Fall Flyway Festival Celebrates Birds and Native Plants

BioBlitz at Cochran Shoals, by Birds GA; Cape May Warbler, by Susan Berthelot; Dwaye Estes, by Southeastern Grasslands Institute

by Brooke Michael, Communications Coordinator

This September, Birds Georgia will celebrate the Fall Flyway Festival with a host of in-person and virtual events to celebrate native plants and the key role they play for birds and other wildlife. The month-long celebration will include a variety of workshops and events designed to help Georgians learn more about gardening for birds and other wildlife using native plants.
 
“Fall is a spectacular time of the year to get outside and take in the spectacle of avian migration,” says Adam Betuel, Birds Georgia’s senior director of programs. “Unfortunately, it is also a time where loss of habitat, increases in human-caused threats to our birds, and gains by undesirable exotic plant species are apparent. Our Fall Flyway Festival, built around our Round Robin event, is a time to learn about the vital connection between our migratory species and the native plants that power their movements, and find ways to make our state as safe as possible for our feathered friends.”
 
The highlight of the month-long celebration will be the Fall Flyway Festival Round Robin on Saturday, September 13, from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM at the Chattahoochee Nature Center in Roswell, GA. The Round Robin will begin with guided walks to identify birds and native plants, followed by expert-led workshops focused on building healthy habitats for pollinators and birds. The event will close with inspiring words from the “Prairie Preacher” himself, Dwayne Estes, Executive Director of the Southeastern Grasslands Institute, who will deliver the keynote presentation, Dreaming Big: Saving the Forgotten Grasslands of the Southeast.
 
In addition to this signature event, Birds Georgia will host a number of virtual and in-person events to educate the public about the importance of native plants to birds, including:
 

• September 1 through 7 – Birds Georgia Statewide BioBlitz 2025
• Friday, September 5, at 9:00 AM – Volunteer Workday at RiverLands Gateway Park, with Trust for Public Land (Cobb County)
• Saturday, September 6, at 8:00 AM – Bird and Plant Walk at Mistletoe State Park (Columbia County)
• Saturday, September 6, at 10:00 AM – Native or Not? at McIntosh Reserve Park (Carroll County)
• Monday, September 8, at 9:00 AM – Volunteer Workday at Island Ford Wildlife Sanctuary (Cobb County)
• Wednesday, September 10, at 10:00 AM – Plants, Birds, and the Chattahoochee River at Island Ford Wildlife Sanctuary, with Chattahoochee National Park Conservancy (Cobb County)
• Wednesday, September 10, at 6:30 PM – Webinar: Pollinators and Habitat, with Phil Delestrez, Georgia DNR, State Parks and Historical Sites
• Saturday, September 13, at 8:00 AM – Fall Flyway Round Robin, featuring keynote address by Dwayne Estes, at the Chattahoochee Nature Center (Cobb County)
• Wednesday, September 17, at 5:00 PM – Bird and Tree Hike at Lionel Hampton/Beecher Hills Park, with Gabe Andrle (Fulton County)
• Thursday, September 18, at 6:00 PM – Beginning Plant ID Workshop at Henderson Park (DeKalb County)
• Saturday, September 20, at 9:00 AM –BioBlitz at RiverLands Gateway Park (Cobb County)
• Saturday, September 20, at 2:00 PM –Wings and Wine: Wine Tasting at the Marietta Wine Market (Cobb County)
• Tuesday, September 23, at 6:00 PM –Webinar: Building a Wildlife Sanctuary, with Richard Hall
• Wednesday, September 24, at 9:00 AM – Volunteer Workday at Wilburn Farm in Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area (Dekalb County)
• Saturday, September 27, at 8:00 AM – Celebrating Birds on Private Land, Oxford Family Farm (Monroe County)
• Saturday, September 27, at 9:00 AM – BioBlitz at Wilburn Farm in Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area (Dekalb County)
• Thursday, October 2, at 8:30 AM – Project Safe Flight Field Trip at the Chattahoochee Nature Center (Cobb County)

 
Registration is now open for all events and spaces are limited. Learn more or register on the Fall Flyway Festival website.