Fannin County
Birding Locations |
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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.
Fannin County
If you plan to head to Fannin County for birdwatching, a stop that is certainly worth making while you tour the area is the small town of Blue Ridge, right on GA Hwy 515 / US 76 in a good central location. Along with good food, antiques, art galleries and crafts, you will find Blue Ridge Birdseed Company and owner Tom Striker. Be sure to visit his store right in the middle of town to pick up some seed, chat about recent local sightings, and be sure to pick up a copy of his own guide, "Birding Blue Ridge"... a few excerpts are found below. The book goes into much more detail, includes detailed local maps, and more!
Tom & Sonja Striker, Blue Ridge Birdseed Co.,
and the cover of "Birding Blue Ridge"
1) Cohutta WMA (also Gilmer & Murray County) [Nov 2007]
IBA, PM, May-June for breeding birds
See Beaton's Birding Georgia.
[DeLorme pp. 13 & 14; this is a very large area]
Heading north from Atlanta on I-75, split off to the right onto I-575. Stay on this road for quite a while (it will change to Hwy 5-515) until you come into East Ellijay. Go through a light with a BP on your left and Burger King on your right, and turn left at the next light (note Colonel Poole's BBQ on the right with a hill covered with little wood pigs - good food here!). You will immediately cross a bridge - get in the left turn lane and turn left when you deadend into GA Hwy 52. You will end up in historic downtown Ellijay and a round-about (there are good but kind of touristy antiques and crafts here). Enter the round-about and leave it diagonally right to stay on GA Hwy 52 heading west. At mile marker 8, turn right onto Gates Chapel Rd (County Rd 64). This will wind through some farmland. Keep your eyes open for Broad-winged Hawks soaring, listen for open habitat birds like Blue Grosbeak or Indigo Bunting along the fields, and Wild Turkey are sometimes seen feeding as well. Eventually, you will go over a small bridge signed as Mountaintown Creek. Immediately following, you can take a sharp right onto a gravel Forest Service Rd to a nice primitive campground (Bear Creek campground) with a good trail for birding for mountain breeding species through hardwood and hemlock forest, including cove habitat. There is good stocked Rainbow Trout fishing, with a few Browns and some larger hold-over Rainbows and Browns. A newer bathroom facility is here, but it does not have water or a flushing toilet. You will have to ford Bear Creek to access the camping area so use good judgement in a passenger vehicle. Do not plan to camp here in any hunting season - it's full to the gills with hunting camps (and hunters). Back on Gates Chapel Rd, continue past Mountaintown Creek until it becomes gravel and forks - take the right fork. You will enter Cohutta WMA, and then gain elevation via several switchbacks. Look and listen for Black-throated Green Warbler, Ovenbird, Hooded Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, Blue-headed Vireo, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Broad-winged Hawk, and other mountain birds (see Beaton's section on the area). When the road finally deadends high on a ridge, you can turn right onto FS 64 or left onto FS 68 for more mountain birding, and pick up in Beaton's book at this point. The higher elevations may host specialties like Blackburnian Warbler or American Redstart. This area is rumored to have hosted nesting Black-billed Cuckoo (extremely rare in Georgia) so familiarize yourself with its song and listen carefully!. FS 64 will eventually take you all the way back to GA Hwy 5 where you can take a right to head into Blue Ridge and use GA Hwy 515 / US Hwy 76 to access Atlanta to the south or more birding sites through the mountains to the east. FS 68 provides access to the Lake Conasauga area and will take you to GA Hwy 411, which heads south through some great Ridge and Valley birding sites before intersecting I-75. . PHOTOS 1-3 show mountain views in the WMA, while PHOTOS 4 & 5 show scenes near Lake Conasauga.
