Reflections on birds and other wildlife on the edge of a southern woodland
Later in the afternoon, as the clouds began to part and the sun came out, a large dragonfly perched on a spindly top branch of a small redbud tree. With a huge bronze head, clear wings with black spots on the tips and a dark, leaf-like pattern on their inner part, and a tail that was narrow and striped at the end – I’m fairly sure it was a Black Saddlebags, a common kind of skimmer.
Most of the birding notes here are observations I’ve made around our home in Summit Grove, a small neighborhood in Oconee County, Georgia, about an hour’s drive east of Atlanta. Located between two creeks that converge not far from our house, the neighborhood is buffered on roughly three sides by a wide band of woods extending down steep hillsides to the creeks. A few lots remain unoccupied and have grown up in grasses, shrubs and young trees, and there’s one small pond. There’s also a large old field that runs the length of the dead-end road that leads to the subdivision, and beyond the field is a busy highway, U.S. 441. The neighborhood’s mix of woods, fields, creeks, and shady lawns attracts many bird species, as well as other forms of wildlife. We’ve identified at least 102 species of birds, including both residents and those just passing through.
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PHOTOGRAPHS: CLATE SANDERS
For photos, more information, or to hear songs of any of the birds mentioned here, the best source is the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. For up-to-date information about birding in Oconee County and Athens-Clarke County, Georgia, the Oconee Rivers Audubon Society is great. For information about birding throughout the state, see the Georgia Ornithological Society, and Wings Over Georgia, an excellent on-line guide. For general information about birds and birding and species of concern because of habitat loss and other threats, click the National Audubon links below.
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