An official website of the State of Georgia.
By Terry W. Johnson
We seem to enjoy the sights and sounds of the birds that visit our feeders and bird baths more in winter than at any other time of the year. This is a time when the weather often limits outside activities.
By Terry W. Johnson
By Terry W. Johnson
If you are like most hummingbird enthusiasts during the past few weeks, you have probably asked yourself, where are the hummingbirds?
I wish I had a good answer. However, I can tell you this: Just as the nighttime skies were illuminated with fireworks on the Fourth of July, I am equally certain that hummingbird numbers will soon explode in your backyard.
By Terry W. Johnson
At one time, like most Georgians, I stopped pouring seeds into my bird feeders when winter finally gave way to spring. I would not resume feeding until frost blanketed the ground in autumn.
However, more than 25 years ago, I began feeding birds into summer and beyond. This has dramatically enhanced my enjoyment of the birds that live in my backyard.
By Terry W. Johnson
The spring bird migration is dwindling down to a trickle. Over the past several weeks, literally millions of migrating birds streaming from their winter homes in the Caribbean, Mexico, Central and South America have passed through Georgia.
Some of them have flown over my middle Georgia home. Although I didn't see them, I am sure a smattering of migrants briefly stopped in my yard to rest and refuel before resuming their long journey.
By Terry W. Johnson
To many, the mere mention of the word honeysuckle conjures up the image of Japanese honeysuckle.
As its name suggests, Japanese honeysuckle is an alien plant. It was introduced into America as an ornamental in 1906. From its new home on Long Island, N.Y., during the 20th century this aggressive vine quickly wound its way across untold thousands of acres across the country.
By Terry W. Johnson
If you ask a hummingbird enthusiast to name the flowers they plant for hummingbirds, more than likely they will reel off the names of plants such as Lady In Red salvia, lantana, pineapple sage, Turk's cap and coral honeysuckle, to name but a few.
By Terry W. Johnson
For more years than I care to remember, I have vainly tried to entice purple martins to nest in my yard. Each year during the late winter or early spring, a handful of purple martins magically appear at my martin house.
When these early migrants show up, my hopes run high that this will be the year I will become a purple martin landlord. My high expectations are dashed in a few days when the birds disappear, never to return.
