Legend
Su = summer
F = fall
W = winter
Sp = spring
YR = year-round
[July 2005] = Most recently checked by KB
[N/A] = Not yet checked by KB
= Location is within +/- 10 miles of the indicated interstate highway. This is especially helpful for out-of-town birders who may be passing through Georgia while travelling and would like to get a quick birding fix. This is also helpful for birders planning a "Big Day," where staying close to a major interstate corridor is essential for covering the greatest diversity of habitats in 24 hours.
= Location is a "Georgia Birding Hotspot." Though this designation is subjective, it generally means that the area should be given high priority when planning a birding trip to a region. Some Hotspots offer incredible, productive birding virtually year-round (Jekyll Island), while the best birding of the year may be more seasonal at others (Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park).
SBM = Shorebird Migration; this very generally refers to mid-March thru May in spring and mid-July thru mid-October in fall. Fall is the prime shorebird season. Baird's and Buff-breasted Sandpipers likely only in fall. Peak passage of specific species is quite variable.
PM = Passerine Migration; this very generally refers to April and May in spring and August thru mid-October in fall. This includes all songbirds - wood warblers, vireos, tanagers, thrushes, flycatchers, etc. Peak passage of specific species is quite variable. Spring migration is much more concentrated and birds are often in colorful breeding plumage. Fall migration is more spread out; fall wood warblers can be notoriously difficult to identify (or even impossible to determine sex), with numerous juveniles which do not exhibit the same obvious field marks as adults.
IBA = Important Bird Area; the aim of the IBA Program is to identify and conserve key breeding and feeding sites for birds. An Important Bird Area is a place that provides essential habitat for one or more species of bird, whether in breeding season, winter, or during migration. These sites are considered to be exceptionally important for bird conservation; see Georgia's IBA Webpage.
Carroll County
1) SouthWire/Richard's Lake and Walker's Lake [Feb 2007]
W for waterfowl
[DeLorme pg. 25 E-6 & pg. 24 E-5]
These two lakes may host interesting waterfowl, and are worth a check from late fall through early spring. Notably, they hosted a group of up to four rare Common Mergansers from Jan-Feb 2007. Also seen were Ring-necked Duck, Hooded Merganser, Bufflehead, Pied-billed Grebe, and Ring-billed Gull. From I-20 west of Atlanta, get off at Exit 24 and head south for 11.7 miles on Hwy 61/166 (Bankhead Hwy). Turn left at a light onto Northside Dr to continue on Hwy 166. In 1.8 miles, go through a light with Hwy 27/16 and notice the strange six-story prison on your left at this light. At the next light (0.9 miles down the road), take a right onto Blandenburg Rd. In 0.3 miles, you'll see the lake ahead. Turn right onto Wind Song Ct on your right and park on the shoulder. From here you can walk down Blandenburg road which crosses the lake and scope from there; be very careful because local traffic moves fast. You can gain another good vantage point by driving across the lake and taking the first left onto Strickland Rd and parking in a small picnic area on your left. To get to Walker's Lake, go back to Hwy 166 and turn right. Continue for 3.5 miles to a T-intersection and turn left onto Tyus-Carrollton Rd and in just 0.2 miles take another left to continue on this road (there is a Marathon gas station on the left at this light - the road is very new here so some GPS systems will not show the intersections properly). After 1.1 miles, turn left onto Old Camp Church Rd. You'll pass through a residential area and some open pastures. Exactly 1.2 miles from Old Camp Church Rd, turn right onto Willie Walker Rd. After just 0.3 miles, turn left onto Walker Lake Rd. From here, you'll pass through a new neighborhood being built in a former rural pasture with three total lakes, all visible from the road. The largest (on the left side) is Walker's Lake. You can get fairly open views from the road; make sure to be respectful of private property and don't block the roads - you are, after all, in a neighborhood. Photos 1-3 show views of SouthWire/Richard's Lake while Photos 4 and 5 show extremely distant views of Common Mergansers mixed with Ring-necked Ducks and Hooded Mergansers.
PHOTO 1 PHOTO 2 PHOTO 3 PHOTO 4 PHOTO 5
Text and photos by KB.
