Jasper County
Birding Locations |
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Legend
Su = summer
F = fall
W = winter
Sp = spring
YR = year-round
[July 2005] = Most recently checked by KB
[N/A] = Not yet checked by KB
 = Location is within +/- 10 miles of the indicated interstate highway. This is especially helpful for out-of-town birders who may be passing through Georgia while travelling and would like to get a quick birding fix. This is also helpful for birders planning a "Big Day," where staying close to a major interstate corridor is essential for covering the greatest diversity of habitats in 24 hours.
 = Location is a "Georgia Birding Hotspot." Though this designation is subjective, it generally means that the area should be given high priority when planning a birding trip to a region. Some Hotspots offer incredible, productive birding virtually year-round (Jekyll Island), while the best birding of the year may be more seasonal at others (Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park).
SBM = Shorebird Migration; this very generally refers to mid-March thru May in spring and mid-July thru mid-October in fall. Fall is the prime shorebird season. Baird's and Buff-breasted Sandpipers likely only in fall. Peak passage of specific species is quite variable.
PM = Passerine Migration; this very generally refers to April and May in spring and August thru mid-October in fall. This includes all songbirds - wood warblers, vireos, tanagers, thrushes, flycatchers, etc. Peak passage of specific species is quite variable. Spring migration is much more concentrated and birds are often in colorful breeding plumage. Fall migration is more spread out; fall wood warblers can be notoriously difficult to identify (or even impossible to determine sex), with numerous juveniles which do not exhibit the same obvious field marks as adults.
IBA = Important Bird Area; the aim of the IBA Program is to identify and conserve key breeding and feeding sites for birds. An Important Bird Area is a place that provides essential habitat for one or more species of bird, whether in breeding season, winter, or during migration. These sites are considered to be exceptionally important for bird conservation; see Georgia's IBA Webpage.
Jasper County
1) Ocmulgee River Trail on the Jasper/Monroe County Line [N/A]
PM, late Sp-Su for breeding birds
[DeLorme pg. 34, B-3]
This area is great for migrants including warblers, tanagers, vireos, flycatchers, and thrushes. Good habitat for water-relating and low scrub species like Swainson's Warbler, Waterthrushes, Kentucky Warbler, Hooded Warbler, etc.
2) Charlie Elliot Wildlife Center and PFA (also Newton County) [Feb 2008]  
IBA, YR
[DeLorme pg. 27, F-9]
From I-20 east of Atlanta, get off at Exit 98, and head south on GA Hwy 11 for 9.6 miles total (9.4 miles coming from points east) to the main entrance of the area on the left; there is a large stone sign here (PHOTO 1), and you'll also see signage for the area along I-20. Along the way, you'll pass through two stop signs (each with gas stations) and then pass through the small town of Mansfield, with a gas station, general store, and a couple small cafés. This is the closest spot for provisions during daylight hours; if you camp at Charlie Elliot you'll need to backtrack to one of the previous intersections for forgotten supplies after dark. Once you turn left onto the WMA, check in at the game kiosk if you plan to fish, and pick up a good local map here even if you aren't fishing. Continue on Marben Farms Rd from the kiosk, and note the multi-use trailhead on your right at 0.3 miles from Hwy 11. The parking area for this trail (PHOTO 2) is a great place to stake out displaying American Woodcocks at dusk from mid-January through February. At the first paved road on your right after the multi-use trailhead just 0.3 miles further, turn and head to the Nature Center. Park near the IBA kiosk and get a local checklist and a good detailed map of the trails that you can pick up from the parking area. Take your time to bird around the parking lot and related roads, as flocks of migrants may be working the area in fall and spring. Look and listen for birds such as Pine Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, Northern Parula, Black-throated Green Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, American Redstart, Worm-eating Warbler, Hooded Warbler, Red-eyed, Yellow-throated, or Blue-headed Vireo, Eastern Wood Pewee, Great Crested Flycatcher, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, flycatchers, thrushes, and more. The Nature Center has lots of interesting exhibits and showcases the life of sportsman, naturalist, and conservationist Charlie Elliot, for whom the area is named - great for kids and adults alike when it is open. Use your map to orient yourself and follow the Clubhouse Trail, which will wind down and around a pond by the same name. The woods around this lake can be great for neotropical migrants in spring and fall, especially along an open area with large deciduous trees along the dam forming the lake (which gives out onto larger Lake Margery below). In this area, and in the surrounding open scrubby areas beyond the Brooke Ager Discovery Building, you may find species mentioned already mixing with scrub-relating birds such as Prairie Warbler, Palm Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, White-eyed Vireo, or (rarely) Blue-winged or Golden-winged Warbler. You can also scan the pond for waterfowl from a fishing dock (PHOTO 8); all the ponds on the property (especially larger ones) are worth a quick check on a winter visit for waterfowl. From here, you can continue birding across the road from the Brooke Ager Discovery