An official website of the State of Georgia.
Out My Backdoor: Downy Woodpecker is a Winter Favorite
By Terry W. Johnson
outmybackdoor
Out My Backdoor: Erecting Nest Box Good Idea in November
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.
Out My Backdoor: A Backyard Fall Foliage Show
By Terry W. Johnson
Out My Backdoor: The Caterpillar Connection
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.
Out My Backdoor: Sorting out Summer Hummingbirds
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.
Out My Backdoor: Brown Thrashers, a Special Songster
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.
Out My Backdoor: The Bird That Doesn't Build a Nest
By Terry W. Johnson
Out My Backdoor: Zebras in Georgia
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.
Out My Backdoor: Can Birds Predict Severe Weather?
By Terry W. Johnson
We have long depended on wild animals to predict the weather.
For example, each year on Feb. 2, groundhogs are hauled out of their winter abodes to tell us whether we will have six more weeks of unpleasant weather. The yellow-billed cuckoo, often called the rain crow, has been relied on to warn us if a storm is on the way. Even fish and crows are on the list of animals that humans have depended on to forecast the weather.
Out My Backdoor: The Christmas Card Bird
By Terry W. Johnson
The tradition of sending Christmas cards is said to have begun in England in 1843. Since Christmas cards began being printed in the United States during the 1870s, cards have been graced with a veritable flock of birds. However, beyond a shadow of a doubt the bird that has graced more Christmas cards than any other is the northern cardinal.