2) McIntosh Reserve [Sept 2007]
PM, May-June for breeding birds
[DeLorme pg. 25, F-7]
1046 W. McIntosh Circle, Whitesburg GA. Phone (770) 830-5879. You can reach the town of Whitesburg on several routes from either I-20 or I-85 SW of Atlanta. From the traffic circle in Whitesburg at the intersection of GA Hwy 5 and US 27 in eastern Carroll County, go south on GA Hwy 5 for 2.2 miles and turn left onto West McIntosh circle; there is a small brown park sign here on Hwy 5 for the McIntosh Reserve. Stay on this road, and you'll come through the main gate which is open from 7:30am-8pm daily (PHOTO 1). Exactly 1.5 miles from Hwy 5, you'll come to the office and pay station. If you are not a resident of Carroll County, you will pay a $2.00 fee at the window, and make sure to ask for a map of this 600-acre area. Continue in on the main road, and you'll come through some open fields with mature deciduous forest edge habitat, and pass the grave of Chief McIntosh along with a reproduction of his home (PHOTO 2). Soon the paved road will bear to the left, and you should follow a gravel fork to the right, which descends just a bit into a massive open field bordering the Chattahoochee River (PHOTO 3). You'll come around the near end of the field and park under a good, wide strip of river birch, sycamores, walnuts, and a few oaks that separates the field from the river (PHOTO 4). Scan the river for interesting waterfowl, waders, or divers - primarily in winter. In migration, Spotted Sandpiper or waterthrushes may be seen on the muddy banks or logs along the edge of the river, and Bald Eagle is known to nest along the river in this area. Various sparrow species may also be found near the field in winter, including Fox Sparrow. Walking all along the edges of this huge field in primetime migration will take you through a good diversity of habitat and could easily fill an entire morning with productive birding. Along the river, the isolated strip of tall deciduous trees can attract several flocks of migrants, which can be followed fairly easily on the River Trail as they move up or down stream; this may help you to pull more positive ID's out of the flocks. Birds you may find include Chestnut-sided Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, American Redstart, Magnolia Warbler, White-eyed Vireo, Yellow-throated Vireo, Yellow-throated Warbler, Northern Parula, Eastern Wood Pewee, Yellow Warbler, Scarlet Tanager, Summer Tanager, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and more. As you loop around the far end of the field away from the river, you'll notice that the hardwoods start to give way to lots of willow trees, box elders, river birch, and alders as a flooded beaver pond and related muddy creeks appears through the trees (PHOTO 5). This scrubby area is just great habitat, and is good for Yellow Warbler in migration, as well as Common Yellowthroat, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, White-eyed Vireo, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Indigo Bunting, Great-crested Flycatcher, waterthrushes, possible Empidonax flycatchers, and more. When you come all the way back near where you split from the paved road, you'll notice a trail heading into the woods on the side of the field opposite the river. This will take you through more wooded habitat, and then along the back side of the beaver pond area (PHOTO 6). There are many other trails in the area to explore, which are shown somewhat clearly on the map you can pick up at the office. There are campsites along the river with picnic tables and grills, and the area is popular for horseback riding (with room for trailers at the campsites) and mountain biking, and unfortunately also for flying model airplanes; they can be loud and annoying if present. The facility also has restrooms, picnic shelters, and a children's play area. As you head towards the entrance to the property, turn right onto a one-way loop road after you pass the McIntosh house (which will now be on your left). Park when you see a children's play area, which includes a mini water park (no longer in service) along with restrooms that are well-maintained. Bird the edges of this open area thoroughly (PHOTO 7); there is a creek that runs just inside the edge of the woods here. Birds you may encounter include species mentioned earlier along with Hooded Warbler, Tennessee Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, American Redstart, Canada Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Pine Warbler, flycatchers, and (more rarely) Blue-winged Warbler, Nashville Warbler, and possibly waterthrushes or Acadian Flycatcher on the creek itself. The property is under-birded, features a nice diveristy of habitat and, being along a major river, it has great potential during migration. Visit this park website or this one.
PHOTO 1 PHOTO 2 PHOTO 3 PHOTO 4 PHOTO 5 PHOTO 6 PHOTO 7
Text and photos by KB.
