Some of our migratory birds, such as shorebirds, ruby-throated hummingbirds and purple martins, began heading south as early as August. Many of them already may be ensconced in their winter homes in Central and South America.
But, for most of Georgia’s migratory birds, fall migration peaks in late September through early October. During this time, wave after wave of neo-tropical songbirds — vireos, warblers, tanagers, grosbeaks, buntings, orioles, flycatchers, thrushes — may move through the state, joining tens of millions of other birds from all over North America in a mass movement to southern climes. Many of them will cover thousands of miles over oceans and continents to reach their winter territories as far south as Peru.
At the same time, many species will be arriving in Georgia to spend the winter here, in effect taking the place of the departed birds. The incoming winter birds are mostly those that nested up north during the spring and summer. They include kinglets, several species of sparrows, yellow-rumped warblers, orange-crowned warblers, cedar waxwings, yellow bellied sapsuckers, more than 15 duck species and others.
In large part, we can’t see the mass songbird movements during migrations because the birds fly almost exclusively at night, when temperatures are cooler and threats from predators are lower.
But even if we can’t see the nightly spectacle taking place above our neighborhoods, good views of the migrating birds can be had in the daytime when they stop to rest and forage at various stopover sites along the way. Perhaps the South’s most outstanding such site is Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park in Cobb County.
Giff Beaton, one of Georgia’s foremost birders, offers this tip: “I watch for nights in which rain moves through the area. Then I head up to Kennesaw the next morning, knowing the weather will force down loads of migrants. … On really good days, I have seen as many as 25 warbler species and great numbers of scarlet tanagers, rose-breasted grosbeaks, several species of vireo and other wonderful birds.”
In the sky: Autumn arrives at 10:29 p.m Monday — the autumnal equinox, as fall's first day is known. The moon will be new Tuesday night, said David Dundee, Tellus Science Museum astronomer. Mars is in the west at sunset. Jupiter is low in the east just before dawn. Saturn is low in the west just after dark and sets before 9 p.m.
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