This September, Birds Georgia will host its annual Fall Flyway Festival. Timed to coincide with fall migration, this month-long festival celebrates the vital connection between native plants and the birds that depend on them.
Events include workshops, webinars, guided walks, habitat restoration workdays, and community events designed to help Georgians use native plants to create bird-friendly spaces and support wildlife.
The Fall Flyway Festival’s signature event is the Round Robin on Saturday, September 19, from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia in Athens. The day begins with hands-on sessions ranging from live bird banding demonstrations to expert-led native plant walks. The program also includes a native plant sale, opportunities to connect with community partners, and presentations from Heather Alley on the best Georgia native plants for birds and biologist Lauren Gingerella on restoring previously developed lands to support biodiversity.
Writer and biologist David George Haskell will deliver the Round Robin keynote address on Flowers, Birds, and Creative Symbiosis: Past and Future, exploring the ancient partnership between birds and flowering plants. Drawing from his book How Flowers Made Our World, Haskell will highlight how conservation can help sustain these vital relationships for generations to come.
In addition to Round Robin, Birds Georgia will host a number of virtual and in-person events to educate the public about the importance of native plants to birds, including:
Guided Birding and Plant Walks
- Botany for the Birds at Henderson Park – September 10 at 6:00 PM
- Cochran Shoals with the Georgia Tech Birding Club – September 12 at 8:00 AM
- Exploring the Canopy of Lionel Hampton Park – September 23 at 5:00 PM
- Old Growth Forest Birding at Deepdene Park – September 26 at 7:30 AM
- Birds and Butterflies Walk on Jekyll Island – September 26 at 8:30 AM
Workdays and Workshops
- Swann Nature Preserve Workday – September 1 at 9:00 AM and 1:00 PM
- Supporting Monarchs through Habitat Management – September 4 at 9:00 AM
- Workday at Discovery Park in Mableton with TPL – September 10 at 9:00 AM and 1:00 PM
- BioBlitz at Cochran Shoals – CRNA – August 22 at 8:00 AM
- Workday at Deepdene Park – September 26 at 9:00 AM
- Wildlife Sanctuary 101 at Island Ford – CRNA – September 28 at 9:00 AM
Webinars
- Building Better Backyards for Birds – September 2 at 7:00 PM
- The Making of Cumberland Dividings Bird Island – September 9 at 5:30 PM
- Intro to Monarch Butterfly Conservation – September 14 at 6:00 PM
- Plants for Pollinators and Birds – September 29 at 7:00 PM
Registration is now open for all events and spaces are limited. Learn more and register at https://www.birdsgeorgia.org/