From the Athens perimeter Loop GA-10, take Exit 6 and head south on Milledge Avenue (opposite direction from 15 North) following the signs for the State Botanical Garden.  The entrance will be about one mile down the road on the right (PHOTO 1).  The State Botanical Garden provides over 4 miles of trails (view an Area Map) through both upland and bottomland forest in addition to the developed garden areas.  The garden is heavily birded, and iPods or other playback devices should never be used.  Birding is good all year but is particularly nice during spring migration.  This site is designated as an Important Bird Area (in conjunction with Whitehall Forest), and visitors can often encounter over 20 species of warblers on days in late April and early May with a variety of bottomland specialties such as Louisiana and Northern Waterthrush, Kentucky Warbler, Prothonotary Warbler, and Swainson's Warbler.  Bird checklists with the annually occurring species and their seasonal abundances are available at no cost at the desk in the conservatory (the huge glass building).  A loop of about 2.5 miles can be started from the Day Chapel parking lot where the entrance road dead ends at a cul-de-sac adjacent to the parking area.  Descend into the main garden area, where you can pick up open country birds such as Blue Grosbeaks, Indigo Buntings, as well as LOTS of Hummingbirds in the summer, flocks of bluebirds and sparrows (mostly White-throated and Chipping) in the winter, and plenty of phoebes all year.  The openness of the cultivated garden allows for great views into the canopy of the surrounding forest, making it a good place to scan for warblers, Yellow-billed Cuckoos, tanagers, and Great-crested Flycatchers.  It also provides open views of the sky to scan for soaring raptors and other interesting flyovers.  Head down the steps or the winding walkway towards the large, wooden observation pavilion at the bottom of the garden (PHOTO 6).  On the left of the pavilion boardwalk as you approach it, a trail marked as “to Orange Trail” descends from the asphalt path into the woods where you will pass through the gate of a deer fence and cross over a creek to hit the Orange Trail.  This section of the Orange Trail usually hosts a breeding pair of Louisiana Waterthrushes and, if you are lucky, is a great place to get close looks at shockingly tame Barred Owls.  Turn right on the orange trail and follow it as it winds around a former beaverpond (PHOTO 2; now maintained as a wetland by an artificial dam).  This wetland formerly hosted a large Red-headed Woodpecker colony, but they are now sporadic as most of their favored snags have fallen.  Red-shouldered Hawks are persistent hunters here all year, and Green Herons can be searched for in the open water areas, especially near the dam.  Lincoln's Sparrows have been reported here a couple times amidst the large numbers of Song Sparrows and Swamp Sparrows present during migration and winter.  The Orange Trail turns right along the Middle Oconee River (PHOTO 3), where good numbers of breeding Northern Parulas, Hooded Warblers, Kentucky Warblers, White-eyed Vireos, and Acadian Flycatchers are present, along with lower numbers of Yellow-throated Warblers and Yellow-throated Vireos.  The river is a great migration corridor for warblers and other passerine migrants, and in late summer if the river levels are low, various waders dispersing from the coastal plain may be seen (such as Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, and White Ibis in August 2008).  The Orange Trail eventually crosses a powerline cut (PHOTO 4), where it continues on down the river as the White Trail.   The powerline cut is a great place to view flyover raptors and gives good views of warblers and other migrants in the adjacent forest canopy.  The powerline often hosts displaying American Woodcocks on warm evenings in December through February and usually harbors breeding Yellow-breasted Chats and other early successional habitat breeders and good migrants (including a Mourning Warbler in May 2009).  In wet years the flooded woods on either side of the powerline can host flocks of Rusty Blackbirds in winter, both waterthrush species, and Prothonotary Warblers in warmer seasons.  A bit further along the river on the White Trail is the Privet Eradication area (PHOTO 5), an experimental plot used to assess the efficacy of different removal techniques on invasive Chinese Privet.  Although Swainson’s Warblers will nest in privet, studies have shown their nesting success is highly reduced relative to more diverse native plant communities, particularly those that contain cane (a native bamboo).  The trees in the eradication area are widely spaced, providing great visibility of warblers during migration (including a number of Cerulean Warblers in spring 2008 and Golden-winged Warblers in fall 2009).  The strip of vegetation along the river here frequently yields Worm-eating Warblers in migration.  Further upstream, a large, open wetland across the river can have interesting species resting on the snags.  A Great Blue Heron Rookery is visible before the trees leaf out.  This area is also the best place on the garden property to see Mississippi Kites (a rare breeder this far north in the Piedmont) from May through August, and in late July 2009 they were briefly joined by a Swallow-tailed Kite.  Once you hit the furthest upstream point of the White Trail along the river, take the Blue Trail back uphill through mature deciduous forest (another good spot for Barred Owls), a clearing, and then a terraced Pine-dominated woodland that contains a number of Black-and-White Warbler territories along with ‘piney’ species such as Pine Warblers and Brown-headed Nuthatches.  You’ll cross the powerline cut again well uphill of the river, providing another open view of the sky and adjacent forest canopy; the Tulip Trees here are often teeming with Cape May Warblers in early May.  The White Trail continues back to the entrance road and main parking area through a tract of upland deciduous forest without much understory that can be very thrushy at times (Veery, Swainson’s, and Gray-cheeked Thrush were singing here in spring 2009).  Alternatively, you can head back down the powerline and turn left at the service road to head back towards your car through the native plant and shade gardens.  If you aren’t birded-out, the livestock fields south of the botanical garden gate on South Milledge can provide additional open country species such as Eastern Meadowlark, American Pipit, or Savannah Sparrow.
                