    
PHOTO 1 PHOTO 2 PHOTO 3 PHOTO 4 PHOTO 5
Text by KB; Photos by Steve Barlow
2) Blue Ridge WMA / Chattahoochee National Fish Hatchery [May 2008]
PM, May-June for breeding birds
[DeLorme pg. 14, E-5]
From the intersection of GA Hwy 60 and GA Hwy 180 in Suches, head north on Hwy 60 for 9.4 miles and turn left where you see signage for the Fish Hatchery. You will come through some nice open habitat, and cross over the Toccoa River at 0.6 miles (PHOTO 1); stop to check for waterthrush or Acadian Flycatcher here. Continue on the road and you will come into the Blue Ridge WMA (PHOTO 2) and the road is called Forest Service 69 and/or Rock Creek Rd. Exactly 1.6 miles from Hwy 60, you will notice up a steep hillside to your left that all the trees are very young and there are some dead snags; park safely on the shoulder here. This large area was intentionally burned several years ago to open up appropriate habitat in the hopes of attracting edge-habitat specialists to nest, like the declining Golden-winged Warbler. The first 30 yards or so immediately adjacent to the road right-of-way is mowed back every year, allowing herbaceous vegetation to grow up to 2-3 feet tall every summer, with young successive forest coming in behind this, and the entire area surrounded by older growth that was not burned. Blue-winged Warbler has been found in the area, which is both positive and negative. On one hand, it shows that the habitat is appropriate for them and Golden-winged Warbler... but on the other, Blue-winged Warblers are known to out-compete Golden-wings for desirable habitat. Either way, spend some time walking along the road in this area - especially very early in the morning in May - listening for the song of these and other species. If you do find Golden-winged Warbler, it is actually better to notify Nathan Klaus of the DNR and not make a public announcement on GABO-L. The road will continue to follow Rock Creek, and you should hear birds like Chestnut-sided Warbler, Hooded Warbler, Black-throated Green and Black-throated Blue Warblers, Prairie Warbler Ovenbird, Kentucky Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler (last two uncommon), Red-eyed Vireo, Wood Thrush, Acadian Flycatchers and Louisiana Waterthrush on the creek, and more. You will pass several nice official and unofficial campsites, and the creek is heavily stocked with trout for good fishing... though the area may be heavily stocked with people as well in spring and summer. At exactly 4.8 miles from Hwy 60 you will come to the trout hatchery (PHOTO 3) where you can visit during working hours on weekdays. A total of 7.0 miles from GA Hwy 60 you will reach a beautiful mountain lake called Rock Creek Lake (PHOTO 4); though it is small, you may find interesting waterfowl here in winter or migration. You can now continue birding along this road and you will eventually reach a four-way intersection high on a ridge. Turning right takes you down FS 58 along Noontootla Creek to the Appalachian Trail, but it is washed out a few miles down and you'll have to return the way you came. Turning left will take you down FS 77 eventually you can reach the Jones Creek area (great for wild brown trout fishing), and going diagonally-straight will take you down FS 42 past the trailhead of the Appalachian Trail and eventually out to pavement again at Doublehead Gap Rd (see Noontootla Creek Loop section below).
   
PHOTO 1 PHOTO 2 PHOTO 3 PHOTO 4
Text and photos by KB
3) Noontootla Creek Area [Nov 2007]
PM, May-June for breeding birds
[Delorme pg. 14, E4-5]
Heading north from Atlanta on I-75, split off to the right onto I-575. Stay on this road for quite a while and it will eventually change names to GA Hwy 5/515 when it is no longer access-controlled. When you come into East Ellijay, you will first pass a new major shopping area on your right with a Walmart Supercenter, Lowe's, fast-food, and a Starbucks for a caffeine fix. After passing through this area, go through a light with a BP on your left and a Burger King on your right, and then go through one more light. After going over an overpass, turn right at the signs for GA Hwy 52. You will curve down to the road, where you will turn left to head east on Hwy 