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Over the last year, Birds Georgia and partners have expanded our habitat restoration work to the Augusta area. Laverlea Preserve, now known as Sugarberry Hill, is a 350-acre greenspace right in the middle of a populated suburban area in Evans, Georgia, bordering Blanchard Woods Park. The preserve, owned by the Central Savannah River Land Trust, has a mix of woodlands, riparian forest, and open fields that were once used for cattle. The property was donated to the land trust by Ms. Laverne Dorn, who had purchased the property with her late husband in 1970. Ms. Dorne donated it to the trust to protect the natural, cultural, and community resources of the property and to provide opportunities for the public to connect with nature. With a grant from the Cornell Land Trust Bird Conservation Initiative, Birds Georgia partnered with the Central Savannah River Land Trust to transform one of the old cow fields into a native meadow for wildlife. Other partners include the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Augusta’s River Region Chapter of the Georgia Native Plant Society (GNPS), who provided invaluable guidance and helped coordinate volunteer workdays. Volunteers from GNPS, as well as Augusta-Aiken Audubon Society and the Butterfly Monarchy Club, helped with surveys to document what was using the field before and after treatment. During the course of the year, we applied herbicide to the 14-acre field, installed fire breaks, and conducted a prescribed fire to clear up the dead plant debris and promote better seed to soil contact for our spring planting. In April 2025, volunteers helped broadcast over 100 pounds of seed across the field, comprising Lance-leaved Coreopsis, Black-eyed Susan, Partridge Pea, Plains Coreopsis, Golden Wave Tickseed, Big Bluestem, Little Bluestem, and Indian Grass. “It was one of those days that makes you so happy to be in this field,” said Heather Levy, Birds Georgia Conservation Program Manager. “We had over 25 people carrying five gallon buckets of mixed seeds and sawdust all over the field. We had folks line up to make sure we were covering all areas and seeding at similar rates. It looked like they were about to run a relay race of sorts!” We revisited the field in August 2025 and held a BioBlitz to inventory what was growing. The seeds we had planted were thriving and the field was covered in native insects that had not been abundant previously. Across 372 observations, we documented 147 species of plants and insects. While we did not notice significant changes in the bird community, we hope that continued restoration efforts over a larger area will positively impact them. Ongoing management to the field will be necessary to keep it open and free of weeds and undesirable species. Through our efforts, this former pasture has been transformed into a thriving pollinator habitat that will welcome birds and wildlife for years to come. We’re grateful to our partners and volunteers who helped make this transformation possible. Thank you!
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 Decatur Mayor Pro Tem Tony Powers, Birds Georgia Interim Co-Executive Director Adam Betuel, and Decatur Urban Naturalist Allison Ericson at the dedication ceremony for Bird City Decatur on October 17, 2025, at Legacy Park in the city of Decatur, GA. The Bird City Network is excited to announce the launch of Bird City Georgia with Bird City Decatur. The City of Decatur is the first community to receive certification as a Bird City in Georgia. The City of Decatur submitted an impressive application, far surpassing the 12 requirements from the program's comprehensive Action List to secure the High Flyer level of recognition. The designation was approved at a meeting of the Decatur City Council on September 15, 2025. The City of Decatur was officially recognized as Bird City Decatur at a ceremony on Friday, October 17, at Legacy Park, with Decatur Mayor Pro Tem Tony Powers in attendance. A collaborative effort between the City of Decatur and the Bird City Network, the Bird City Initiative promotes bird conservation and creates healthier communities for both people and birds across Georgia. Bird City Georgia is led by Birds Georgia, with support from the Georgia Native Plant Society and Georgia Ornithological Society. “Birds Georgia is thrilled to recognize the City of Decatur as the first city to receive the Bird City designation in the state,” says Birds Georgia Interim Co-Executive Director Adam Betuel. “Where birds thrive, people thrive, and the City of Decatur has committed to implement a variety of initiatives that support thriving bird populations and, thus, their residents.” Located in DeKalb County, the City of Decatur is known as a vibrant and walkable community located roughly six miles east of Atlanta. The city has undertaken a range of initiatives to support bird populations, including:
Bird City Georgia invites communities across the state to join the initiative and work together to protect and conserve bird populations. By participating in Bird City Georgia, communities can contribute to a larger effort to promote sustainability and biodiversity. For more information about Bird City Georgia and the other collaborating programs in the Bird City Network map, visit https://birdcity.org/georgia Twice each year, billions of birds take on the incredible journey of migration. Migrating primarily at night, the birds use our setting sun and stars as their guide, making occasional stops along the way to rest and refuel. The journey is long and difficult, and, in recent years, a threat has gained in scale—buildings. Recent studies show more than one billion birds die each year from building collisions in the U.S. alone. Bright nighttime lights can disorient migrating birds, while reflective and transparent glass during the day makes windows appear like open sky or habitat. Shiny exteriors, indoor plants near windows, glass corners, and greenery close to buildings can all be deadly as birds are unable to determine reflection from open flyway. Together, we can make a difference. Watch this video to learn how to make homes and buildings safer for birds, and join Birds Georgia in protecting migratory species, especially during the spring (March 15 - May 31) and fall (August 15 - November 15) migration periods. More about Birds Georgia’s work: https://www.birdsgeorgia.org/building-collisions.html 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:
Registration is now open for all events and spaces are limited. Learn more or register on the Fall Flyway Festival website. “The Sparrow Field” sits at the heart of the Cochran Shoals Unit of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, in Cobb County, Georgia.
Once used for recreation, the field had become overgrown with invasive plants and woody vegetation. Now, it has been transformed into a thriving native habitat for birds and pollinators, thanks to a major restoration effort led by Birds Georgia and key partners. Supported by a grant from the Georgia Ornithological Society, our Birds Georgia Habitat Team worked with partners from the National Park Service, Chattahoochee National Park Conservancy, Georgia Native Plant Society, and a dedicated group of volunteers to remove invasive species, plant native wildflowers and grasses, and spread locally-sourced seeds to bring this habitat back to life. This restoration project is already making an impact. A Henslow's Sparrow (listed as a High Priority Species on Georgia's State Wildlife Action Plan) was recently observed at the site and reported on eBird. As native plants take root and the landscape continues to evolve, the Sparrow Field is once again becoming a place where birds thrive, and a model for what’s possible through collaborative, locally-informed habitat restoration. Learn more about our Birds Georgia habitat restoration work here: https://www.birdsgeorgia.org/habitat-restoration.html by Brooke Michael, Communications Coordinator In June 2025, educators from Georgia and Alabama gathered at Unicoi State Park in Helen, GA, for Birds Georgia’s annual Taking Wing workshop, an immersive learning experience focused on one of our most accessible and inspiring teaching tools: birds. Taking Wing is more than just teacher training. It’s a yearlong professional development course designed for educators of all backgrounds seeking to incorporate birds and conservation into their classrooms and programs. In this summer session, educators were introduced to:
Led by Birds Georgia Education Program Manager Melissa Paduani, participants spent time outside practicing their birding skills, observing native plants, and exploring how to apply this knowledge directly to student learning experiences. Since its inception in 2012, Taking Wing has trained more than 175 educators across Georgia, with each of them reaching hundreds of students each year. Many alumni have gone on to start bird clubs at their schools, lead community bird walks, and become more involved with Birds Georgia. Educators who complete the full program, including two follow-up sessions in fall and spring, earn up to 40 hours of professional learning units (PLUs). At Birds Georgia, we believe that fostering a love and understanding of birds can inspire the next generation of conservationists. Through Taking Wing, educators have a new tool to spark student curiosity and build connection with our natural world. Birds Georgia is excited to announce the official launch of Bird City Georgia, a new statewide initiative designed to help communities become healthier for both birds and people. With this launch, Georgia becomes the 16th member of the Bird City Network, joining more than 200 communities across four countries working to create bird-friendly environments. Bird City Georgia is a collaborative effort led by a steering committee with representatives from Birds Georgia, the Georgia Native Plant Society, and the Georgia Ornithological Society. Together, we are guiding cities, towns, counties, and campuses across Georgia in taking meaningful steps to protect native bird populations while enhancing quality of life for residents. To become a certified Bird City, a community must meet at least 12 requirements from the program’s comprehensive Action List. Examples include controlling invasive species on public lands, promoting native plants, and creating or preserving wildlife corridors and green spaces. Benefits to Certified Bird Cities Birds are essential indicators of ecosystem health. Actions taken to protect birds also support pollinators, improve air and water quality, and reduce harmful chemical use. What’s good for birds is good for people, too – these steps can help create more vibrant and livable communities. Birds also help support economic development. Becoming certified as a Bird City can promote local tourism and local businesses. Communities will also receive a variety of direct benefits from the Bird City Program including:
Get Involved Bird City Georgia welcomes applications from cities, towns, counties, and campuses. Interested communities are encouraged to read the action list, assemble a group of local stakeholders, and begin the application process. For more information and to learn how your community can apply, visit: https://birdcity.org/georgia About the Bird City Network American Bird Conservancy (ABC) and Environment for the Americas (EFTA) joined forces with major support from US Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) to create The Bird City Network. The Network unites Bird City Programs across the hemisphere into a powerful collaborative force for birds - bringing people together in their home communities to make them healthier for birds and for people. About Birds Georgia: Birds Georgia is building places where birds and people thrive. We create bird-friendly communities through conservation, education, and community engagement. We look forward to celebrating the 100- year anniversary of our organization in 2026. Learn more at https://www.birdsgeorgia.org/. Photos L to R: Create and maintain a public demonstration garden focused predominantly on native plants to benefit birds, wildlife, and ecosystems. Photo by Logan Jones Birds Georgia; Demonstrate on-going efforts to reduce window collisions at building(s) within your community by mitigating problem glass or utilizing proven bird-friendly design. Photo by Jill Helton; Educate and engage all ages in conservation activities. Photo by Birds Georgia.
The tenth annual Georgia Bird Fest returns this spring with more than 40 events between April 11 and May 16. Join fellow nature and bird enthusiasts for exciting field trips, workshops, and other events to celebrate and enjoy Georgia’s exciting spring migration period.
Georgia Bird Fest includes events across Georgia, from the mountains to the coast, including both in-person and virtual events and workshops. Some of the event highlights for Georgia Bird Fest 2025 include past favorites such as a canoe trip on the Chattahoochee River; a Warbler Weekend in North Georgia; trips to Phinizy Swamp near Augusta and Harris Neck NWR on the coast; an overnight stay at the Len Foote Hike Inn in Dawsonville; a boat trip on the Altamaha River; a Shorebirds Weekend on the Georgia Coast, and much more. The highlight of the 2025 event will be the Georgia Bird Fest Summit on April 25 and 26 on Jekyll Island. The two-day event will kick off on Friday with trips to Georgia hotspots, including Cumberland Island, a Hampton River Boat trip, and more. Saturday morning will begin with field trips to Jekyll Island hot spots, followed by the Georgia Bird Fest Summit at the Villas by The Sea. Janisse Ray, an acclaimed writer, naturalist, and environmental activist from Baxley, Georgia, will give the keynote address at this year’s Georgia Bird Fest Summit. Ray’s work blends personal narrative with ecological themes, and her deep connection to the southern Georgian landscape profoundly shapes her writing. In addition to her memoirs, Ray has authored poetry and essays featured in over 40 anthologies, with her works translated into multiple languages. She lives on a family farm in southern Georgia, practicing organic farming and seed saving, aligning her lifestyle with her environmental values. An inductee of the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame and recipient of a Pushcart Prize, Ray inspires through her writing and teaching, championing stories as tools for ecological and social change. Registration for Georgia Bird Fest is now open at https://www.birdsgeorgia.org/birdfest.html. All proceeds from Georgia Bird Fest benefit the conservation, education, and community engagement efforts of Birds Georgia. We would like to thank the following event sponsors: Georgia Power Company, Southwire, Athletic Brewing Company, the Bird Collective, Outdoor Learning School and Store, Jekyll Island Authority, and Vortex.  Last spring, with funding from the Georgia Ornithological Society, Birds Georgia began recruiting private landowners for a pilot nightjar study. Every few years, Birds Georgia selects a ‘focal species’, which drives our conservation, education, and community engagement efforts. From 2023 to 2025, our focal species is the Chuck-will’s-widow. More often heard than seen, these captivating creatures belong to a group of birds known as nightjars.
