A golden-winged warbler singing on Fannin County’s Brawley Mountain is renewing hope in Georgia for this declining species.

Wildlife biologists Nathan Klaus of Georgia DNR and Jim Wentworth of the U.S. Forest Service heard and saw the male warbler May 22 as they surveyed nearly 300 acres of early successional habitat managed for golden-wings at Brawley. This marks the first time in two years a golden-wing has been documented in Georgia during breeding season.

Though reported as fairly common in extreme northern Georgia a few decades ago, golden-winged warbler populations have declined steeply in the state. Last year’s surveys detected no birds.

The Brawley Mountain bird “was singing right on the edge of our restoration area,” in a section that wasn’t treated with prescribed fire last year, Klaus said.

“Hopefully we also have a female. And hopefully they’ll produce young.” But, Klaus added, “There's still a long way to go.”

More project details in DNR Nongame Conservation Section’s annual report.

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By Elliot Ambrose

There are invaders among us. Large and small, they have infiltrated and spread, displacing native inhabitants, upsetting the natural balance. The culprits are known as invasive species, and they pose a real and significant danger to environmental, economic and human health.

Some have been here for years; others recently made an appearance. Even more have the potential to become problems in the near future. Whatever the case, invasive species can have wide-ranging and long-lasting impacts if not addressed.

One invasive that exemplifies this problem is the feral hog.

A prolific and destructive species, feral hogs have been in Georgia for centuries. In the last several decades, however, pig populations – and the cost of damages they cause – have skyrocketed. (One reason why: Wild hogs can breed at 6 months old and have up to 26 piglets a year.)

Trouble varies from agriculture, where hogs root up acres of farmland and transmit diseases to domestic pigs, to rare species conservation, where foraging depletes populations and damages habitat. In the early 2000s, hogs destroyed nearly 70 percent of the loggerhead sea turtle nests laid on Ossabaw Island beaches. Systematic shooting and trapping has shrunk the predation rate to 10 percent. But keeping it there requires relentless work.

“If we stopped hunting them, it would get out of control quick,” said DNR wildlife technician Cody Elrod. ...

Read about our war on invasives, from hogs to cogongrass, in this blog post. Included: Georgia’s least-wanted species, some lesser-known offenders and resources for coping with feral pigs.

(Editor's note: This is the first post in a multi-part series on invasive species in Georgia. Up next: Watch what you plant! Explore the benefits of “growing native” and avoiding exotic invasive plants.) 

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Only a few spots are still open for the coastal Georgia Beyond Becoming an Outdoors-Woman. Sign up soon for the July 24-27 workshop at Sapelo Island.

An eastern hognose snake found at Chattahoochee Fall Line Wildlife Management Area by senior DNR wildlife biologist John Jensen provided a performance worthy of the species. Realizing that it had been spotted (top photo), the snake flared its neck threateningly (middle), but then rolled on its back and feigned death, even bleeding from its mouth. The hognose later “recovered” and crawled away.

Sea turtle nesting is going strong on Georgia beaches (updates), but strandings are also on the rise, with nine reported in a recent week, including one confirmed boat strike. The Georgia Marine Turtle Stranding Network also reported five incidental captures, two resulting from boat collisions and two – both involving endangered Kemp’s ridleys – from incidental catches by recreational anglers.

Let your voice be heard about DNR options to simplify and adjust fishing and hunting licenses and fees to help maintain the agency’s hunting and fishing programs and meet customer demand. There are seven public forums next month, plus an online survey.

The Go Fish Education Center is open longer and offering group program reservations this summer. The center off Interstate 75 in Perry has more than 180,000 gallons of aquariums featuring native fish and wildlife, fishing and shooting simulators, museum-styled exhibits, and a casting pond. Also watch the Go Fish cam.

Names in the news: TERN elected Brooks Schoen as president and Jim Kluttz as vice president during the annual May meeting of the Nongame Conservation friends group. Brock Hutchins stepped down after six years as president and remains on the TERN board. With Jim Candler and Charlie Tarver retiring from the board, members elected Joey Slaughter and Kim Kilgore to fill their slots. The Land Trust Alliance announced that Rand Wentworth will step down as president at the end of the year, ending a 14-year tenure that saw the alliance’s budget more than double to $18.6 million.

Coming up:

• Bird banding times, dates: Joe Kurz WMA, Woodbury – May 30, 5:30 a.m. Updates, including schedule changes: Charlie Muise, Georgia Important Bird Areas Program.
• May 30: Endangered Species Day, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Atlanta Botanical Garden.
• June 3-4: First Detector Workshop, Georgia Exotic Pest Plant Council, Reed Bingham State Park, Adel.
• June 5: 20th anniversary celebration of the Georgia Plant Conservation Alliance, 5 p.m., State Botanical Garden of Georgia, Athens.
• June 6: Frogging by kayak, Hard Labor Creek State Park, Rutledge 
• June 6-14: National Fishing and Boating Week, featuring two free fishing days (June 6 and 13) and many kids fishing events.

Articles in the last Georgia Wild included:

• Limit pesticides for more backyard wildlife
• Why bat pups need love, too

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