Memorial Park

Sat May 14, 9:00 – 11:00AM

This event is full, now taking wait list

Atlanta is very special among major US cities because of its unusual urban forest, some of it is even old growth! Another special quality of Atlanta’s forest is that it lies in a major flyway for the eastern North American songbird migration. During migration season, many of our most colorful songbirds, especially the wood warblers, may be seen or heard in our parks, greenspaces and backyards. These often tiny birds travel thousands of miles (twice a year) from tropical winter homes to summer nesting habitat from the Appalachian Mountains to the Canadian tundra.

Atlanta is of course also home to many species of birds who live here year-round, or who may just come to nest in the spring and summer. And some more northerly-oriented birds spend their winters with us.

We may have a better chance of seeing more birds in Memorial Park since it is located along Peachtree Creek, which at this location is really a small river, likely being used as a migration corridor. On our walk we’ll look and listen for local nesters as well as the migrators, there may be more rare songsters in our neighborhoods than we realize!

Our walk is ideal for beginning to intermediate birders. We’ll learn how to better identify birds by sight and by call, how to make quicker use of binoculars, and how to make your yard a better habitat for birds.  

This walk is offered in partnership with the Atlanta Memorial Park Conservancy

To register (RSVP) click HERE  – details and directions will be sent to registered participants.

Did you know?

Oak trees provide more food for birds, because they can host more than 500 species of insects, many of which produce tiny caterpillars which are the mainstay diet of most birds, especially during nesting season. Some of our non-native trees host barely up to 4 insect species. It takes over nine thousand caterpillars to feed one nest of baby birds — so if you’re planning to plant a tree – let it be a native oak!

Two great books:

Songbird Journeys

by Miyoku Chu – tells some of the nothing-short-of-incredible stories about how, how far and where our tiny songbirds go.

Bringing Nature Home

by Douglas Tallamy – shows how gardening with native plants is critical to the survival of our birds because most insects (bird food) only are able to eat particular native plant species.

A donation of $15 or more helps sustain our programs.

Top photo: Scarlet Tanager © Tom Wilson; above, Cerulean Warbler courtesy Cornell Lab of Ornithology – All About Birds website: https://www.allaboutbirds.org