A year’s worth of outings in Georgia’s wild places

• Atlanta Audubon Society. Some 400 native bird species live in Georgia at least part of the year. You can see and learn about many of them firsthand if you go on some of the society's bird walks held throughout the year. For a calendar of outings, visit atlantaaudubon.org/field-trips.

• Georgia state parks. Many state parks offer guided walks all year long to observe and learn about wildlife, from birds to butterflies, from wildflowers to mushrooms. Some parks also offer outings to explore local geology; some hold astronomy nights to observe stars and planets through telescopes. For a list of events, visit gastateparks.org/events.

Many other groups also offer nature-watching outings, including the Georgia Conservancy, Georgia ForestWatch, Nature Conservancy of Georgia, Georgia Native Plant Society, Georgia Sierra Club, Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, the Mushroom Club of Georgia and others. Google each group on the Internet to learn more about its outings,

In the sky: From David Dundee, Tellus Science Museum astronomer: The Quadrantid meteor shower will be visible all next week, reaching a peak of about 80 meteors per hour Wednesday and Thursday nights. Look to the north after dark until dawn.

The moon will be first-quarter Thursday. Mercury and Venus are low in the west and Mars is low in the southwest around dusk. Jupiter rises out of the east around midnight.