52. You will come through an open pasture area, then look for a gray building (gas station) on the left after a total of 6.2 miles ("Stanley's" is painted on it in red); make a sharp left just past this building on Roy Rd. Continue on this winding road (watch for sharp curves) for 9.5 miles until you deaded at a stop sign. It may not be signed, but this is Doublehead Gap Rd - turn right here. Be aware of soaring birds in the area, Broad-winged Hawk breeds nearby. In 2.1 miles, make a note of Forest Service Road 42 on your right, which goes to Springer Mountain and the beginning of the Appalachian Trail. Exactly 4.2 miles from Roy Rd, you will cross over a small creek with some nice willow, alder, and brushy habitat (PHOTO 1); park in a gravel area just after crossing the creek and take some time to carefully bird along the road shoulder in both directions. You may find Chestnut-sided Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Field Sparrow, White-eyed Vireo, Indigo Bunting, Hooded Warbler, and more. A male Blue-winged Warbler and a probable "Brewster's" Warbler were found here in early July 2007. A total of 4.5 miles from Roy Rd, Doublehead Gap Rd will turn to gravel. Just beyond this point you will pass a primitive church on your left; take the next available right onto Forest Service Road 58, which is well-signed (Incidentally, you can continue on Doublehead Gap Rd from here all the way to GA Hwy 60, providing access to a treasure trove of other mountain birding sites; Northern Parula is often found along Doublehead Gap Rd near FS 58). FS 58 is a good-quality gravel road, which will descend through a small section of pine woods (PHOTO 2) where a Red-shouldered Hawk family breeds almost every year, and then go through some private property including a corn field; look for Wild Turkey along the edges in colder months. The road will then enter Blue Ridge WMA (PHOTO 3) and follow Noontootla Creek (PHOTO 4) through some gorgeous white pine and hemlock forest, with mixed areas of hardwoods as well. You should encounter Yellow-throated and Pine Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Hooded Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Dark-eyed Junco, Red-eyed and Blue-headed Vireo, and Wood Thrush along with other birds; Acadian Flycatcher is common and Louisiana Waterthrush sporadic along the creek itself. Barred Owl can be heard calling from dusk until dawn, and Ruffed Grouse is possible but rare. The area is great for migrants in season, including wood warblers, vireos, tanagers, and especially thrushes. Exactly 2.8 miles from Doublehead Gap Rd, you will reach a gate blocking FS 58. Just before the gate, pull over into a sometimes-used campsite on the right and park. From here, you can continue to hike the road and bird as long as you like - the road is gated because a good part of the shoulder collapsed into the creek in 2006. This actually makes the area better, in my opinion, because much more traffic used to roll through when it was possible to use this road to access the Appalachian Trail, FS 42, and the Chattahoochee National Fish Hatchery (all mentioned earlier). You can still use FS 42, which you passed earlier on Doublehead Gap Rd, to access FS 58 on the other side of the blocked section, which features similar habitat but also some higher ridges where you may find American Redstart or Ovenbird. In addition to good birding, along FS 58 you will find some pleasant creek-side primitive camping sites; be aware that some areas are marked "no camping." This creek is a favorite for Georgia's more seasoned trout fishermen as well. There are special regulations in place - you can only use artificial lures and you must release any fish under 16" in length. These restrictions, along with the creek being harder to access, have led to an incredible fishery of all-wild Brown and Rainbow Trout. The fish are very spooky and difficult to catch, but when you manage to find success they are some of the most beautiful trout to be had anywhere in the state - I catch and release everything here. It is also rumored that some of the tributaries of the creek hold native Brook Trout.
   
PHOTO 1 PHOTO 2 PHOTO 3 PHOTO 4
Text and photos by KB.
