• Mist rising of the river at Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area.

    Chattahoochee River

    National Recreation Area Georgia

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  • Rising River Waters Can Kill!

    Watch for rapidly rising river levels on the Chattahoochee River and its tributaries. Water released from dams and heavy rain can turn a day on the river into a tragedy! More »

  • Call for Water Release Schedule

    With colder temperatures you can expect longer and more frequent water releases. For water release schedule info, call 1-855-DAM-FLOW (1-855-326-3569) for Buford Dam and 404-329-1455 for Morgan Falls Dam. Save numbers to your cell! More »

Northern Cardinal

Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis
Northern Cardinal
NPS wildlife camera photo

The Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) is an easily identified common bird of the Chattahoochee River corridor. Males are bright red with black around the base of their orange bills with a large crest, while females have a buff colored body and grayish-brown above and a reddish-orange bill, crest, wings and tail. They are common in brushy habitats within or at the edges of woods and travel in pairs or small groups year-round. They can be seen feeding while hopping around on the ground, gathering seeds, fruit, berries, spiders, and insect larvae from low shrubs and trees. It makes its nests in dense shrubs or among the branches of small trees out of twigs, bark strips, vines, leaves, rootlets, and paper lined with fine grass and hair. They grow 8.5-9 inches long, with a wingspan of about 12 inches. Their song is a series of high, clear, mostly slurred whitsles "woit woit woit chew chew chew chew chew" or "pichew pichew tiw tiw tiw tiw tiw tiw tiw".

Did You Know?

Jones Bridge ruins - Photo by Matt Harr

Jones Bridge spanned the Chattahoochee River from 1904-1922, falling into disrepair in the 1930's. Half of the bridge was "stolen" in 1940, neighbors didn't know the workers cutting the bridge were not authorized to do so until it was too late.