Building, where there is a nice open area with a few mature oaks, a WMA check station, and restrooms. In this open area you may find common but interesting birds like Eastern Kingbird, Barn and Northern Rough-winged Swallows, Purple Martin, Eastern Phoebe, Eastern Bluebird, Chipping Sparrow, etc. From here you can continue birding an area along the property's largest lakes - Margery and Bennett (PHOTOS 3 & 4), paying particular attention to stands of alder, willows, and a few larger oaks along the edge of the lakes in this vicinity. Head back to your vehicle and turn right back onto Marben Farms Rd from the visitor's center road. In 0.5 miles (1.1 miles total from Hwy 11), turn right at a stop sign onto Murder Creek Church Rd (PHOTO 5). In 0.5 miles you'll notice the entrance to the campground on your left (details later), and then you'll come into the area of the Brooke Ager Building mentioned earlier; you could simply drive straight to this area to bird, but you might miss a lot of birds around the visitor's center and the trail down around Clubhouse Lake - use your best judgement. Continue between Lakes Bennett and Margery, and you'll gain elevation into the woods and eventually reach another large impoundment - Lake Fox - on your right. Park here and bird the scrubby habitat around the lake. You may find Belted Kingfisher, Eastern Kingbird, and various swallows relating to the lake, and Osprey breed here almost every season. In wet areas and along creeks here and at other locations on the property, look and listen for both Northern and Louisiana Waterthrush or Acadian Flycatcher - the latter two species breed here. From here, turn right out of Fox Lake and at the next major gravel road turn right again onto Shepherd Pond Rd. You'll find two more nice areas to bird along this road, which each have fairly extensive grassy, weedy fields adjacent to them - first, Dove pond on the left (you must walk through some young pines to reach the pond and fields), and then larger Shepherd Pond on the right. In late fall and winter, these fields offer great sparrowing with species such as White-throated, Chipping, Song, and Savannah Sparrow, Field, Dark-eyed Junco, Eastern Towhee, and Swamp Sparrow (closer to water); Winter Wren is also a possibility in tangled, damp areas with fallen logs. Also in winter, you may find Northern Harrier or American Kestrel cruising above the fields, Eastern Meadowlark, House Wren, or Loggerhead Shrike. Eventually, Shepherd Pond Rd will dead-end into Shepherd Rd; turn right and you'll reach pavement again and pass through some maintenance buildings. [NOTE: all the roads between Lakes Bennett and Margery and Lake Shepherd are good gravel roads, but after periods of rain they can get pretty muddy in spots so care must be taken in a passenger vehicle; you can always go back and use Hwy 11 to get down to the the other end of the property described here, the entrance is 2.8 miles south of the main north entrance and is marked by a wooden sign.] Soon after the buildings, you'll turn right at a sign for Teal Pond and park. You are now in some of the best sparrowing habitat anywhere (PHOTO 6 - taken in summer). In late fall and winter, these overgrown fields can host all of the species mentioned earlier, along with more highly sought-after species such as White-crowned and Vesper Sparrow; this may be one of the most reliable locations for the latter species in the Piedmont region. In areas where young saplings are starting to fill in, you may be lucky enough to flush a Fox Sparrow up to a high perch for nice looks, and Grasshopper Sparrow is rare but possible in the fields mixed with other species mentioned already. Take your time exploring the expansive fields, heading generally NW, towards Hwy 11; a pair of sturdy pants or jeans is a must, as briars and weeds would tear into light fabric like a hot knife through butter. Luckily, there are some good dirt roads through the area for less "extreme" birding. In spring and fall, the same habitat can be great for Blue Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting, Yellow-breasted Chat, Common Yellowthroat, Prairie Warbler, Palm Warbler, or (more rarely) Orange-crowned, Blue-winged, or Golden-winged Warbler. When you're done here, you can continue on Shepherd Rd until it dead-ends into GA Hwy 11; by turning right you'll come back to the main north entrance in 2.8 miles. In addition to the great birding, there is also a free first-come, first-serve primitive camping area here (a nice perk is that there are 24/7, usually clean restrooms with sinks just a few hundred yards down the road). There are also over 20 ponds on the property that are extensively managed and offer great fishing for bass, crappie, bream, and catfish; read the website carefully for special regulations for fishing here before heading out. IMPORTANT: Call ahead in hunting season to make sure there is not a quota deer or turkey hunt or dove hunt, when the place can get pretty crowded with hunters and some areas may be closed. There is also a shooting range, so don't worry if you hear gunfire out of hunting season ;) The area is also a major hub of Environmental Education Alliance of Georgia (EEA), with a brand new conference center and lodging facilities (PHOTO 7). The Nature Center offers a full calender of cool nature-related events for kids and adults alike, including summer camps. Visit the DNR's Charlie Elliot Website for more information. Visit the EEA website.
       
PHOTO 1 PHOTO 2 PHOTO 3 PHOTO 4 PHOTO 5 PHOTO 6 PHOTO 7 PHOTO 8
Text and photos by KB.
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Copyright 2008 Ken Blankenship. All rights reserved.
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