Evergreen Memorial Cemetery, buffered by the Gainesville-Hawthorne trail on the east and Sweetwater Preserve/Boulware Springs to the south, hosts a good selection of the area’s woodland birds. It can be a delightful place to spend a long lunch birding, or enjoy an entire morning taking in the adjacent protected areas as well.
In addition to our more common species, in summer look for Red-shouldered Hawk, Northern Parula and Pine Warblers, Red-headed Woodpecker, Eastern Bluebird, Brown Thrasher, Summer Tanager, and Eastern Towhee. Mississippi Kites and sometimes Swallow-tailed Kites may be seen overhead. In winter, Chipping, White-throated, and occasionally Fox Sparrows can be found lurking along the east side of the cemetery. Open areas are good for spotting raptors and migrating swallows, and in late March-early April one can observe migrating Common Loons overhead.
Red Shouldered Hawk