Let's Not Forget Our Fine Feathered Friends
Robert Montgomery writes:
I live on South River Rd. My back porch every day is a war of beautiful
birds. They even talk back to me when I whistle to them for food. Maybe
others don't like squirrels, but they are beautiful to me. I also have
chipmunks and possums. I wish everyone could come, have coffee with me, and be
amazed by the beauty of all my friends. They are letting me know now it's
breakfast time. May god bless us and my friends this year.
Cooper's Hawk Family Sets Up Home In City Park
National Wild Turkey Federation
North American Bluebird Society
Here's a great site for information about backyard gardening to support local birds and other wildlife
We're always looking for new links and features about birds. Keep checking back!
Additional Avian Flu Information
Georgia State Bird
Brown Thrasher
(Toxostoma rufum)
Adopted on April 6, 1935.
On April 6, 1935, the Brown Thrasher was first chosen as the Georgia state bird by official proclamation of the Governor. In 1970, at the request of the Garden Clubs of Georgia, it was designated by the Legislature as the official state bird. The Brown Thrasher is commonly found in the eastern section of the United States, ranging north to Canada and west to the Rockies. The bird migrates to the North in the summer and spends its winters in the Southern states.
Almost a foot in length, the Thrasher has a long, curved bill and a very long tail. It has two prominent white wing bars, a rich brown color on its top side, and a creamy white breast heavily streaked with brown.
Identification
- Length: 10 inches
-
Slender bill with base of lower
-
mandible yellow
- Rufous crown, nape and upperparts
- Gray face
- Yellow eye
- White underparts with heavy black streaking
- White wing bars
- Long rufous tail
- Yellow legs
- Sexes similar
- Most often found in dense vegetation in hedgerows, old fields, and wood edges where it often forages on the ground
With its rufous upperparts and long tail the Brown Thrasher might be confused with the local Long-billed Thrasher (South Texas) but it has a shorter, less decurved bill and a browner face. Thrushes are similar but are spotted below and have shorter tails.
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John James Audubon
John James Audubon was America's foremost naturalist and illustrator of bird. Audubon moved to Kentucky in 1807 to become a Louisville merchant. He later moved the business to Henderson, Kentucky. While living in Kentucky, Audubon's interest in drawing grew. In 1810, Alexander Wilson, a noted painter of birds visited Kentucky. When Audubon saw Wilson's work, he decided that his paintings were just as good if not better than Wilson's. Hence, his career began.
John Audubon is forever honored as a famous Kentuckian at the John James Audubon Memorial Museum at John James Audubon State Park in Henderson, Kentucky.