Barred Owl by Christy Cox
Volunteer with Birds Georgia
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Report Volunteer HoursAlready Volunteering? Click the below to report your volunteer hours.
Volunteers tabling at a bird store grand opening event. Photo by Dottie Head.
Students from a local school pulling privet at Campbellton Park during a restoration workday. Photo by Sebastian Hagan.
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Apply to be a BIRDS georgia Volunteer
Volunteers who will be interacting with the public via field trips, tabling events, festivals, or through our Wildlife Sanctuary Program are asked to fill out our volunteer application form. Project Safe Flight and habitat restoration volunteers DO NOT need to fill out the form at this time.
Please note: Volunteers who are less than 18 years old may apply, but a parent may be required to be present for some volunteer events. Teen volunteers who wish to lead field trips will be limited to teen-only and youth-only trips until their 18th birthday.
Please note: Volunteers who are less than 18 years old may apply, but a parent may be required to be present for some volunteer events. Teen volunteers who wish to lead field trips will be limited to teen-only and youth-only trips until their 18th birthday.
Birds Georgia Volunteer Opportunities
Explore a list of upcoming volunteer opportunities on the calendar below. Click on the event of interest for more information and registration links. Please note that you must have completed the Birds Georgia volunteer application to participate in tabling events, festivals, Wildlife Sanctuary certifications, and to lead field trips. Habitat restoration volunteers and Project Safe Flight volunteers do not need to complete the form.
Note: If you have trouble loading the calendar below, click this link: VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES CALENDAR
Volunteer REcognition: Scottie Johnson Spirit Award
In 2018, Birds Georgia lost an incredibly dedicated volunteer and dear friend, Ms. Eleanor Scott Johnson. Scottie, as her family and friends called her, was an avid birder and long-time volunteer for Birds Georgia. There wasn’t a task that Scottie wasn’t up for, whether that was giving educational presentations, walking a Project Safe Flight route, certifying wildlife sanctuaries, or writing the Ask Chippy column. Scottie always raised her hand to help us out. She was a nurse, a mother, a Master Birder, and a wonderful human being with an amazing spirit. Although we lost Scottie to cancer in 2018, we continue to celebrate her spirit, kindness, and perseverance annually by honoring an outstanding volunteer with the Scottie Johnson Spirit Award.
2024 Recipient: Jay Davis
Jay Davis was the recipient of the 2024 Scottie Johnson Spirit Award at our annual Holiday Party and Annual Meeting on December 8. Jay has been an integral part of our organization's work, hosting field trips across the city, from Decatur to Marietta and all in between. It’s impossible to quantify how many birders and bird enthusiasts have been impacted by his bird-brained ideas. In 2004, he was part of a team that created the Bird Jam blog, a revolutionary software that taught people how to hear and learn bird calls. Later, BirdNet and Cornell got wind of it…fast forward to today and we have the popular Merlin Bird ID App. Jay serves as the volunteer webmaster for Birds Georgia and helped create the first web presence for Atlanta Audubon when they first developed an online presence. Even today, he maintains the Birds Georgia website on his servers and helps troubleshoot when issues arrive. He’s also a prolific field trip leader (and excellent birder), leading our Georgia Bird Fest Hike Inn Trip and hosting “Wednesdays After Work Migration Watch at Cochran Shoals. Thank you, Jay, for impacting hundreds of people as you embody the curiosity, ingenuity, and character of the birds you love so much.
Jay Davis was the recipient of the 2024 Scottie Johnson Spirit Award at our annual Holiday Party and Annual Meeting on December 8. Jay has been an integral part of our organization's work, hosting field trips across the city, from Decatur to Marietta and all in between. It’s impossible to quantify how many birders and bird enthusiasts have been impacted by his bird-brained ideas. In 2004, he was part of a team that created the Bird Jam blog, a revolutionary software that taught people how to hear and learn bird calls. Later, BirdNet and Cornell got wind of it…fast forward to today and we have the popular Merlin Bird ID App. Jay serves as the volunteer webmaster for Birds Georgia and helped create the first web presence for Atlanta Audubon when they first developed an online presence. Even today, he maintains the Birds Georgia website on his servers and helps troubleshoot when issues arrive. He’s also a prolific field trip leader (and excellent birder), leading our Georgia Bird Fest Hike Inn Trip and hosting “Wednesdays After Work Migration Watch at Cochran Shoals. Thank you, Jay, for impacting hundreds of people as you embody the curiosity, ingenuity, and character of the birds you love so much.
