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.
 
Clay County
1) Lake Walter F. George (Dam & deep lake area)         [Jan 2007]
IBA, YR
See Beaton's Birding Georgia.
[DeLorme: pg. 48, G-1]
When someone says about a location that a scope would be "helpful," he is not talking about Lake Walter F. George. "Necessary" is a much better word. In fact, don't even try to bird this lake without a scope, and I would even venture to say with a minimum of 20-30X at that. In addition, it is an awesome in-the-field test of the quality of optics as well. Take my word for it, a nice $500 scope that serves very well in most conditions will wither next to an 80mm Leica or Swarovski HD, and this can also make the difference between a 99% and 100% ID of a tricky bird. I suppose it's just as big as other reservoirs, and that the birding is quite similar. But for whatever reason, my experiences here have always been more difficult than at West Point, Carter's or other large bodies of water. Who knows, maybe I've just been "burned" a couple times :) At any rate, when you are standing on the dam looking north (upstream) into the main body of the lake, gulls, terns, loons, ducks, grebes, and other waterfowl can sometimes be literally a couple miles away from you. Many species are identifiable, though the look you get isn't very satisfying. If you are patient you may get better looks as groups of birds move around the lake and closer to the dam. But be prepared to settle for some "almost certain" ID's as well. This can be especially tough if it's a rare bird... which this lake has hosted plenty of in recent years. Good birds in 2004-2006 include Canvasback, Red-necked Grebe, Black Tern, Common Tern, Ross' Goose, Pacific Loon, and a mega-rarity Western Grebe in Dec 2006. Photos below show views from the dam (1 & 2) and a view from Sandy Beach Park on the Georgia side(3).
       
  PHOTO 1     PHOTO 2      PHOTO 3
Text and photos by KB

2) Days Crossroads Pond(s)           [Jan 2007]
W for waterfowl, PM, late Sp-Su for breeding birds
[DeLorme pg. 48, F-1]
There is a pond in the middle of a peanut field that has yielded both interesting winter waterfowl and also some flocks of gulls, and a Caspian Tern showed up in April 2005. This is located along CR 135 in Clay Co. west of Days Crossroads. It appears from DeLorme that you can use this road and several others in this grid block along the lake to complete a loop and return to GA Hwy 39. Other areas to bird along this loop are mentioned in Beaton's Birding Georgia on pp. 133-135.