Decatur gets Georgia’s first ‘Bird City’ certification

The pond in Legacy Park on an overcast day in Decatur, Ga on Tuesday, October 28, 2025.
Legacy Park was a key part of Decatur's application for the "Bird City" program. (Matthew Pearson/WABE)

Decatur is Georgia’s first certified “Bird City.”

The designation, similar to the “Tree City” and “Bee City” labels, which have been around longer in Georgia, signifies the city is doing education and outreach and working to protect or improve habitat for birds.

A big part of Decatur’s bid was Legacy Park, a relatively new park that the city acquired in 2017. Decatur has worked with partners like Trees Atlanta to pull invasive weeds out of the woods and plant native trees and shrubs. There’s a hill with tall grass and wildflowers. There’s beaver dams.