 PHOTO 1   PHOTO 2   PHOTO 3    PHOTO 4  PHOTO 5     PHOTO 6
Photos by KB, JM, and RC.

2) Whitehall Forest, University of Georgia            [N/A]
PM, late Sp-Su for breeding birds (limited access, see NOTE)
[Delorme pg. 22, H-3]
From the Athens Loop 10 perimeter, take exit 6 (Milledge Ave) and turn right. Go about 2 miles to the end of Milledge, veer right at the fork. Drive across Whitehall Rd and into the entrance of Whitehall Forest. This is the field laboratory for UGA’s Forest Resources Department. It offers similar birding as the nearby State Botanical Gardens, with mixed hardwood forest at the confluence of the North Oconee and Middle Oconee Rivers. Best during passerine migration, but also good for hardwood forest breeding species of the piedmont. The first stretch of road just inside the gate is good for open habitat birds like Blue Grosbeak, Eastern Kingbird, and Orchard Oriole. Drive straight down the main road to the very end where you will find a parking area at the Flinchums Phoenix meeting hall. Birding the edges of the parking area can be productive in migration; there is a Black Gum tree on the southwest edge of the lot (opposite the meeting hall) that can be good for thrushes and other migrants in fall when the fruits are ripe. Walk up onto the deck of the meeting hall and around the right side to the back deck, which offers a good view into the upper canopy of the trees below. The stairs at the back corner of the building lead to a short trail that takes you down to the North Oconee River floodplain. This area is good for breeding species like Louisiana Waterthrush, Hooded Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, and Wood Thrush, and in migration can have numerous species of warblers, tanagers, and vireos. Continue downstream and right to the river confluence, where the Middle Oconee River comes in from the right. Follow the Middle Oconee upstream to an old dam and mill area. Open scrubby areas here and farther down the trail at the powerline clearing are good spots for migrant warblers in spring and fall. The old roadway path eventually winds to the right and away from the river uphill and comes out at the paved road. The brushy areas and pines here can be good for Brown-headed Nuthatch, Pine Warbler, and sometimes Prairie Warbler. Turn right at the paved road and a short walk will bring you back to the parking area. NOTE: This is a research facility; public access is limited to weekdays only from 8 am to 5 pm, and is strictly enforced. Aside from the trails around the river, there are several gravel roads traversing the property. When birding these locations, please be considerate of any research plots you may come upon, bird from the roadside only, do not leave the road. Visit the area website. Text by Mark Freeman.

