Out My Backdoor: the Dawn Chorus

By Terry W. Johnson
An official website of the State of Georgia.
By Terry W. Johnson
By Terry W. Johnson
If you are like me, over the winter you spent a few days working in the yard preparing for the spring growing season. If such is the case, chances are you became reacquainted with a vine known as greenbrier. When the plant's abundant thorns snag your clothing or pierce you skin, you are not apt to forget the encounter.
By Terry W. Johnson
By Terry W. Johnson
If you are a homeowner, you know there are many tasks you need to complete before winter. These jobs range from raking leaves to splitting and stacking wood, checking the insulation around your doors and windows, planting wildflower seeds, winterizing faucets, and, well, you name it.
By Terry W. Johnson
By Terry W. Johnson
Would you believe me if I said you could help preserve and enhance our native plant and animal heritage as well as the environmental health of Georgia without ever leaving your home? Probably not.
By Terry W. Johnson
Summer is the best time of year for Georgia hummingbird watchers. During the sultry days of summer Georgians play host to more hummingbirds than at any other time. Some days, more than 100 hummingbirds will visit a single backyard in search of nectar produced by flowers and the sugar water offered in feeders.
By Terry W. Johnson
Currently, my wife and I are enjoying listening to the songs of mockingbirds, orchard orioles, gray catbirds, cardinals and brown thrashers. The birds are particularly vocal early in the morning and late in the day.
By Terry W. Johnson
By Terry W. Johnson
Each year on a warm afternoon in mid-March, I surrender to an urge to head out on a quest to find my first zebra swallowtail butterfly of the year.