GEORGIA AUDUBON HOSTING A VARIETY OF VIRTUAL EVENTS FOR BIRD LOVERS

by Dottie Head, Director of Membership and Communications

With COVID-19 continuing to spread across the state, Georgia Audubon is hosting a lineup of virtual and digital events for new and veteran bird enthusiasts. With a variety of free and paid events, everyone is sure to find something of interest. Here’s what is in store for the next few weeks:
 
Friday, August 21, at 9:00 AM: Virtual Bird Walk with Georgia Audubon
​Georgia Audubon Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/georgiaaudubon/)
FREE
 
Join us on the Georgia Audubon Facebook page every other Friday at 9:00 AM for a virtual bird walk with Georgia Audubon staff and volunteer trip leaders as they explore their yards or nearby birdy patches and talk about what they're seeing. 


Wednesday, August 19, at 7:00 PM: Webinar: Birds and Beers Events Featuring Special Guest David Sibley
Admission: Webinar only or webinar with book purchase available
Georgia Audubon and Eagle Eye Book Shop will co-host the next installation of our popular online Birds & Beer, featuring special guest author and illustrator David Sibley. Join us for conversation and illustrations with David Sibley, followed by an audience Q&A, moderated by Georgia Audubon’s Director of Conservation, Adam Betuel, as they discuss David’s newest release and New York Times’ Bestseller What It’s Like to Be a Bird. Tickets and books may be purchased at https://www.georgiaaudubon.org/digital-resources.html.
 
Thursday, August 20, at 7:00 PM: Webinar: Birds and Buildings: Understanding This Threat to Birds and How You Can Help
FREE

​Did you know that collisions with buildings and other structures pose a serious threat to birds, claiming the lives of 365 million to 1 billion individuals annually? That is the third leading cause of bird death in the United States! To better understand this issue across the state, Georgia Audubon created Project Safe Flight, a program aimed at collecting data on collisions and working towards making our state safer for our birds. During spring and fall migration, Project Safe Flight volunteers monitor for collision victims, gathering vital data for this initiative. Join Director of Conservation Adam Betuel as he outlines the ways buildings are a threat to our birds, what can be done to make our state safer for birds, as well as how you can participate in Project Safe Flight. This webinar is aimed at participants who want to know more about this issue, those interested in volunteering for our collision reduction program, and for returning volunteers who need a refresher on data collection and correct protocols.
 
Sunday, August 23, at 3:30 PM: Facebook Live Event: A Year in the Life of Hummingbirds with Georgia Audubon
​Georgia Audubon Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/georgiaaudubon/)
FREE

Everyone loves hummingbirds! These tiny birds with extraordinary abilities lead a fascinating life. Join Georgia Audubon Director of Education Melanie Furr to learn about a year in the life of these magical little birds and get a chance to meet our education ambassador hummingbird, Sibley. Join us for this Facebook Live event on the Georgia Audubon Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/georgiaaudubon/)
​
Friday, August 28, at 9:30 AM: Virtual Story Time: The Nest that Wren Built, with Author Randi Sonenshine
FREE
Georgia Audubon will be hosting a virtual story time featuring the book, The Nest that Wren Built, with author Randi Sonenshine. Join us for a book reading followed by an interactive "wren-dition" of an at home activity. Bring your imagination!  For more information or to register, visit https://www.georgiaaudubon.org/digital-resources.html.
 
Sunday, September 13, at 3:30 PM: Webinar: Virtual Wildlife Sanctuary Tour
$10 for Georgia Audubon members/ $12 for non-members
This year's Wildlife Sanctuary Tour is going to look a little different due to COVID-19. Instead of an in-person tour, we'll be offering a virtual tour with Gabe Andrle, Habitat Conservation Program Coordinator, giving us a virtual tour of some of our great Wildlife Sanctuaries to show how you can transform your yard into a sanctuary for birds and other wildlife. Learn more or purchase tickets at https://www.georgiaaudubon.org/wildlife-sanctuary-tour.html.


Thursday, September 17, at 7:00 PM: Webinar: Nature's Best Hope with Doug Tallamy
Admission: Webinar only or webinar with book purchase available

Georgia Audubon is thrilled to welcome award-winning author and entomologist Doug Tallamy for a webinar on the evening of September 17. Author of the newly released New York Times’ bestseller, Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Yard, this is an amazing opportunity to hear Doug’s message of hope and to learn how we all can be part of the solution to address declining biodiversity and save birds, too. Tickets and books may be purchased at https://www.georgiaaudubon.org/doug-tallamy.html


Tuesday, September 22, at 7:00 PM: Webinar: How to Identify Warblers & Enjoy Them More, Too
A Holistic Approach to Bird Identification
Instructor: Andrew Dreelin
Cost per device (multiple participants may view on the same device): $7 Georgia Audubon member / $10 non-member
Learn more or register at https://www.georgiaaudubon.org/birdfestevents.html

Love watching warblers but struggling to identify those fast-flitting beauties? Get excited because this webinar is for you! Together we'll walk through the warblers of Georgia, teaching you how to go beyond identifying birds by color and pattern alone, to applying subtle but powerful field marks like shape, contrast, behavior, call, and even posture to confidently identify warblers from combinations of small details. Georgia birder Andrew Dreelin learned these techniques while rapidly counting songbirds in "morning flight" during fall migration in Cape May, NJ, one of the world's best migration hotspots. However, these skills can be applied by anyone in any place and during any season, whether you’re in Georgia in fall, Costa Rica in winter, or Québec in spring.