Nightjars, including those found in Georgia (Chuck-will’s-widows, Eastern Whip-poor-wills, and Common Nighthawks) are aerial insectivores, and feed mainly on flying insects, such as moths and beetles. They are typically active around dusk and dawn, and often call throughout the night during bright, moonlit spring and summer nights. You’d likely recognize their calls, as the names imitate their vocalizations: whip-POOR-will, whip-POOR-will, chuck-WILL’s-widow, chuck-WILL’s-widow. As is the case with most aerial insectivores, nightjar populations are in severe decline. Studies estimate that Chuck-will’s-widow populations have declined by 63% and Eastern Whip-poor-will’s by nearly 70% in the last 50 years (Source: Breeding Bird Survey). This is due to many factors, but habitat loss, fragmentation, and widespread pesticide use are likely contributors. There is still so much we don’t know about these birds. For that reason, in 2024, Birds Georgia began a pilot study with the goal of learning more about their distribution throughout the state, how land management strategies such as thinning or burning contribute to their presence, and how to best detect them on large working lands. Ten properties participated; from family farms, to expertly executed timber rotations, to newly acquired conservation easements, these properties varied in magnitude and management. However, they all share a common goal: they endeavor to attract wildlife and improve their habitat. Whether it be regular burning, thinning, removal of invasive species, enrollment in conservation or technical assistance programs, or a general awareness of meeting the needs of local wildlife; each site was uniquely poised to provide habitat to nightjars. We set out Autonomous Recording Units (ARUs), self-contained audio recording devices, at each site for approximately six weeks during early summer. ARUs are becoming popular tools to survey for birds, especially for species that are more cryptic, may not be as responsive to call-response surveys, or call during times of the day when it is difficult for humans to observe them. Since nightjars sing between dusk and dawn, ARUs provide an ideal method to survey for them in place of a human observer. Each unit was programmed to record for specific two-hour intervals each day and night. The units were placed in uplands, where nightjars were expected. . Some had burned as recently as two months prior, and others had never been burned. Forest composition ranged from 100% managed Loblolly Pine stands, to old-growth Longleaf with a diverse understory, to mixed hardwood-pine stands with dense midstories. Chuck-will’s-widows require multiple habitat types during the breeding season, favoring denser hardwood areas for nesting, and adjacent openings for feeding. We successfully detected Chuck-will’s-widows at seven of the 10 sites. Where Chuck-will’s-widows were present, Common Nighthawks were also present at two of those sites, and Eastern Whip-poor-wills were present at one site. While our pilot study did not reveal the intricacies of the nightjars’ habitat selection, they were more likely to be detected at properties where habitats were heterogeneous - e.g. more diverse. One property, consisting of recently burned upland pines bordered by a bottomland hardwood forest, mature Longleaf, agricultural fields with pollinator-friendly borders, and young Longleaf regeneration was a recipe for higher avian diversity; a total of 52 species were detected here in the breeding season, including game birds such as Northern Bobwhite and American Woodcock; raptors such as Swallow-tailed Kite, Mississippi Kite, and Barred Owl; and songbirds such as Hooded Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, and the ever-elusive Swainson’s Warbler. In conclusion, the more diverse your management plan, goals, and methods are, the more diverse the reward. We will continue this work in 2025 and hope to learn more about nightjar habitat selection - interested? Contact [email protected] to inquire about participation. Recent Retrofits: Birds Georgia installs Feather Friendly film at Camden County High School2/18/2025 Photos by Jill Helton. This month, Birds Georgia is putting the finishing touches on our largest retrofit to date and our fourth on the Georgia coast. This brings us to just over 5,000 square feet retrofitted since 2022. Visitors to the Camden