Sometimes the highlight of a bird walk isn’t the birds. After a recent day of nothing-to-write-home-about birding at Blue Heron Nature Preserve, I turned to go back to my car and found my path blocked by a none-too-eager-to-move Copperhead.

The Georgia House of Representatives recognized 2026 as the Year of the Georgia Birding Trail, celebrating a new statewide initiative led by Birds Georgia honoring the organization’s centennial year.

This iconic bird was a great selection to be incorporated into the Georgia Birding Trail logo. American Kestrel is the smallest falcon in North America and is easy to recognize because of its colorful markings.

Hidden deep in the shrubs, one of Georgia’s most talented songbirds is often overlooked. While many people credit the familiar sounds of the yard to mockingbirds, the brown thrasher is quietly performing an equally impressive, and often mistaken, musical repertoire.