Welcome to Winter Birding
Roseate Spoonbill (year-round - As Florida wetlands dwindled due to development, some populations moved north to the Georgia coast beginning in the 1980s.)
More than 300 species of birds (75% of Georgia’s birds) are seen and heard at 17 sites along the Colonial Coast Birding Trail. There’s an App for that and it’s free. The app brings bird watchers to discover shorelines, salt marshes, old rice fields, woodlands, tidal rivers, freshwater wetlands and other South Georgia coastal habitats with their own fascinating bird communities.
Richmond Hill has two sites on the Colonial Coast Birding Trail – Fort McAllister State Park and J.F. Gregory Park.
Ft. McAllister State Park is graced with scenic giant live oaks, Spanish moss, and sparkling salt marsh. You can hike or bike and look for fiddler crabs and wildlife along the nature trails, and birds such as painted buntings, wood ducks, northern harriers, osprey, and possibly a bald eagle.
Great Horned Owl (year-round)
A fishing dock allows for ease in casting a line for trout and flounder for dinner. Two boat ramps, one on tidal Redbird Creek and one with access to the Ogeechee River, allow you to get on the water.
Pack a picnic or visit a Richmond Hill restaurant for take-out orders as a scenic picnic area offers river views and playgrounds.
Red-bellied Woodpecker (year-round)
Coastal Georgia is a bird watching paradise any time of year because of our mild climate. Residents include the well-known cardinals, chickadees, titmice, woodpeckers, finches, blue jays, and nuthatches.
Then come the seasonal “tourists” – birds that fly in for just a few months. Neo-tropical migrants like hummingbirds and painted buntings come up for the summer nesting season. Ducks, sparrows, goldfinches, and waxwings come for our temperate winter climate and readily abundant food.
J.F. Gregory Park, operated by City of Richmond Hill, was once a 300-acre antebellum rice field that today is a wooded wetland and home to many visiting and resident birds. A three-mile walking trail runs along the top of a dike encompassing the field. Songbirds, wading birds, and raptors are seen all year, and migratory waterfowl in winter.
Anhinga (year-round/breeding)
During winter, look for migratory shorebirds like dunlins and sanderlings, waterfowl, such as northern gannets and scoters. For the best viewing, go in the morning, and bring binoculars.
Great Blue Heron (year-round)
Stay in Richmond Hill! With more than 900 hotel rooms, short-term rentals, and campgrounds and cabins – there is cozy accommodation for everyone.
Celebrate the Holidays and the New Year and experience the splendor of Georgia’s Colonial Coast Birding Trail. Happy trails and feathered sightings!
*Thank you to The Jason C. for sharing beautiful wildlife photography!