ColquittCoBirdingSites

A Guide to Birding in Georgia

Colquitt County
Birding Locations

Legend
Su = summer
F = fall
W = winter
Sp = spring
YR = year-round

= 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 out in the field.

= 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 productive birding virtually year-round (Jekyll Island, Phinizy Swamp Nature Park), while the best birding of the year may be seasonal at others (Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park).

= Habitat and/or access at location is subject to change according to mixed land use or changes in ownership, such as cattle operations, agricultural fields, pine plantations (logging), and so on. Always adhere to good birding ethics concerning private property, and if the habitat at a location has experienced major changes or is no longer accessible, please email the webmaster.

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 and singing. Fall migration is more spread out; fall wood warblers can be notoriously difficult to identify (or 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.

Colquitt County
1) Ellenton Fish Pond
PM, May-June for breeding birds
GPS via Google Maps
31.1934030267, -83.5833725574
[DeLorme pg. 59, E-6]
Text by Wayne Schaffner
This is a small but interesting site with good potential for migrants in this rural county, and can be birded in conjunction with a visit to nearby Reed Bingham State Park. It features a cypress pond where locals fish, grassy and scrubby habitat, along with some wooded edges and pines. The gate is where you should drive into the property, but do not block it. Read the sign on the gate. The property is open to the public from Monday through Saturday (closed Sunday); open the gate and drive in and remember to close and securely latch the gate! Turn left and follow the field road along the fence paralleling the highway to the corner of the pasture. Turn right continuing to follow the field road to a grass parking area at the edge of the pond at the dam. Do not drive over the pasture. Wood Storks may nest here, Ospreys nest annually, and you could run into various migrants in any flock that you track down. The pond will have several species of waders in just about every season, may hold waterfowl in winter, and you should be able to scrounge up some interesting sparrows in hedgerows and brush in colder months as well. The surrounding pasture offers great potential for grassland species.

2) Reed Bingham State Park (see Cook County)

3) Doerun Pitcherplant Bog Natural Area
PM, May-June for breeding birds
GPS via Google Maps
31.2862189603, -83.8883066027
[DeLorme pg. 58, D-3]
Information provided by Joel McNeal, Tim Keyes, Charlie Muise, Wayne Schaffner, and the GA DNR
Rarely birded, this is a spectacular natural area, a prime example of well-managed longleaf pine-wiregrass savannah habitat that also features native pitcherplant bogs teeming with a variety of awesome carnivorous plants. From Moultrie (intersection of US Hwy 319 and the Moultrie Bypass), take GA Hwy 133 north for 8.5 miles. Turn right into the area at an inconspicuous gravel road; if you pass milepost 26, you missed it. From Albany, take GA Hwy 133 south to Doerun. Continue another three miles, pass milepost 26 and take an immediate left into the area. Parking is available at the kiosk along the access road within the natural area. There are no restroom or other facilities.You will encounter scads of squeaky-toy Brown-headed Nuthatches and Pine Warblers, and this special habitat also hosts the threatened Bachman's Sparrow. The gorgeous long-leaf pines attract a wide variety of woodpeckers, including Red-headed; they are likely not mature enough yet to support Red-cockaded Woodpeckers, but it is likely a future site for management of that endangered species as well. Keep your ears open for numerous Northern Bobwhites that inhabit the scrubby wiregrass groundcover, and keep your eyes on the skies for raptors. The eastern portion of the property is bordered by the Ochlockonee River and features wet bottomland habitat; in such areas anywhere on the property, particularly where there are stands of river cane, Swainson's Warblers secretively go about their business spring through early fall. Other more common breeding species you are likely to encounter in the woods and scrubby open areas include Summer Tanager, Prairie Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, Blue Grosbeak, Field Sparrow, Great Crested Flycatcher, White-eyed Vireo, Indigo Bunting, and more. Of course, sort through flocks for interesting migrants in spring and fall. In winter, open scrubby areas hold a number of interesting birds like Swamp Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow, House Wren, and Common Yellowthroat; Henslow's Sparrows may winter here, and Lincoln's Sparrows have been found as well. Be sure to take note of and enjoy the unique plants as well, and you must really watch where you tread! Visit the area website.