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Did you know that the number of automobile-wildlife collisions substantially increases in fall?  Fewer daylight hours results in poor driving conditions during morning and evening commutes. Wildlife is more active in the evening and early morning and especially active in the fall.  Animals that hibernate, like bears or raccoons, travel widely between patches of nut-producing [...]

Fall is a time when the sounds of nature steadily decline. Most people notice the lack of bird songs, but do not notice that frogs, toads and other amphibians also stop their loud, unusual calling at night. Like many other animals, frogs and toads slow down as the weather gets colder. For winter protection, amphibians [...]

If you walk along a Georgia beach in the fall you may see signs of hatching loggerhead sea turtles. Five species of sea turtles can be found in the waters off the coast of Georgia, but the loggerhead is the only species to nest here regularly and has been nesting here for centuries. When a [...]

The fall reshuffle may sound like a new dance step, but it’s actually a natural occurrence. The Eastern Gray Squirrel is the native American mammal people most frequently see east of the Mississippi River. You can see their nests of leaves in holes in trees or on tree limbs. Nests built on tree limbs as [...]

Some people suffer from hay fever all year-round, but it is most common in the spring and fall.  Did you know that animals can also have hay fever?  Some of our pets spend the majority of their lives indoors and when they do venture outdoors, they begin reacting to the pollen of grasses and trees. [...]

Maybe you’ve heard the musical song of an American Robin that sounded like “cheerily, cheerily, cheer up.”  The sight of a robin is often thought of as one of the first signs of spring, but that isn’t completely true. Because of Georgia’s relatively mild winters, many robins stay around all year long while some winter [...]

It’s spring and butterflies are returning from their winter homes in Central and South America. There are over 160 species of butterflies that live in Georgia and almost any garden can lure 60 or more species in a year with the right plants and features. Host plants will provide a place for butterflies to lay [...]

Most people associate flooding with events like Hurricane Katrina, but natural and cyclical flooding of streams and rivers caused by rain or snow melt, though sometimes damaging to human property, can be beneficial for water quality and aquatic life. When water levels in streams or rivers rise, the fish and wildlife move from the stream [...]

In times of drought, a rain garden is one way to put what rain we do receive to good use. A rain garden is a landscaped area of low-maintenance native plants designed to collect and use rainwater. They require less maintenance and fewer chemicals than lawns. Instead of allowing rainwater to flow from your home [...]

The arrival of spring brings out pollinators in full force: birds, bats, butterflies, bees and other insects. Pollinators are vitally important – without them we would have very few successful orchards, field crops, home gardens and wild flowers. Some plants depend on the wind to move pollen from plant to plant, but 80 percent of [...]

Ask ten fishermen about the best time to fish and you’ll get ten different answers: full moon, new moon, stormy weather, clear weather. Many fishermen believe that changes in barometric pressure strongly affect fish feeding behavior. Some even believe that a fish can sense a change in barometric pressure before it happens, but science shows [...]

Most fish have scales that form a protective barrier to protect the fish from injury, but did you know that fish scales can be an indicator of past weatherAs a fish grows larger, its scales also get larger. As the scales get larger, growth rings form on the scales. These rings look a little like [...]

Do you ever wonder how insects keep from freezing in the winterInsects have different methods for surviving cold weather. Some insects lay their eggs in cases and then die, leaving their eggs to hatch in the spring. Some insects remain active and some become dormant for the winter. Some dormant insects produce glycol, the same [...]

Do you know why stream buffers are so importantStream buffers, also known as riparian buffers, are bands of vegetation bordering a body of water that play a crucial role in promoting public health by protecting water quality. The type of vegetation in the buffer depends upon the climate and buffers the stream from anything that [...]

Most of us have watched “birds of prey” such as hawks, eagles, and buzzards glide effortlessly through the sky and wondered how they manage to stay aloft without flapping their wings. These magnificent birds take advantage of the natural atmosphere and updrafts for two common techniques; thermal soaring and dynamic soaring. Thermals, or pockets of [...]

Cogongrass is an exotic invasive species of grass found in South Georgia that has become an increasing threat to agriculture, forestry, and wildlife.  It is considered one of the “World’s Worst Weeds” and is listed as a Federal Noxious Weed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Cogongrass is extremely invasive, provides poor wildlife habitat, and [...]

Did you know that the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and other government agencies have been working to boost the population and protect the habitat of a small, semi-aquatic, long-lived turtle called the bog turtleThe bog turtle is threatened across its range, from Georgia to the lower New England states, and all but extinct in [...]

Did you know that the drought is contributing to the loss of pine treesPine trees are being attacked by tiny beetles that bore under the bark to lay their eggs and introduce a blue stain fungus that blocks water flow and kills trees.  Of the three pine bark beetles found in Georgia, the Southern Pine [...]

One of the most enjoyable aspects of summer is waking up to the sound of song birds outside your window. Some species, such as the Northern Mockingbird, sing during the night but most birds sing in the morning when there is little wind or convection. Calls at night broadcast up to 20 times further than [...]