seeds are spread far and wide. Bradford pears have proven adaptable and dominant in many habitats where their seeds are deposited. As a fast-growing, resilient, non-native species, these trees outcompete native species, leading to ecological decline. The Bradford pears and other non-native, invasive species that are being removed will be replaced with native trees and shrubs that provide high-qualify habitat for birds and other wildlife.

Earlier this summer, Birds Georgia's Community Engagement team participated in the Water Warriors Camp at Murphey Candler Park in partnership with Paddle4Tomorrow and Chattahoochee Riverkeeper. Roughly 40 students came out for the one-day Water Warriors Wander + Wonder outdoor environmental education and recreation program. The camp provide rising fifth, sixth, and seventh-grade students with outdoor experiences including a birding nature walk, water science demonstration, and kayaking lesson.

Georgia Urban Ecologists Wrap Up Another Exciting School Year: Registration Open for 2024-25 Program Georgia Urban Ecologists is a program created and run by the Birds Georgia Education Team for students in grades 8 to 12. The program takes place on one Saturday each month throughout the school year. Through partnerships with environmental organizations around the state, students get access to one-of-a-kind adventures, exposure to many environmental career paths, and fun outdoors with like-minded teens. This past season included behind-the-scenes tours at museums and zoos, boots-on-the-ground activities such as stream-water testing and invasive plant removal, and exposure to science at the university level. Our team adds all-new adventures every season for the students that have been with the program for multiple years. New sessions next season include a behind-the-scene tour at Morgan Falls Hydroelectric Dam, DNR’s Buford Trout Hatchery, Native Plant Propagation with the Georgia Native Plant Society, and a tour of the National Weather Service office in Peachtree City. This program is offered in the Atlanta, Athens, and Brunswick areas. Registration is now open for the 2024-2025 school year at https://lnkd.in/gdhVJg2F

#FunFactFriday - The American Goldfinch is a year-round resident across most of Georgia. However, many people don’t realize it because the males only sport their bright yellow feathers in spring and summer. They are often heard overhead chanting their “potato chip, potato chip” flight call. Goldfinches are strict vegetarians, and their diet consists almost exclusively of seeds from grasses and trees. Purple coneflowers are a favorite, and you will often see birds perched atop, pulling seeds from the flower. If you want to attract them to your yard, plant native plants like thistle and native milkweed that provide fibrous seeds that goldfinch incorporate into their nest and feed their young. At feeders, Goldfinches are attracted to nyger and sunflower seeds. Photo of American Goldfinch on purple coneflower by Dan Vickers. #PlantsforBirds

This week Birds Georgia education team hosted another 3-day Taking Wing professional development workshop for teachers in South Georgia. Teachers spent time in the field learning to identify birds, participated in hands-on activities from our Learning About Birds curriculum, and received binoculars, field guides, books, posters, and more to take back to their classrooms. Thanks to the Morgens Foundation, the Cohen Family Trust, and the Alice Huffard Richards Fund for their generous support of this program.

Earlier this week, ten teachers from counties across North Georgia participated in the Birds Georgia Taking Wing professional development workshop, learning how to incorporate the study of birds into hands-on, standards-based lessons in STEM and other subjects using our Learning About Birds curriculum (available as a free download on our website). Teachers received binoculars, field guides, books, posters, and more to take back to their classrooms. Next week, the education team heads to St. Simon’s Island to offer the training to teachers in South Georgia. Immediately following the workshop, we received this thoughtful note from one of the participants, “I loved every single minute of this experience and cannot wait to take all I learned back to my classroom and school. I am also excited to have a new hobby and excited to continue learning. I am beyond grateful. Thank you so much!” Thanks to the Morgens Foundation, the Cohen Family Trust, and the Alice Huffard Richards Fund for their generous support of this program.