By attending this webinar, you will not only acquire some fancy ID tips, but in learning to identify birds *holistically* by taking in each individual as a whole, you’ll also enhance your appreciation of these colorful migrants as you learn the unique aspects of each species. We'll even talk a bit about the best places to go if you want to revel in warblers during migration. Whether you’ve been looking at warblers for many seasons or just a few, there's something for birders of all skill levels to learn and apply in the field this fall and beyond.
 
Monday, October 5, at 7:00 PM: Webinar: Beginning Birder 101
Cost: $7 per device for Georgia Audubon members / $10 per device for non-members
Learn more or register at https://www.georgiaaudubon.org/birdfestevents.html

Birds are fascinating, familiar, and accessible–their colors and songs add beauty to our everyday lives. If you’d like to get started with birding or improve your birding skills, join Melanie Furr, Director of Education for Georgia Audubon, for a how-to class that will help you develop your skills and enhance your enjoyment of our feathered friends. Participants will learn about the common birds of our area and techniques for identifying new birds. We’ll also share information on choosing the best optics, field guides, and smartphone apps to enhance your birding experience, as well as attracting birds to your yard. Your newfound skills are sure to enrich your enjoyment of the outdoors and keep your mind active!



Tuesday, October 6, at 7:00 PM: Webinar: Gardening for Birds & Building Your Backyard Sanctuary
Instructor: Ellen Honeycutt, Georgia Native Plant Society
Cost per device: $7/Georgia Audubon member; $10/non-member (multiple people may view on the same device)
Learn more or register at https://www.georgiaaudubon.org/birdfestevents.html

Do you enjoy attracting birds and other beneficial wildlife to your yard? Do you know which types of plants will attract hummingbirds or which plants are the top producers of fruits for other birds? Do you have invasive plants you want to rid from your yard? Join Ellen Honeycutt from the Georgia Native Plant Society for this workshop on how to create a Wildlife Sanctuary on your own property. You’ll learn which plants give the biggest bang for your buck in terms of food production, shelter, and nesting sites and which plants you may want to avoid. Learn how to manage your Wildlife Sanctuary without the use of harmful pesticides and herbicides and where to go within north Georgia to source native plants for your own landscaping needs.
 
Friday, October 16, at 9:00 AM: Facebook Live- Birds & Beans (Coffee!): How You Can Help Birds with Your Morning "Cup of Joe"  
FREE
​Georgia Audubon Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/georgiaaudubon/)
 
Join Adam Betuel, Georgia Audubon Director of Conservation, and Nema Etheridge, Marketing Director for Café Campesino, to learn how the coffee choices you make every day can have far reaching impacts for a variety of bird species that migrate through or spend summers in Georgia but spend the winter months in Central and South America. Cafe Campesino and Georgia Audubon are teaming up to talk about how shade-grown coffee benefits both people and birds. Café Campesino is a wholesale roaster-distributor located in Americus, Georgia, specializing in artisan-roasted specialty-grade coffee. We'll wrap up the presentation with a quick demonstration of how to brew a great cup of coffee!   

Sunday, October 25, at 3:30 PM: Webinar: Saving a Songbird: Conserving Florida’s Endangered Grasshopper Sparrow
Presenter: Rebecca Garlinger, White Oak Conservation
FREE

Recent research in avian conservation has shown staggering evidence of population declines across virtually all biomes in North America. From the shorelines to the arctic tundra, even common bird species are experiencing declines, creating an urgent need for avian conservation action. White Oak Conservation in northeastern Florida is one organization dedicated to combating this loss of native bird species. Currently, one of their programs focuses its attention on a critically endangered Florida endemic, the Florida Grasshopper Sparrow. This grassland songbird has declined to the brink of extinction, with an approximated 30 known breeding pairs left in their native habitat in south-central Florida as of 2019. In partnership with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, and additional conservation organizations, White Oak has worked to develop and establish an ex situ breeding population of these endangered birds at their facility. Their efforts have resulted in the first ever releases of Florida Grasshopper Sparrows from managed care to the birds’ native Florida prairieland in spring 2019. White Oak and its field partners continue to work toward a sustainable, stable population for the critical Florida Grasshopper Sparrow, producing, releasing, and tracking birds in the 2020 season. Please join White Oak’s grasshopper sparrow specialist Rebecca Garlinger as she discusses their organization’s continuing efforts to save Florida’s endangered Grasshopper Sparrow. Learn more or register for this free webinar at https://www.georgiaaudubon.org/monthly-meetings.html.
 
In-person Field Trips (multiple dates and locations): Georgia Audubon has resumed limited in-person field trips around the metro area with social distancing measures in place. The field trips are free to attend but registration is required and guests are asked to adhere to certain safety precautions, including wearing a mask. Learn more or sign up at https://www.georgiaaudubon.org/field-trips.html
 
Georgia Audubon is building places where birds and people thrive. We create bird-friendly communities through conservation, education, and community engagement.