3) Carrollton Land Application Facility [Sept 2007]
PM, W for waterfowl
[DeLorme pg. 24, E-5]
This is a large property with diverse habitats including open fields, scrubby edge habitat, bottomlands, a marsh, and a large holding reservoir for treated water. It cannot be accessed freely by the public, but field trips will be offered in the future (one is in the works for Nov 2007). You can contact Stanley Tate, the Birding Community's ambassador to the facility, to discuss field trips or small group visits. When you enter the gate of the facility, you will immediately notice sprinkler heads all around, which the facility uses to apply treated water to the soil. On your left are long strips of woods that have been separated by the cuts made to lay the water pipes; listen for calling or singing birds and stop when you hear something interesting. On your right, you'll soon come into expansive open fields (PHOTO 1) with more sprinkler heads. This area may hold open habitat species like sparrows, Indigo Bunting, or Blue Grosbeak; Eastern Meadowlark or Bobolink are also possible. You will soon come to a gravel road on your left, which will descend to the water treatment facility buildings and a large holding pond (PHOTO 2). This pond can be productive for wintering waterfowl and migrating shorebirds. You may encounter Northern Shoveler, Blue-winged Teal, Wood Duck, Mallard, Ruddy Duck, Bufflehead, Pied-billed Grebe, yellowlegs, Solitary Sandpiper, peeps, and more. The pond is surrounded by great habitat, and it is best to bird your way around the edges on a gravel track, starting on the near side. This area is bordered by a scrubby field that gives way to some willow, box elder, and alder-dominated brush habitat (PHOTO 3). During migration you may find birds like Sedge Wren, Marsh Wren, Song Sparrow, Yellow Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, Tennessee Warbler, Indigo Bunting, Blue Grosbeak, Eastern Bluebird, Eastern Phoebe, Common Yellowthroat, or (speculatively) rarer species such as Blue-winged, Golden-winged, or Nashville Warbler in these areas. As you round the end of the pond, you'll come along the back side which has a beautiful cattail-filled marsh (PHOTO 4). In winter, this area may also have a few ducks or waders; Sora has been found and Virginia Rail is possible in winter. Also in winter, all the brushy edges here and elsewhere on the property should produce some good sparrows such as Song, Swamp, White-throated, Field, and perhaps a few uncommon species will turn up as well. As you walk along the far side of the pond, you are next to a swamp with lots of dead snags; this area is great for woodpeckers, including Red-headed, Red-bellied, Hairy, Downy, Pileated, and Northern Flicker. The canopy and mid-story here may also produce flocks of migrants in spring and fall. Unfortunately, you cannot complete a loop back to your vehicle because part of the facility is fenced off; return the way you came - maybe you'll find a few birds you missed the first time. Back at the main road, turn left and you'll soon descend to the other access gate, which is just before a bridge over the Little Tallapoosa River. Turn right onto a gravel track in front of this gate, which will take you along some nice bottomland habitat next to the river. Stop when you hear something interesting, and take your time to bird this area. You may find species such as Acadian Flycatcher, White-eyed Vireo, Kentucky Warbler, Hooded Warbler, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, waterthrushes along the creek, and Empidonax flycatchers; Swainson's Warbler has been detected and may breed here. When you're finished here, you will leave the way you came. The mayor of Carrollton has been very gracious to offer access to this property to the Birding Community, so be sure to have Stanley pass along our appreciation when you visit!
PHOTO 1 PHOTO 2 PHOTO 3 PHOTO 4
Text and photos by KB.
4) Buffalo Creek Swamp [Sept 2007]
PM, W for waterfowl
[DeLorme pg. 25, E-6]
A quick and enjoyable stop at this pretty wetlands may produce interesting waterfowl, waders, or sparrows in winter and/or a few migrants in spring and fall. From the overpass intersection of the Carrollton By-Pass and US Hwy 27 south of the city (where there are plenty of restaurants to patronize if you're birding Carroll County), head west on the by-pass for 1.1 miles and turn left (south) onto Hays Mill Rd. In 2.6 miles, turn right onto Laurel Rd. This road is only paved for about 30 yards and then becomes gravel; there are some washboards so drive slowly. In 0.7 miles, park well to the side of the road in the middle of a large swamp in the floodplain of Buffalo Creek. You may see Anhinga, Wood Duck, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Green Heron, Blue-winged Teal, or other water-relating species out in the marsh. The brushy habitat along the road may hold sparrows in winter such as Swamp, White-throated, or Song; the same areas may have migrants in spring or fall and there are always lots of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds fighting over access to prolific jewelweed in September. There are many snags out in the swamp where you may find Red-headed and other woodpeckers socializing. Just before you reach the swamp, you crossed over a creek on a wooden bridge. Walk back to this area, which is full of willows and alders, and look and listen for birds like Yellow Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Indigo Bunting, Magnolia Warbler, White-eyed Vireo, and you may be lucky to find a waterthrush in the area as well.
Text and photo by KB