Jared Teutsch, Birds Georgia Executive Director, and Paige Martin, Board Chair, present Melinda Langston with the 2023 Scottie Johnson Spirit Award. Photo by Dottie Head.
2023 Recipient: Melinda Langston
Melinda has been a volunteer with Birds Georgia for many years. For several years, she managed the Wildlife Sanctuary Program before it was turned over to staff position. During her tenure as volunteer coordinator for that program, she revamped the requirements for certification, created a best practices document, and was a fantastic ambassador for the program bringing many new properties into the program AND spreading the word about the program to other organizations and to our members.
She later joined the Birds Georgia Board of Directors, where she served for several years. In recent years, Melinda has worked closely with the conservation program coordinator to certify properties that were due for certification visits, including properties further afield that are more difficult for our Avian Advocate volunteers to visit. When Birds Georgia's staff person left the organization, Melinda stepped in to catch up a backlog of certifications and is currently working with conservation program staff to update and modernize the certification process so that it can better address properties across the state. Melinda is a Birds Georgia Master Birder, a Master Naturalist, and a fantastic volunteer for Georgia Audubon!
Melinda has been a volunteer with Birds Georgia for many years. For several years, she managed the Wildlife Sanctuary Program before it was turned over to staff position. During her tenure as volunteer coordinator for that program, she revamped the requirements for certification, created a best practices document, and was a fantastic ambassador for the program bringing many new properties into the program AND spreading the word about the program to other organizations and to our members.
She later joined the Birds Georgia Board of Directors, where she served for several years. In recent years, Melinda has worked closely with the conservation program coordinator to certify properties that were due for certification visits, including properties further afield that are more difficult for our Avian Advocate volunteers to visit. When Birds Georgia's staff person left the organization, Melinda stepped in to catch up a backlog of certifications and is currently working with conservation program staff to update and modernize the certification process so that it can better address properties across the state. Melinda is a Birds Georgia Master Birder, a Master Naturalist, and a fantastic volunteer for Georgia Audubon!
Mary Kimberly atop Brasstown Bald. Photo by Dottie Head.
2022 Recipient: Mary Kimberly
Mary has been a longtime member and volunteer for Birds Georgia. She's been involved with monitoring Project Safe Flight routes since the beginning of that program in 2015, waking up pre-dawn to begin her trek looking for birds that have collided with buildings or that she can deliver for rehabilitation. Mary is also a former board member for Birds Georgia. She also previously served as the volunteer field trip coordinator before those duties were taken on by staff. She and her husband, Gavin, continue to lead frequent field trips at Murphy Candler Park and other Atlanta hotspots, and her relationships with field trip leaders were instrumental in helping us organize the very first Bird Fest back in 2016. In addition to her volunteer work with Birds Georgia, Mary assists other bird conservation-related causes such as volunteering at the bird-banding stations at Jekyll Island and at Panola Mountain State Park.
Mary has been a longtime member and volunteer for Birds Georgia. She's been involved with monitoring Project Safe Flight routes since the beginning of that program in 2015, waking up pre-dawn to begin her trek looking for birds that have collided with buildings or that she can deliver for rehabilitation. Mary is also a former board member for Birds Georgia. She also previously served as the volunteer field trip coordinator before those duties were taken on by staff. She and her husband, Gavin, continue to lead frequent field trips at Murphy Candler Park and other Atlanta hotspots, and her relationships with field trip leaders were instrumental in helping us organize the very first Bird Fest back in 2016. In addition to her volunteer work with Birds Georgia, Mary assists other bird conservation-related causes such as volunteering at the bird-banding stations at Jekyll Island and at Panola Mountain State Park.