4) Fannin County Park [May 2008]
PM, late Sp-Su for breeding birds
Text by Tom Striker
(Open seven days, 8:00 AM to sunset, good birding at all seasons) Fannin County Park is the largest and most heavily used recreational facility in the county, with several soccer and baseball fields, walking and fitness trails, picnic tables, and fishing in Sugar Creek. It also has tremendous habitat diversity and offers good to excellent birding at all seasons. Open fields, creekside thickets, brush piles and dead trees characterize the Ball Fields Area, while mature timber, roadside edge and old field are found in The Hill Area. Plan to arrive early on weekends; sports activity picks up about 9:00 AM. The park is about one mile east of Highway 5, but the birding starts on the way in. As you approach the five-way stop at 0.25 mile, Johnson Paving Company will be ahead on your right. A paved road to the right just before Johnson Paving Company provides access to a small pond in the clear-cut just off the right side of the road. Park on the shoulder and walk in toward the pond, watching for waterfowl and Belted Kingfisher. Watch for Ring-necked Ducks, Hooded Mergansers, and Pied-billed Grebes in winter. Wood Thrush, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Carolina Wren and Indigo Bunting are abundant in season. The land around the pond is private, but [birders are welcomed / check in at the Johnson Paving office before birding] (TBA.) After checking the pond, return to Tom Boyd Road and continue toward the park. Pause at the 5-way stop, listening for Eastern Towhee, White-eyed Vireo and Common Yellowthroat. Proceed slowly when you are ready, watching the wires and fence lines for Eastern Phoebe, Eastern Kingbird, Blue Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting and Yellow-breasted Chat in summer, and Eastern Bluebird in all seasons. Listen for Field Sparrows singing in the field. A clump of small trees across from the shooting range at about 0.5 mile often holds Chats as well. Wild Turkeys are sometimes found in the woods near the ‘T’ where the entrance road reaches the one-way Park Loop. Turn right at the ‘T’ on Park Drive and proceed slowly, checking the overhead wires for the same birds, and listen for Eastern Meadowlark on the open grassy hill to the left. Watch for Red-headed Woodpecker and Northern Flicker in the open savannah of grass and big oaks. (Redheads should be present but are unreported thru June, 2006.) The small pond on the right at the next ‘T’ intersection has Ring-necked Duck, Mallards and Pied Billed Grebes in winter and Spotted Sandpiper in spring. Canada Geese are resident nesters. The roadside trees near the park manager’s home often hold Chipping Sparrow, House Finch and Yellow-rumped Warbler in fall and winter. Check these trees for Blue Grosbeak in summer. Turn left onto Field Drive and continue to the large parking area on the right. Depending on activity in the soccer and baseball fields, you can proceed thru the fields to Sugar Creek and bird the open area and creekside, or walk back toward the pond and bird the wooded ‘Hill’ area.
5) Lake Blue Ridge Marina [Feb 2004]
early F-mid Sp
Text by Tom Striker
[DeLorme pg. 14, C-4]
Birders are welcome at Lake Blue Ridge Marina, except on busy holiday weekends in summer, when parking is at a premium. The $5.00 parking fee will be waived if you check in at the marina office or with the Security Guard who patrols the area. Limit your visit to 30 minutes or less during boating season. Winter visits are usually the most productive, and you can stay as long as you want. The Marina can be a very boring place, or it can yield many birds in just a few minutes. It’s the most reliable spot in Fannin County for Common Loons, Horned and Pied-billed Grebes, American Coots, Ring-billed and Bonaparte’s Gulls (October thru April), Red-headed Woodpeckers (year-round), Fish Crows, Purple Martins and Barn Swallows (prolific summer nesters). Forster’s Terns are regular in April, sitting on the marker buoys around the boat docks. Black Terns are regular in small flocks in fall, and can usually be seen from the marina parking lot with binocs or a scope. Bald Eagle, Osprey and Fish Crow can sometimes be seen and heard from the marina parking lot. Loons are very reliable in winter, sometimes fishing between the finger-pier boat docks. As many as 162 of these daytime migrants have been seen at one time in October (Jim Flynn – 2004) although 2 – 12 is much more likely. Late date is May 10th. Look for Red-headed Woodpeckers in the large oaks near the marina building. Killdeer, Eastern Bluebirds, Cardinals, Song Sparrows, House Finches, Canada Geese and Mallards are likely at all seasons. A wonderful fall evening in 2005 produced a flight of mallards (probably local and non-migratory) that was as majestic as any in the pristine north country – 40-50 birds, wheeling and banking against the pink and blue sky, breaking into smaller groups, and finally skidding into the marina cove for the night. Sometimes you have to shut out the surroundings and look at the birds!
6) Mercier Orchards [Sept 2006]
PM, May-June; Sept for pick-your-own apples!
