Birds Georgia

#FunFridayFact - If your summer plans call for a trip to the Georgia coast, you're almost certain to see Boat-tailed Grackles. These often noisy birds — which can leave messy droppings, damage crops and have a call sometimes described as harsh — won’t win any Miss or Mr. Congeniality awards from human beings. Other birds aren’t enamored with them either because of their aggressive behavior, which can include gobbling up eggs and nestlings. As their name suggests, the most prominent feature of the males, their tail, is kind of like Dolly Parton’s wigs – big and showy. This bird is smaller than a Fish Crow but larger than a Common Grackle, with males glossy black all over. Females — which almost look like a different species — are dark brown above and russet below, with a subtle face pattern made up of a pale eyebrow, dark cheek, and pale “mustache” stripe. Learn more about Boat-tailed Grackles in this article by Steve Phenicie, a Birds Georgia member and volunteer. https://ow.ly/PFWp50S0Xau Photo: Two Boat-tailed Grackles. Photo by Jerry Golub, Audubon Photography Awards.

TODAY IS THE DAY! Registration is now open to current Birds Georgia members for the 2025 Georgia Bird Fest. The 2025 event is scheduled for April 11 to May 16, and we've put together a great lineup of trips, events, and webinars. There's something for everyone at Georgia Bird Fest 2025! Learn more or sign up today at https://lnkd.in/gnHDp_Eg

Join us tonight for a webinar on Becoming a Better Birder, with Georgann Schmalz Monday, March 10, at 7:00 PM Join Georgann Schmalz for a webinar designed to improve your skills and increase your enjoyment of birding. This class is a must for any new birder who feels somewhat overwhelmed by the skills of more advanced birders. Time will be spent learning good techniques of birding in the field and choosing good optics, books, and sound devices. Not only will participants develop key identification skills under Georgann’s expert guidance, they will also experience the satisfaction that better birding can yield. Register today at https://lnkd.in/g2Cjez5q

#FunFactFriday - The Blue Jay is a large, common songbird across Georgia with a call that says its name, “jay, jay, jay.” Known for their intelligence, complex social systems, and tight family bonds, Blue Jays are easily recognized by their perky crest, blue, white, and black plumage, and noisy calls. They are very fond of acorns, nuts, and suet, but they will also eat bugs and small vertebrates. Their fondness for acorns is credited with helping spread oak trees after the last glacial period, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Blue Jays have a wide range of vocalizations and an immense vocabulary. They are excellent mimics, often mimicking Red-tailed and Red-shouldered hawks. Captive Blue Jays have been known to imitate human speech and meowing cats. To attract them to your yard, place peanuts or sunflower seeds on a tray feeder or add a suet feeder to your offerings. Photo by Elaine Davis, Audubon Photography Awards.

Webinar: Becoming a Better Birder, with Georgann Schmalz Monday, March 10, at 7:00 PM Join Georgann Schmalz for a webinar designed to improve your skills and increase your enjoyment of birding. This class is a must for any new birder who feels somewhat overwhelmed by the skills of more advanced birders. Time will be spent learning good techniques of birding in the field and choosing good optics, books, and sound devices. Not only will participants develop key identification skills under Georgann’s expert guidance, they will also experience the satisfaction that better birding can yield. Register today at https://lnkd.in/g2Cjez5q

Join us tonight for a free webinar on How to Become a Habitat Steward Wednesday, March 5, at 7:00 PM The Habitat Stewardship Program is Birds Georgia’s newest conservation program, geared toward larger public and private lands. The program encourages land owners and managers to make beneficial changes to their land for wildlife through a flexible tailored rubric and provides technical assistance and connections to cost-share assistance. Join Conservation Program Manager, Heather Levy, to learn more about the program and how you can become a program volunteer to spread the word to your network and community. Register today at https://lnkd.in/g2Cjez5q.

This photo shows feather samples of 193 birds collected by Birds Georgia's volunteers on Project Safe Flight Georgia surveys. These samples were processed by undergraduate curatorial assistants at the University of North Georgia and are on their way to the Bird Genoscape Project at Colorado State University. These feathers will help the Bird Genoscape Project achieve their goal of developing genoscapes (a map of genetic variation across the breeding range of a species) to connect populations of concern across their full annual cycle. By understanding where our collision victims breed and if that region's population of birds is more threatened than others, we can collectively work on more targeted conservation efforts. Thank you to our partners at UNG and Colorado State, especially Professor Dawn Dumtra and her students for handling the feather donation. Learn more about the Bird Genoscape Project at https://ow.ly/3EJT50V9svA

Birds, Y'all! Birds Georgia Member registration opens for tenth annual Georgia Bird Fest on Tuesday, March 11, at 7:00 AM. Events will fill in minutes, so be sure your membership is current and that you know how to login to your account. Ready, Set, and GO! Georgia’s largest bird and nature festival, Georgia Bird Fest 2025 will run from April 11 to May 16. Be sure to register for the Georgia Bird Fest Summit on Saturday, April 26, on Jekyll Island, featuring trips, events, workshops and more. We're delighted to welcome author and naturalist Janisse Ray as our keynote speaker. Mark your calendars and plan to join us for this month-long celebration. Learn more at https://ow.ly/spKU50V8hk3 #GABirdFest #Birds #BirdingFestival

Yesterday, Adam Betuel, Birds Georgia's senior director of programs, took part in the Biodiversity and Conservation Resilience Panel as part of the 2025 Sustainability Showcase hosted by the Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems at Georgia Tech. Adam joined Matt Elliot (Chief of the Wildlife Conservation Section at GADNR), Alex Lamle (Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy Representative and USFWS Biologist), and Monica Thornton (Executive Director of The Nature Conservancy Georgia). The panel was moderated by Associate Professor Jenny McGuire of Georgia Institute of Technology. Panelists discussed the state of biodiversity and wildlife conservation in Georgia, their organization's role in conservation actions, and pressing needs going forward.

#FunFactFriday – The Downy Woodpecker is one of the more common woodpeckers spotted at backyard feeders, where they often join chickadees, nutchatches, and other feeder species. The smallest southern woodpecker, Downies are sometimes confused with their larger lookalike, the Hairy Woodpecker. Male and female Downy and Hairy woodpeckers show different patterns on the back of their heads, with males having red feathers and females lacking the red. This black and white woodpecker is small enough to balance on slender plant stems that larger woodpeckers cannot reach, foraging for insects living on or inside the stem. To attract Downy Woodpeckers to your yard, offer suet, black oil sunflower seeds, millet, peanuts, or chunky peanut butter. Photo: Female and Male Downy Woodpeckers. Photo by Deborah Bifulco, Audubon Photography Awards.