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. If you visit an IBA, help by filing a simple online report.


Cherokee County
1) Boling Park             [Sept 2007]
PM, May-June for breeding birds
[DeLorme pg. 20, C-2; lower left corner of grid, where the "Bus 5" highway icon is]
This multi-use sports complex makes for a nice walk during migration along the Etowah River just outside the town of Canton. From I-575, get off at Exit 16 and head west for 0.8 miles where you'll dead-end into Hwy 5 at a light. Turn right, cross the bridge over the Etowah River, and immediately after crossing the bridge (0.5 miles from the light), turn left at the sign for Boling Park. You will wind your way through soccer and baseball fields and other sports facilities, with the river on your left; after you walk the main trail you may wish to wander this area to look for more birds later. Continue to the end of the pavement where you will park at a jogging trail (two Port-o-jons are found here). Begin birding at the very large open field which is surrounded by a gravel jogging trail (PHOTO 1). Work your way to the side along the river, which is dominated by river birch, oaks, walnuts, dogwood, and privet, where you may have flocks of migrants working the trees. Keep an eye and ear out for species like Red-eyed, White-eyed, or Yellow-throated Vireo, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Hooded Warbler, American Redstart, Kentucky Warbler, Great-crested Flycatcher, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Northern Parula, thrushes, and more. On the river itself, you may hear and see Belted Kingfisher, and Louisiana Waterthrush breeds here as well. Keep birding along the trail, and you'll soon come through the woods briefly and then to a second open field with a few mature deciduous trees out in the middle (PHOTO 2). The edges of this field are especially choked up with an understory of Chinese privet, and you may encounter Canada Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, White-eyed Vireo, Magnolia Warbler, or (rarely) Blue-winged Warbler or Swainson's Warbler in these areas. Cedar Waxwings and Yellow-rumped Warblers may be found feeding on the berries of this plant in early spring. The whole area is also good for woodpeckers (Red-bellied, Hairy, Downy, Pileated, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, and Northern Flicker) as well as both White-breasted and Brown-headed Nuthatches. At the end of the second open field, the trail becomes dirt and heads back into the woods and to the left, over the "Boy Scout Bridge" which will take you over a feeder creek. From here, the trail follows the Etowah River (PHOTO 3) as it flows over shoals down to the headwaters of Lake Allatoona. When open views of the river are afforded, take your time to relax, sometimes on some pretty rock outcroppings, and to try to detect flocks which may be working up or down-stream... the river provides the most open views into the canopy. You can keep following the trail (PHOTO 4) through some nice bottomland forest with scattered massive tulip poplars and sycamores, until you'll leave the river and head into some upland habitat that has been cut more recently and is just about all planted pine; at this point it's best to turn around and head out the way you came. From early March to mid-April, this area can be great for Crappie and White Bass fishing, as they head upstream to spawn. Every year the same old thing will catch fish after fish on a good day when they are running - a lead-head jig (1/8 oz.) in a bright color (orange, chartreuse) rigged with a plain white curly-tail grub. Yeah, it's simple... but deadly ;)
          
 PHOTO 1           PHOTO 2      PHOTO 3     PHOTO 4        PHOTO 5
Photos and text by KB.