bird

Out My Backdoor: Bird-feeding Problems

By Terry W. Johnson

Chances are, if you are reading this column, one of your favorite winter pastimes is feeding birds. As such, each year you spend hundreds of dollars on feeders and foods in hopes of attracting birds within easy viewing distance of your home.

So far, much of winter 2015-2016 has been disappointing for those of us who enjoy seeing white-throated sparrows, cardinals, dark-eyed juncos and a host of others dining at our backyard bird cafes.

Savannah Bird Cam

The live stream is down due to technical difficulties. For updates, see the project’s Facebook page.

Location: The Landings, Skidaway Island

These cameras usually follow ospreys nesting beside the Palmetto golf course at The Landings, a community on Skidaway Island near Savannah. Great horned owls have also used the nest.

Depending on the species, nesting activity typically occurs from winter through spring. Throughout the year other animals are often seen in and around the nest tree.

Share Your Home with Migrating Chimney Swifts

During fall in Georgia, the evening sky surrounding stack stone chimneys begins to fill with small swiftly moving birds known as chimney swifts. Also known as flying cigars, for their body shape, they are one of the state’s neotropical migratory bird species. Depending almost totally on man-made structures like fireplace chimneys, airshafts or abandoned buildings, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division (DNR/WRD) encourages homeowners to provide and maintain proper roosting and nesting habitats for these fascinating little birds.

Plants that Attract Georgia Wildlife

There are many plants that are both pleasing to the eye and provide songbirds with valuable sources of food long after the flowers themselves have withered and died. Below is a partial list of some plants that are easily grown in Georgia gardens.

Bachelor Button

This hardy plant is related to Georgia's native thistle and normally blooms in midsummer. Like the thistle, goldfinches and one or our states newest residents, the house finch favor bachelor button seeds.