the birdmen of bulloch county

“In addition to chickens and other domestic birds, we found that wild birds also have amino acid requirements,” said Parrish.

For his Ph.D., Parrish studied at Bowling Green State University through the Medical College of Ohio, a study of enzymes in polio pathway chemistry.

He came to Georgia Southern in 1988 as professor of biology, and retired 20 years later in August of 2008. He did post-doctoral work during that time in Texas, again with birds, from the coast to the Big Bend area.

In 2013, when G.S. graduate assistant Lauren Deaner found a Northern Lapwing near a pond in southern Bulloch County, a bird found mostly in England, Dr. Parrish was one of the first to be made aware of the sighting, afterwards spending weeks watching the bird and collecting data. At the time Deaner and Parrish surmised the bird was blown off its migrating course by Hurricane Sandy. A common occurrence, it seems, looking for new birds after a storm.

In 2006, Dr. Parrish was approached by Lone Pine Publishing, a Canadian company, to author the new Birds of Georgia book, which had a second mass printing in 2021.

BIRD WATCH IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD!

IDENTIFY THESE BIRDS BY THEIR SONGS

American Robin – “cheer-up,cheerily,cheer-up,cheerily.”

Northern Cardinal – “purty,purty,purity”or“sweet-sweet-sweet.”

Eastern Bluebird – “tureeorqueedle,” song, soft warble.

Carolina Wren – “tweedled-tweedle-tweedle” or “tea-kettle,tea-kettle.”

Female: long “churrrrr.”

Purple Martin – “liquidgurglingwarble.”

Barn Swallow – “constantliquidtwitteringandchatting.”

Eastern Towhee – “drinksweettea”or “tow-heee.”

American Crow – “Caw–Caw.”

Turkey Vulture – “hissinggrunt” or usually silent.

Morning Dove – “Cooah,coo,coo.”

Northern Mockingbird – “musicalphrasesusuallyrepeatedthreetimes.”

Brown Thrasher – “musicalphrasesusuallyrepeatedtwotimes.”

Gray Catbird – “irregularmusicalphrases;acat-likemewing.”

Pileated Woodpecker – “ longorshort,sloworfast:cuk–cuk–cuk–cuk–cuk.”

Tufted Titmouse – “Peter–Peter–Peter,repeatedthree–eighttimes.”

Carolina Chickadee – “Chickadee–dee–dee;song:see–dee,see–dee.”

Red-shouldered Hawk – “oftrepeatedslow:kee–year.”

Blue Jay – “raucous–jay–jay–jay;alsoimitatesred-shoulderedhawk.”

Ruby-throated Hummingbird – “mouse-liketitteringsqueaks.”

Barred Owl – “atnightandsometimesduringtheday:whocooksforyou? Whocooksforyouall?”

“Be sure to download the free Audubon Bird Guide App. It plays bird calls on your iPhone. Keep this list with you after you have listened to the downloaded bird calls and songs. With a little practice you will quickly learn to identify the birds by their song, long before you see them. Good luck, and enjoy the Birds of Georgia!” – Dr. Parrish

Birds of Georgia by Parrish, Beaton & Kennedy, published by Long Pine is available at Amazon.com, Books-A-Million, Barnes & Noble and other on-line bookstores.

“I customized the book for Georgia,” said Parrish. “Giff Beaton and Gregory Kennedy were co-authors. Kennedy has done most of the series including several other states.”

Parrish continues to study birds in the closest possible habitat, his backyard. There’s a pool, trees, vines, bushes, grass and many, many bird feeders!

“Birds tell us so much,” said Parrish. “With the warmer seasons, we are seeing birds that normally winter in South or Central America, where there are no seasons, wintering here.”

Those that study birds also help to bring back species that have almost become extinct from overhunting or destruction of habitat.

“Passenger pigeons were once so numerous!” said Parrish. “They had been described as a ‘mass of birds so big it would block the sun,’ they migrated en masse. They were easily shot for food because of their great numbers. They were hunted to extinction. The last one died in 1914.”

Birds tell us so much. With the warmer seasons, we are seeing birds that normally winter in South or Central America, where there are no seasons, wintering here.

John W. Parrish, Jr., Ph.D.

Similar to the fate of quail and doves in the South. Almost extinct by 1970 because of overhunting and destruction of habitat. With feed plots and fields of sunflowers, limited use of herbicides around fields, restoration of habitat, and a general view from the public that we want these birds to thrive, their decline was arrested.

“Eagles hadn’t nested here in over 50 years,” said Parrish. “In the past 20 years, we’ve had several pairs nesting in Bulloch County.”

“Red-tailed hawks are common, as are red-shouldered hawks,” said Parrish. When told three wood storks were spotted in a local pond in Denmark, Parrish stated, “A wood stork is probably the biggest bird you’ll see.”

Parrish and his wife not only feed the birds in their backyard; they summons them with bird calls.

“I have an App I’ve downloaded that has every bird call recorded,” said Parrish. “I can step into the backyard and play a song, then listen for the call from an actual bird nearby. You can almost call them to the feeders.”

For food to attract birds to your own backyard, Parrish suggests black-oiled sunflower seeds for cardinals, sugar water for hummingbirds, and grape jelly for Baltimore Orioles.

“I started grape jelly in the backyard in little glass containers connected with wire to one of our trees,” Parrish said. “Since that time, I have purchased two Oriole sugar water feeders. Every winter for the last 10 years, I’ve had Baltimore Orioles!”

His favorite bird is the painted bunting.

“I feed exclusively millet for painted buntings,” he said. “That’s 80% of their diet.” He awaits their return every spring. They’re late this year he says because it’s been too wet.

The Bulloch County Humane Society at one time had birds that needed to be housed. The Parrish’s stepped forward and created a home in their sunroom for 15 exotic birds.

Parrish has created a list of birds for our readers to look for in their own back yard [Sidebar]. He has written descriptions of the bird calls and in addition recommends downloading an App, that’s free from the Audubon Society, that has all the bird calls recorded. With the list and the App, you, too, should be able to start bird-watching in Bulloch County just like the two Georgia masters, Abbot and Parrish. S