Join Rebecca Byrd for a relaxed, early morning bird walk! After a brief orientation, we’ll mosey over Betty’s Creek Road to slowly stroll the mowed trails and marshy area of the Betty’s Creek floodplain, where we’ll quietly listen and look for breeding birds as well as spring migrants. We'll bird until sometime between 11:00 AM and 1:00 PM when the bird activity slows down - or when attendees get hungry for lunch. Individuals can split from the group at any time if they need to leave early, as we won't be too far from the parking area.
This will be an easy walk rather than a strenuous hike. If heavy rain or high winds are forecast for Sunday morning, this walk will be cancelled. Before planning your drive to Hambidge, please check this page again on the night before the walk to check for cancellation!
Wear comfortable but sturdy closed-toe hiking boots or shoes (waterproof, if you have them). Dress in layers, wearing a loose-fitting long-sleeved shirt, long pants (shorts are NOT recommended), socks you can pull up and tuck your pants cuffs into, and a hat for sun potection.
Bring a pair of binoculars (if you have extra pairs, bring them for others to borrow); a birding field guide, if desired; water; a packable snack, any medicines you might require, including an Epi-pen if you have severe allergic reactions; and a walking stick if needed.
Rebecca Byrd has been birding on and off since the late '80s, when she was the youngest member of the Augusta Audubon Society in Augusta, GA. She attended bi-monthly bird walks during middle and high school and joined adult birder friends during a Georgia Ornithological Society (GOS) meeting or two as a teen. During college and beyond, she birded rarely while the busy challenges of "adulting" took her away from birds. About 12 years ago, she joined the Atlanta Audubon Society (now Georgia Audubon), the GOS, and served as volunteer Field Trip Director of Atlanta Audubon Society for one year and as a Board member for a few years. She has an B.S. in Ecology and has worked for UGA, GDOT, GA DNR, and Atlanta Botanical Garden in various ecologically-related capacities. Now she keeps busy running her own full-time pet care business in Atlanta, but her time away from work is spent traveling, birding, herping, and botanizing whenever and wherever she can with her partner Jeffrey Weiss.
The fee for this walk is $10 per person.
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Hambidge has miles of hiking trails among an incredible biodiversity of meadows, streams, waterfalls, native plants and wildflowers, and a cove forest. Nature Rambles take place throughout the year. Led by experts in fields like botany, biology, ecology, geology, history, art, music and more, each Ramble is a fascinating lesson about our natural world.