2021 Recipient: Steve Phenicie
Steve has been a behind-the-scenes volunteer for Birds Georgia for many years. A prolific writer, he retired from the Atlanta Journal Constitution and now appears in each issue of Wingbars, on our blog, and at many of our habitat restoration work days. We’re not sure exactly how long he has been writing for us, but we know he’s pushing at least a decade. Steve takes great delight in submitting well thought out, well-written articles for each issue of Wingbars. To date, he has written 52 Volunteer/Staff profiles and compiles the A Million Thanks column for each issue. Over the years, he has also submitted a number of Tongue in Cheek Humor articles for Wingbars, many of which have been featured on this blog site. Steve is also a frequent volunteer at our Habitat Restoration workdays.
Steve has been a behind-the-scenes volunteer for Birds Georgia for many years. A prolific writer, he retired from the Atlanta Journal Constitution and now appears in each issue of Wingbars, on our blog, and at many of our habitat restoration work days. We’re not sure exactly how long he has been writing for us, but we know he’s pushing at least a decade. Steve takes great delight in submitting well thought out, well-written articles for each issue of Wingbars. To date, he has written 52 Volunteer/Staff profiles and compiles the A Million Thanks column for each issue. Over the years, he has also submitted a number of Tongue in Cheek Humor articles for Wingbars, many of which have been featured on this blog site. Steve is also a frequent volunteer at our Habitat Restoration workdays.
2020 Recipient: Charles Loeb
The recipient of the 2020 Scottie Johnson Spirit Award is Charles Loeb. Charles has been a dedicated and generous volunteer with Birds Georgia and has served on the board of directors since 2015 , serving as treasurer for most of his tenure. Birds Georgia would not be the organization that it is today without Charles Loeb. Under his advisement, Atlanta Audubon established and reached a number of meaningful financial milestones, including the creation of our reserve investment account, and this financial leadership placed the organization in a position to become the statewide Georgia Audubon. Charles and his wife, Susan, are well known in the Audubon community as avid birders, sanctuary certifiers, and volunteers. We thank Charles for his dedication to Birds Georgia.
The recipient of the 2020 Scottie Johnson Spirit Award is Charles Loeb. Charles has been a dedicated and generous volunteer with Birds Georgia and has served on the board of directors since 2015 , serving as treasurer for most of his tenure. Birds Georgia would not be the organization that it is today without Charles Loeb. Under his advisement, Atlanta Audubon established and reached a number of meaningful financial milestones, including the creation of our reserve investment account, and this financial leadership placed the organization in a position to become the statewide Georgia Audubon. Charles and his wife, Susan, are well known in the Audubon community as avid birders, sanctuary certifiers, and volunteers. We thank Charles for his dedication to Birds Georgia.
2019 Recipient: Anne McCallum
Anne has been a dedicated and generous volunteer of Birds Georgia for more than a decade. In addition to leading monthly field trips at Reynolds Nature Preserve, Anne is an artist and an author, and has volunteered her time and talent to Atlanta Audubon through her creativity and kindness. Anne created Chippy, our Chipping Sparrow friend who is featured in our Learning About Birds curriculum as well as our monthly Ask Chippy column in Wingbars. Anne has generously donated her artwork for greeting cards and publications. She is committed to bird conservation and has been a regular volunteer at the Panola Mountain bird banding station for many years. Anne and her husband, Jim, and son, Eddie, are well known in our community as avid birders. We thank Anne for her dedication to helping us to build places where both birds and people thrive.
Anne has been a dedicated and generous volunteer of Birds Georgia for more than a decade. In addition to leading monthly field trips at Reynolds Nature Preserve, Anne is an artist and an author, and has volunteered her time and talent to Atlanta Audubon through her creativity and kindness. Anne created Chippy, our Chipping Sparrow friend who is featured in our Learning About Birds curriculum as well as our monthly Ask Chippy column in Wingbars. Anne has generously donated her artwork for greeting cards and publications. She is committed to bird conservation and has been a regular volunteer at the Panola Mountain bird banding station for many years. Anne and her husband, Jim, and son, Eddie, are well known in our community as avid birders. We thank Anne for her dedication to helping us to build places where both birds and people thrive.
