By Terry W. Johnson

When you enter a restaurant and spot a health inspection notice posted on the wall indicating that the restaurant has received a rating of 70 or below, would you eat there? Probably not. By the same token, I am sure that you don't want to expose birds to often-fatal diseases while eating at your backyard bird diner.

By Terry W. Johnson

Bird feeding is big -- really big. Roughly one-third of all North Americans older than 16 feed birds. Americans alone feed their feathered neighbors more than a billion pounds of wild bird seed annually.

By Terry W. Johnson

Nothing makes a youngster’s eyes sparkle on Christmas morning more than presents wrapped in brightly colored paper. I’d venture to say that most of the presents underneath your tree this year will be lovingly wrapped with paper adorned with at least some red. No, I’m not a mind reader. Red is simply the most popular color used at Christmas.

By Terry W. Johnson

Now that November is here, more than likely you haven’t seen a ruby-throated hummingbird in your backyard for quite some time. My wife and I were fortunate to see one as late as Halloween eve. However, because we haven’t spotted one since, I guess it is safe to say that it, too, has departed on its epic flight to its wintering grounds across the Gulf of Mexico.

By Terry W. Johnson

Have you have noticed that pumpkins mean different things to different people? For a child, pumpkins represent jack-o’-lanterns and Halloween. Homeowners, on the other hand, consider bright orange pumpkins to be ideal fall yard decorations. To those among us who enjoy fine food, pumpkins conjure up thoughts of pumpkin pie, stew, soup and roast pumpkin, and other delicacies. Unfortunately, few think of pumpkins as a source of food for wildlife.

By Terry W. Johnson

Weeks before the kaleidoscope of colorful fall foliage takes center stage throughout the state, we are treated with another visually spectacular show. This floral tapestry is fashioned with plumes of gold waving enticingly from roadside ditches, old fields and even along the edges of backyards such as mine.

By Terry W. Johnson

August is indeed a special month. For the state’s students, it marks the end of summer vacation and the return to the classroom. For Georgia sportswomen and men, the 2010-2011 hunting season is ushered in with the opening of squirrel season. And for the backyard naturalist, August is truly the month of the hummingbird.

Indeed, more hummingbirds visit Georgia backyards this month than at any other time of the year. During the hot, sultry days of August, it is not uncommon for some homeowners to host 100 or more hummingbirds a single day.

By Terry W. Johnson

As far as backyards go, mine is far from the largest, best trimmed or, in the eyes of many, the most beautiful. However, I would not trade it for any other.

By Terry W. Johnson

The bird that controls the air space over our yards throughout spring and summer is the ruby-throated hummingbird. Although it is so small that 10 can be mailed for the price of a first-class stamp, no other bird can threaten its aerial superiority. As is the case with supersonic aircraft that coarse the skies of the world, this feathered dynamo operates on a high-energy fuel. In the hummingbird’s case, the fuel is sugar.

By Terry W. Johnson

We Americans are fickle. We seem to jump from fad to fad. For a time, something like poodle skirts or pet rocks will be the rage only to fall out of favor and be forgotten a few years later. 

Take mulberries, for example. In the not too distant past, mulberry trees were found growing in backyards throughout the state. Additionally, since they make super shade trees, they were also planted in city parks and school yards.