County High School Fine Arts Building may notice lots and lots of dots on the building. These dots are special window treatments designed to prevent birds from flying into the glass. The project was made possible thanks to a partnership between Birds Georgia, Camden County High School, and the City of Kingsland through a grant from the Disney Conservation Fund. The dots are a special dot-matrix by Feather Friendly® that reduces the transparency of the glass and breaks up reflection, preventing birds from flying into them. Feather Friendly® has been applied to approximately 2,200 square feet of the exterior windows. The pattern, with dots spaced two inches apart, breaks up the reflection and alerts birds that the space is not a clear flyway, causing them to stall and fly in a different, safer direction. Current research estimates that over 1 billion birds perish each year from colliding with buildings in the United States alone. Since the Fine Arts Building opened in 2020, bird collisions have been a regular occurrence. The west façade, which faces a beautiful wetland habitat in the middle of the campus, is a deadly combination of highly reflective glass and trees. School administrators sought solutions and contacted Birds Georgia for assistance. The purchase of material from Feather Friendly® was funded by a generous grant from the Disney Conservation Fund. Material and shipping worked out to about ~$3.89/sq ft for this project. Birds Georgia, with the help of volunteers from Camden County Audubon, as well as students and staff of Camden County High School, applied the film over the course of three volunteer workdays in early 2025. A million thanks to our volunteers who assisted with the installations: Dr. Grayson Day, Jeff Potocsnak, , Jill Helton, Amy Burns & Josie Landers, Dan & Priscilla Krupp, Amanda Carroll, Mike, Brahm & Noah Bessette, Jaxon McQuaig, Loree Sherck, Cannon Nethercott, Elissa Owens, Erin Singleton, and Alexis & Izzy Stewart. Additionally, Birds Georgia provided 375 square feet of Feather Friendly® Large Scale Pro Solution to retrofit portions of the University of Georgia Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant office in Brunswick, Georgia. This building, while already partially retrofitted with CollidEscape solutions, had a few untreated windows where collisions would occasionally occur. The purchase of material from Feather Friendly® was funded by a grant from the Disney Conservation Fund. Material and shipping worked out to about ~$4 per square foot. The University of Georgia Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant office in Brunswick, Georgia houses our coastal specimen collection for Project Safe Flight and has been a valuable partner for many years. We’re happy to report that all glass around the building will now be treated with a bird-friendly film and will reduce or eliminate collisions for years to come! Retrofits along the Georgia Coast:
Other projects we’ve completed: Dunwoody Nature Center Wild Nest Bird Rehabilitation Center Sawnee Mountain Visitor Center Southface Institute Atlanta Amana Academy Blue Heron Nature Preserve Newman Wetlands Center Chattahoochee Nature Center Elachee Nature Science Center Trees Atlanta/Birds Georgia office (Bird-friendly glass) Kendeda Building, Georgia Tech Campus (Bird-friendly glass) About Project Safe Flight Project Safe Flight is a conservation effort to further understand the issue of bird/building collisions in the Atlanta metro area as well as Georgia’s coastal counties. The goal of this project is to determine what species are colliding with buildings, how many birds are affected, what parts of the state are problematic, and what can be done to make Georgia's cities more bird friendly. Volunteers with Birds Georgia’s Project Safe Flight patrol the streets during both spring and fall migration, looking for birds that have been killed or injured after colliding with buildings. More than 5,300 birds, representing 140 different species, have been collected since monitoring began in fall 2015. Ruby-throated Hummingbirds and Tennessee Warblers are the top 2 collected species across the metro-Atlanta area; Common Yellowthroat is the top species in the coastal counties. UGA Installation. Photos by Bryan Fluech. Camden County High School Installation. Photos by Jill Helton.
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