Keep an eye out for feathered visitors arriving in Georgia for the winter

Except for a few lingerers, the vast majority of migratory birds that nested in Georgia during spring and summer are now ensconced in or well on their way to winter grounds in Central and South America and the Caribbean.

Gone are ruby-throated hummingbirds, tanagers, flycatchers, wood thrushes, purple martins, swallows, buntings, orioles, and several species of warblers and vireos. During spring and summer, they filled woods, fields, neighborhoods and backyards with bright color and melodious song.

Their departure each autumn leaves some of my birding friends a little sad, but for most of us, it bothers not a bit. For one thing, we know the migrants will return in spring with their bright breeding colors and exuberant song. Also, our year-round birds — cardinals, blue jays, titmice, Carolina chickadees, bluebirds, mockingbirds, Carolina wrens, woodpeckers and others — will be around all winter and add color and cheer on drab, chilly days.

‘Winter birds’ arriving

But what we really look forward to at this time of year is the arrival of the “winter birds,” which replace the warblers, tanagers and other long-distance fliers that have migrated as far south as Peru for the cold season. The winter birds nest in the boreal forests of Canada and the Northeast — but not in Georgia. They’re called short-distance migrants because they fly no farther south than Georgia and elsewhere in the Southeast for the winter.

In Georgia, most of them can find sufficient food — berries, seeds, small insects — to survive the cold season. For nature lovers, the birds make winter one of the most rewarding times of year for birdwatching.

Who are some of the cold weather visitors?

Come spring, the winter birds will head back North about the same time our spring and summer nesters are returning from their winter grounds. So, between now and late March, keep an eye out for Georgia’s winter visitors, such as:

• Golden-crowned kinglet. Olive green. Becomes Georgia’s tiniest bird since the slightly smaller ruby-throated hummingbird is absent for the winter.
• Ruby-crowned kinglet. Slightly larger than golden-crowned. During winter, both kinglet species flit among tree branches, frequently hovering and energetically flicking their wings to startle insects into movement.
• Dark-eyed junco. A sparrow species; slate colored with white underbelly. Commonly called “snowbird.” Frequent and abundant winter visitor across Georgia. Spends much of its time hopping and scratching on the ground or under bird feeders.

Butterbutts, sapsuckers and waxwings

• Yellow-rumped warbler. Although most warblers flee to the tropics for winter, the yellow-rumped — called “butterbutt” for its bright yellow rump patch — comes to Georgia. Has a unique ability to digest wax in bayberries and wax myrtles, allowing it to thrive in Georgia’s winter landscape.
• Yellow-bellied sapsucker. Georgia’s only migratory woodpecker. Spends winter drilling “sap wells” into hardwoods to lap up tree sap and eat insects attracted to sap. Several other bird species also feed at the sap holes.
• Cedar waxwing. Sleek and gregarious; found throughout Georgia during winter. Called North America’s most elegant bird because of striking brown and yellow plumage and bright, waxy red wing tips.
• White-throated sparrow. Mostly quiet in winter, but occasionally utters sharp, lispy chink or tseep, or sings a faint, sweet whistled Old-Sam-Peabody-Peabody. Its close cousin, the white-crowned sparrow, and more than five other Northern-nesting sparrow species also spend winter in Georgia.
• Hermit thrush. Only spotted brown thrush regularly found in Georgia during winter.