HabershamCountyBirdingSites

A Guide to Birding in Georgia

Habersham County
Birding Locations

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

[Sept 2009] = Most recently checked by Ken Blankenship (webmaster)
[N/A] = Not yet checked by Ken Blankenship

= 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.

Habersham County
'width' is a duplicate attribute name. Line 1, position 37.1) Panther Creek Trail [May 2007]
PM, May-June for breeding birds
[DeLorme pg. 16, E-3]
From I-985 NE of Atlanta, continue on this road until it changes names to GA Hwy 365 / US Hwy 23. Near the town of Cornelia, you will curve to the left and join GA Hwy 441 North. Continue to follow Hwy 441, noting that Hwy 365 will split off to the right and you'll come under an overpass to a light as you curve to the left to follow 441. About 3.5 miles north of this light look closely for Panther Brook Lane and turn left. Very soon at a stop sign, turn right onto Old Hwy 441. Within 1-2 miles, look carefully for signage marking the Panther Creek Trail parking area on your left and park. You actually have to walk back over Old Hwy 441 to the trailhead, which passes under the new highway overpass before plunging into a nice mixed white pine and hemlock forest with an understory of rhododendron and mountain laurel (PHOTO 1). Look for Barn Swallows flying around the overpass. After a brief foray through the woods, you'll come into a power line cut (PHOTO 2); this open and edge habitat may have Prairie Warbler or Common Yellowthroat. Because this trail goes through dense forest, you may not have the greatest looks at birds and will hear them more than you see them, but it is an awesome hike to a gorgeous tumbling waterfall - Panther Creek Falls (PHOTO 7) - and is worth it for the scenery and exercise as well as some cool mountain breeding birds and migrants. Be fore-warned that this is a moderate-strenuous hike which is 7.0 miles round-trip to the falls, and there is one place in the first third of the hike that you must watch out closely for. The "trail" actually becomes a rock climb of about 20 feet through a crevice and up a dirty, root-stepped ridge; it is very easy to miss this and one must take care when climbing it and coming down later (PHOTO 3). The trail will wind through some beautiful areas with amazing views of cascades and shoals (PHOTOS 4-6), but it is also very narrow in places and you are sometimes on the edge of 50-foot ledges so enjoy and be careful! Birds that may be encountered as you hike include Black-throated Green Warbler, Hooded Warbler, Ovenbird, Red-eyed Vireo, Blue-headed Vireo, Scarlet Tanager, Pine Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush and Acadian Flycatcher along the creek, Broad-winged Hawk overhead, and plenty of woodpeckers in the areas of dying pines. There are several nice backpacking campsites along the way, and you may have Whip-poor-wills or various owls from dusk until dawn.

PHOTO 1 PHOTO 2 PHOTO 3 PHOTO 4 PHOTO 5 PHOTO 6 PHOTO 7
Text and photos by KB.

'width' is a duplicate attribute name. Line 1, position 37.2) Sod Farm [N/A]
SBM
[DeLorme p16, F-1]
Read about Birding Georgia's Sod Farms
From the city of Clarkesville take GA Hwy 197 north. Almost immediately on the right will be a place to pull over and view the fields looking east. Then continue about 1 mile to Wall Bridge Rd on the right and turn here. Drive about 1 mile on Wall Bridge Rd to Wall Bridge Loop on the right. Drive a short distance on Wall Bridge Loop until the sod field can be viewed looking west. Please be aware that all property with the exception of the roadway is private; as with all sod farms, stay on the shoulder and do not walk onto the sod or on any private drives crossing the fields.