Several of Georgia’s migratory birds — orchard orioles, cerulean warblers, ruby-throated hummingbirds — began heading south a month ago and should be well on their way to winter grounds in Latin America or already ensconced there.
But for the vast majority of avian migrants, fall migration is just cranking up. Between Sept. 20 and mid-October, the annual spectacle will reach its peak, when all manner of birds — songbirds, raptors, shorebirds, water fowl — will be heading south for the winter.
That’s especially true for the neotropical songbirds — warblers, vireos, tanagers, orioles, thrushes, buntings and the like. They are the colorful, melodious birds that nest in North America during spring and summer and spend the cold months in Central and South America and the Caribbean area.
During peak migration, tens of millions of songbirds — representing more than 60 species — fly over Atlanta and elsewhere in Georgia. But you likely won’t see the southbound travelers because they fly mostly at night, when the air is cooler and risk from predators is low.
Radar studies show that on some peak fall migration nights, some 30 million birds may fly through Atlanta and Georgia. Concentrations may be so huge that meteorologists sometimes mistake them for storms on weather radar.
A large number of migrating birds follow the Chattahoochee River corridor flyway on their way south. (A migratory flyway is a certain flight path or route that a large concentration of birds take between their breeding and wintering grounds.) The river corridor also provides another vital service for the migrants: a place to rest, refuel and seek protection during the day.
Over the next several weeks, good daytime places to see fall migrants are in the Cochran Shoals, Gold Branch and South Johnson Ferry units of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area. Also, many of the river corridor migrants, especially warblers, can be seen foraging in trees and bushes at Kennesaw National Battlefield Park in Cobb County.
IN THE SKY: From David Dundee, Tellus Science Museum astronomer: The moon will be first quarter on Tuesday night. Mercury is low in the east just before dawn. Venus is low in the west just after sunset. Three other planets rise in the east: Mars, just after midnight; Jupiter, just before midnight; Saturn, just after sunset.
Charles Seabrook can be reached at charles.seabrook@yahoo.com.
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