Georgia has its first ‘Bird City.’ Here’s how it protects winged residents.

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Legacy is popular with walkers and runners, especially after the completion of a new lighted track and field complex. But it’s the habitat the park provides for winged creatures that have made it a popular bird-watching destination — and helped Decatur earn the title of “Bird City,” Georgia’s first to receive the designation.

Decatur’s certification was announced this fall by Birds Georgia, a statewide nonprofit that works on bird habitat restoration, education and other conservation efforts. The Bird City initiative is part of a larger, international collaboration between the groups American Bird Conservancy and Environmental for the Americas. Together, they aim to foster safe corridors for birds across the Western Hemisphere.

Decatur joins dozens of other Bird Cities across the U.S and even Central and South America.

The designation comes in the wake of several alarming studies on North America’s birds.

A landmark 2019 study led by Cornell University researchers found the continent has about 3 billion fewer breeding adult birds than in 1970, a precipitous decline of roughly 30%. Other recent surveys reached similarly bleak conclusions.

What happens in Decatur and elsewhere in Georgia could help decide the fate of many species.

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Georgia typically ranks among the top states for migrating bird traffic each year. In 2021, an estimated 900 million birds passed through Georgia during fall migration, the most of any state according to Cornell’s BirdCast Migration Dashboard.

Many make at least a brief visit to metro Atlanta, said Adam Betuel, Birds Georgia’s executive director.

“Because of the Chattahoochee River and because of our relatively intact tree canopy, especially for such a large city, we have a lot of bird life here,” Betuel said.

Light pollution and building collisions

While the built environment in most cities suits its human inhabitants, it presents a maze of hazards for the birds that live there year-round or are simply passing through.

Nighttime lighting on streets and buildings can disorient migrating birds, leading them to circle the light source and suffer exhaustion. Roaming cats are also dangerous, with at least one study finding well over 1 billion are likely killed by felines each year in the U.S. Then there are deadly collisions with buildings, homes, power lines and vehicles, that claim countless more.

At its core, Bird Cities aim to provide a safer environment — one that “serves all their constituents, but does so in a way that balances the needs of our of our wildlife — in this case, specifically birds,” Betuel said.

The program takes a “choose your own adventure” approach to conservation. Cities can pick from a menu of avian initiatives, from supporting bird monitoring to habitat creation and restoration.

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com

Decatur has a long history of protecting wild spaces and its tree canopy, with existing programs that aligned with the program, Betuel said. But the city has layered on new initiatives.

It created a “Hometown Habitat” program to recognize residents who replace invasive plants with native species and manage their yards sustainably — all steps that help create bird habitat.

Above Legacy Park’s new athletic field and along streets throughout the city, Decatur has been replacing old street lights with new, “dark sky-friendly” lighting. The fixtures cast light directly onto the surfaces below, minimizing stray beams that can confuse birds.

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com

Perhaps Decatur’s most important step toward becoming a Bird City is how its engaged residents in the effort, said Allison Ericson, the city’s urban naturalist.

The Decatur Greenspace Alliance provides tools, plants and guidance to help community members make neighborhood pocket parks more bird-friendly. Over thousands of hours, volunteers have also worked to remove trash, English Ivy, kudzu and more from Legacy and other city parks, Ericson said. On one recent cleanup day alone, volunteers hauled 4,000 pounds of debris out of a wooded creek bed below Legacy Park’s main wetland.

“We’re supporting these microhabitats, which I think is really awesome,” Ericson said.

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com

Birding to raise awareness

The sheer number of birds all around us — and the simple ways residents can help them — has drawn people like Steve Rushing to the cause.

Rushing, a Decatur resident and lifelong outdoor enthusiast, said for years he’d taken the bird life around him for granted until he started joining bird watchers, or birders, on walks a few years ago.

Once he started paying closer attention, he said he was shocked by the diversity of species all around us. In his backyard alone, he said he’s spotted 97 bird species, which he charts on the popular citizen-science platform, e-Bird.

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

With his camera, he captures stunning photographs of the birds he sees and shares them on his website and Instagram, Rushing Outdoors. Many of the images are of species he encounters in and around his home in Decatur.

He considers his photographs his way of getting others to pay attention — and maybe make the kinds of little changes around their homes that can help birds survive.

“On the photography side, I try to record what I’m seeing and make it interesting,” Rushing said. “Because if someone gets interested, then they might get concerned, and if they get concerned, then they might get active in bird conservation.”