Text by Tom Striker
[DeLorme pg. 14 B-3]
Mercier Orchards is the largest in Georgia and worth a visit at any time of year for the fruit and cider as well as the birds. Cherries, peaches, plums, blackberries, blueberries and more than 25 varieties of apples are available. No self-respecting, field-going birder should resist their famous fried pies, apple fritters, apple bread and great coffee! The Mercier family has owned this orchard since 1947, and works very hard to grow fine fruit using environmentally sensitive methods. Spraying is targeted to specific insects at particular stages of their life cycle, and is done very carefully to protect the many beehives that are brought in each year to pollinate the apple blossoms. This care ensures healthy populations of other insects and the birds that eat them. Although much of the orchard is dedicated to intensive apple production, many pockets of brush and trees dot the landscape, and brushy edges line the orchard borders. Birders are always welcome, but seasonal spraying or maintenance activities may limit our access. Please check in at the Apple House for permission to bird. In 2006, only the area around the Apple House and parking areas is open for general public access, including birding. Fortunately, this includes two sizable ponds which are visible and accessible from the main parking lot. Future plans include a network of walking trails, with interpretive signs explaining orchard operations and describing the seasons and uses of the many apple varieties. Picnic tables may be available in the orchard in the future. The ponds attract Barn and Rough-winged Swallows, Eastern Phoebe, redwings, Robins and Eastern Bluebirds. This is one of the most reliable spots for Eastern Kingbird, Cedar Waxwing, Northern Catbird, Orchard Oriole and Green Heron in summer. Orchard Orioles use the big willow tree on the shore of the pond closest to the parking lot, and several pairs nest around the ponds. A walk along the road behind the upper pond in spring or summer will yield several Catbirds and Orioles. Wood Ducks and Blue-winged Teal can sometimes be seen in spring. A pair of Buffleheads has used the pond each winter since 2000 at least. Hooded Mergansers are frequently seen in fall along with Pied-billed Grebes. A large flock of Wild Turkeys lives in the orchard, and Ring-necked Pheasants have been seen by orchard workers in the past, although not recently. Red-tailed and Red-shouldered Hawks are seen regularly, along with the occasional Northern Harrier in winter. Organized bird walks were scheduled in the orchard on Saturday mornings in 2006, providing birders with better access to some great habitat. Details and dates for future walks are available at Blue Ridge Bird Seed Company locations at Mercier Orchards and in downtown Blue Ridge, or by calling 706-258-2473. Visit the orchard website.
7) CVS Pharmacy / Ingles Creek Areas [May 2008]
April-May
[DeLorme pg. 14, C-4, extreme NW corner of grid]
These are both very quick, traffic-noisy stops at small fragments of creek and willow habitat in the middle of developed areas, but nonetheless they may produce a really cool bird or two in late spring - Yellow Warbler and Willow Flycatcher were seen in May 2006 and on other occasions. As you come north on Hwy 515 / 5 into Blue Ridge, note where Hwy 5 splits off to the NW (McDonald's is on the corner to your left at this light). Continue north on Hwy 515, which is also US Hwy 76 at this point, until you come under an overpass down the road just past a Wendy's. Turn right when you see a CVS Pharmacy on your right, then right again when you reach a stop sign up the hill. You'll pass a bank and a couple other businesses up in this newly developed area, and finally turn right again and park in the parking lot for a Mexican restaurant called El Sol, which is visible from Hwy 515 / 76 (PHOTO 1). From here, you can walk along the top of a steep embankment to view a willow and alder-lined creek below (PHOTO 2). In this area you may see Barn Swallows, Field Sparrows, Indigo Buntings, Yellow-breasted Chat, Red-winged Blackbirds, and if you're lucky the creek or edge of the woods may hold more interesting birds like Yellow Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Magnolia Warbler, American Redstart, or (very rarely) Willow Flycatcher or Wilson's Warbler. To your left is a small wooded area, where you may hear and/or see other birds calling like Belted Kingfisher or Wood Thrush. You may descend the hillside to pursue something of interest, but I think this is DOT or private property as it is part of the road shoulder so be prepared to leave if approached. When finished, go back to the light at Hwy 76 and go straight across the highway; there'll be a Taco Bell and Ingles on your right. Turn right into the Ingles shopping center parking lot, and stop to briefly bird a low area of willows to the left (west) of the Ingles building for the same species mentioned above. Cruise the drainage ditch at the front of the parking lot along Hwy 76 scanning for birds from your car, though this is pretty low-cut and desolate these days. At the other end of the shopping center, park at the Cabin Grille restaurant and walk around the back and front, scanning all interesting habitat for birds.
 
PHOTO 1 PHOTO 2
Text and photos by KB.
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Copyright 2008 Ken Blankenship. All rights reserved.
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