3) Lake Herrick        [June 2007]
PM, W for waterfowl
[DeLorme pg. 22, H-3]
Text and photos by Richard Hall
From I-85 (north of Atlanta), take Hwy 316 towards Athens. Approaching Athens, you will come to a major intersection with Loop 10, which encircles the city. Get in the righthand lane and split right onto the loop heading east. Get off at College Station Rd (Exit 7), and turn left at the bottom of the exit. Go under the highway and through the immediate light for folks entering/exiting on the other side. At the very next light, turn left into the intramural fields and Lake Herrick area. This is an easily accessible site on the University of Georgia campus, worth checking for migrant waterfowl and shorebirds (especially after rain) and migrant and wintering songbirds. An early morning visit is highly recommended, as the site receives heavy use from dog-walkers and joggers, and the more skittish migrant waterbirds rarely linger past mid-morning. Park in the parking area immediately on your right on entering, and walk up to the levee that overlooks the lake and beach (PHOTOS 1 and 2). Belted Kingfishers, and swallow species during migration, are frequently perched on the diving chairs in the lake. In late spring through late summer 2009, fishing Ospreys were frequently observed, and a fly-through Peregrine Falcon was a one-day wonder in mid-October 2009. Check the beach for migrant shorebirds hanging out with the resident Killdeer. The most likely species is Spotted Sandpiper, but less frequent visitors have included Solitary, Least and Pectoral Sandpipers, and (most memorably) two Red Phalaropes that stayed for only five minutes during a rainstorm in October 2009. Migrant waterfowl are most likely to be encountered in March-April and October-November – be sure to check the resident Mallard flock as migrant ducks will often associate with them. Hooded Merganser, Blue-winged Teal, American Wigeon, Ruddy and Ring-necked Ducks have all been recorded.  From the levee head right up a small hill with picnic tables adjacent to the parking lot, checking for finches and sparrows. Field Sparrows are regular in the spring, and more unusual species have included Pine Siskin and 4 Vesper Sparrows in November 2009. The trees behind the pavilion are good for Palm Warblers in fall and Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers in winter, and the pine trees here usually hold Brown-headed Nuthatch. Continue along the fence between the lake and the playing field down to the willows along the lakeshore. These trees are good for Yellow Warblers in August. The SW arm of the lake is worth checking carefully for ducks and shorebirds, plus Great Egret and Green Heron in summer. The trees around the white ‘visitor information’ shed can be good for Magnolia and Tennessee Warblers, and held a Nashville Warbler in October 2009. Follow the road around to the tennis courts, and then take a boardwalk down to the wooden bridge across the southern tip of the lake (PHOTO 3). The trees here are excellent for migrant warblers, and at dusk look for Common Nighthawk and Barred Owl. After crossing the bridge, turn right and follow the path along the left side of the stream. In winter this trail is good for Winter Wren, Golden-crowned Kinglet and Brown Creeper, and White-breasted Nuthatch year round. Keep left along stream and you will arrive at ‘Little Lake Herrick’ (PHOTO 4), a small pond in the off-leash dog area which held a Pied-billed Grebe in winter 2009-10. Walking the loop around the pond is excellent for sparrows, including Swamp and Fox, and in November 2009 late-lingering species included Gray Catbird, Black-and-White and Orange-crowned Warblers, Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher and a fly-by Merlin. Re-trace your path along the stream to bird the woods on the east side of the lake, which are good for breeding Red-eyed Vireos and hosted a good diversity of migrant warblers in fall 2009, including a Cape May Warbler. The two wooden jetties are worth checking for another vantage point across the lake (PHOTO 5).  As you make a left to return to the levee and parking lot, check the wet scrubby habitat at the bottom of the dam for Common Yellowthroat or White-eyed Vireo, and the wires for Eastern Kingbirds.
                 
PHOTO 1    PHOTO 2    PHOTO 3    PHOTO 4       PHOTO 5


4) Sandy Creek Nature Center        [Oct 2009]
PM, W for waterfowl
[Delorme p. 22, F-3]
Text by Joel McNeal

From the Athens perimeter Loop GA 10, use Exit 12 and follow US Hwy 441 North for less than a mile.  Watch for a brown sign marking the left turn for Sandy Creek Nature (different from well-signed Sandy Creek Park just a few miles further north down the road on the right).  Turn left here, and this road shortly ends at Old Commerce Rd where you will take another left.  The road dead ends with a Parking lot at the “Allen House” on the left.  From here you can head down the North Oconee Greenway, a paved path continuation of Old Commerce Rd that is popular with bicyclists.  In winter, the spikey round fruits of Sweetgums often litter the Greenway, and can attract Fox Sparrows to where there are concentrations of seeds liberated from the impact of the dry fruit with the asphalt.  The Kingfisher Pond Trail and Oconee Trail make short diversions from the right of the Greenway into the floodplain and are often worth a quick look.   The Greenway eventually crosses a large powerline cut; Winged Elms here set abundant seed in the early spring that attracts sparrows and finches (especially Purple Finches in good years).  Head down the power cut looking for sparrows - mostly Field, Song, and Swamp - in the winter and Yellow-breasted Chats in the summer.  You can follow the Levee Trail on the left through the floodplain on a loop under the greenway and back across the powerline cut along Sandy Creek in drier weather, but it is often impassable when the river and creek are high.  This floodplain is a favorite spot for Rusty Blackbirds, especially in early to mid-March when they are preparing to head north; flocks here numbered in the hundreds in spring 2008.  Look for them feeding in the flooded woods or flying over the powerline to another area of the extensive floodplain (often flocking with robins).  Following the Levee Trail (if dry enough) or heading back across the greenway up the other side of the powerline cut, head towards the Claypit Pond Trail.  The pond occasionally hosts the odd duck, but it typically yields only Wood Ducks and Canada Geese.  Winter Wrens are common along the edges of the pond, and the tall trees on the slope above the pond are a very reliable place for Brown Creepers in winter.  The extensive swampy, wooded floodplain between the pond and Sandy Creek is another favored spot for Rusty Blackbirds.  The flooded swamps along the nature center trails are also good for Prothonotary Warblers in spring and summer.  Continue through the bottomlands a bit more along the Hooded Warbler Trail or head back uphill towards the Allen House Parking Lot.  Visit the Nature Center Website