An official website of the State of Georgia.
Terry W. Johnson
Make no mistake about it, we Georgians love hummingbirds. Each year folks from Woodbine to West Point and Bainbridge to Helen and countless cities and towns in between spend hours enjoying the beauty and aerial acrobatics of the birds that John James Audubon called "glittering fragments of the rainbow."
By Terry W. Johnson
If you would like to host a Baltimore oriole in your backyard, unbelievably there is no better time to try doing so than right now.
By Terry W. Johnson
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.
By Terry W. Johnson
Chances are if you made a health-related New Year's resolution, it probably involved vowing to eat less salt. The harmful effects of a high-salt diet on humans are well documented. But is the same true for the birds that visit our backyard feeders?
By Terry W. Johnson
Along about this time of year I find myself yearning for signs of spring. Not too long ago, while walking about my yard I came across the season's first crocus and daffodils blooming. Seeing these hardy plants in full bloom convinced me that Mother Nature had opened the door to a change in the seasons, just a crack, and spring was looking in.
 
Location: Berry College, Mount Berry
These cameras focus on a bald eagle nest in a tall pine tree near the Cage Center on Berry College's 27,000-acre campus in northwest Georgia. Nesting activity typically occurs from fall through April–May.
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.
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.
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.
Over 100 bird species in North America will supplement their diets with bird seed, suet, fruit and nectar feeders. While feeding birds, a few steps can be taken to ensure you "do no harm" to the birds.