Bats are in very real danger, even north Texas bats

 Bats are in a life-or-death situation. There’s a very real possibility that they’ll become extinct, because of White Nose Syndrome ("WNS").

    So what, you say?! Bats are vicious (wrong!), are infested with rabies (wrong!), they suck your blood ( wrong!), they and are dirty (wrong again!). Poor little bats; they're probably the most misunderstood animals in existence.

 Truth is, we need bats for our very existence. Without bats, life as we know it wouldn’t exist.  Bats eat tons of insects.  Really – tons!  A single bat eats about 5000 flying insects per night, per bat! And bats pollinate a lot of plants (but we rarely see it, since it’s done at night).  Without bats, many of our everyday products (including some heart medicines and foods) wouldn’t exist.

    However, a fungal disease called White Nose Syndrome (“WNS”) is killing them by the thousands. It drains all their energy and interferes with needed hibernation. WNS is spreading rapidly. Scientists are looking for a remedy, but right now there is none. Homeowners can help by providing plenty of appropriately-built housing for bats, keeping bat houses clean and not killing their food by liberally spraying insecticides.

 Bat World is a non-profit group that does excellent work that few others want to do. There's simply no clearer way to say it. For over 20 years, this north Texas-based volunteer group has rescued (and released when possible) native bats. They could use your vote on the challenge web-site: https://thebille.com . This video covers just a few rescues, and says why they're worthy of your gift.

 

    

 

Birds sometimes share roosts on cold nights

 

In winter, birds often share warm, protected roost cavities with others of their species; everyone benefits from the cumulative body warmth. Usually, for example, Bluebirds share roosts with young Bluebirds they raised earlier in the year, but on particularly wet, cool or windy nights, a dozen or more unrelated birds may pile into a single roost cavity to keep warm, if they can find one.

    At our home, we simply set some sturdy boxes around, with entry holes near the bottom (so birds’ body heat can rise, but not escape). Unused birdhouses may work - depending on where the entrance hole is, it may have to be turned upside-down so the heat doesn't escape. Since birds roost at night, you may never actually see them, but you'll know they don’t die out in the cold, plus you'll have more birds around in coming seasons.

 

Survival of the fittest trees              When high winds blow down twigs and branches, we’re witnessing a little bit of evolution in action. Think about it. Those “blown off” leaflets, if not dead already, were the weak /insect-prone ones. The seeds associated with them, will never grow – the seeds from strong, remaining branches will!  Throughout the year it happens, and every year the trees’ “gene pool” gets a tiny bit healthier.

Woodpeckers probably aren't hurting your house

Red bellied Woodpecker

Woodpeckers peck on houses for two reasons. First, searching for insects, in which case the holes are small. Not much damage is being done. A dead tree, left standing, is much more appealing. If this is happening, the wood of your house is staying damp, attracting insects. This leads to wood rot. Check for water leaks, and thank woodpeckers for alerting you.

Sometimes, woodpeckers will peck hard on a metal part of a house. They've found that their noise is amplified greatly. This happens early in mating season and marks a  territory.

Very rarely, woodpeckers may be creating a nest cavity. Although quite rare, it can cause serious damage. Fake owls or snakes don’t work at all. They don't move, which is what scares birds away. Save your money.

Instead, suggests Cornell’s Lab of Ornithology, try tacking up brightly-colored or shiny ribbons (about 4–5 ft. long) that can blow around with the wind. Their motion should shoo Woodpeckers away, and they can usually be taken down after a few days, allowing you to check for the real problem.

 

 

"The Goldfinches in my yard aren't bright yellow, like in magazines"

Eastern Goldfinch

    If you’re looking for a yellow goldfinch, try looking in New Jersey in the summer. The tiny birds are nowhere to be found in Texas at this time of year; except in their dull, winter plumage.  In north Texas, in the winter, goldfinches are what I call ‘”dirty yellow” (see picture).  Bright yellow is what’s called their ”breeding plumage”, but you see that only up north in warm seasons.

Goldfinches travel and feed often in flocks. So you may see none on your feeder – then a minute later you may see several on it, and another dozen nearby waiting a turn. Special Goldfinch feeders are sold with many small holes [“ports”] for the small, imported seed called “nyger”. Nyger (often incorrectly called “thistle”) is their favorite food. A close, and less expensive, runner-up is Black Oil Sunflower seed. That’s what I use.

In north Texas they start appearing about mid-to-late November. They usually start their migratory flight back north around the end of April. About that time, they may begin molting their drab winter plumage - turning again to bright yellow. But, unless you're looking at a magazine written up north, you'll never see it.

 

  Starlings love to steal chunks of suet. Especially from a feeder that's meant for woodpeckers. Put these impolite, non-native birds in their place by using a suet feeder that only has access from below. Woodpeckers and several other nimble, clinging birds will nonchalantly cling to the underside of an “upside-down” feeder, using strong feet. Starlings (a pesky, black bird) don't have the physical features it takes to hang by their feet, and will go elsewhere.

A few friends of mine have had success with ordinary, less expensive, suet feeders, by putting a length of duct tape across the upper edge and halfway down each vertical side-edge. 

 

 

Where are north Texas' owls going?

Great-horned Owl

     
North Texans are often surprised to learn that they have owls as neighbors. It's true, but there are fewer owls around than a decade ago. That's worrisome!

Our common owls range from the ±10” Screech Owl, through the mid-sized Barn Owl and Barred Owl, to the large Great-horned Owl. All four kinds of owls hunt at night, feeding on animals that are also active at night. These include large insects (favored by Screech Owls), many kinds of rodents, up to skunks (a favorite of Great-horned Owls).

Barn Owls

      An owl is one of the best rodent-control creatures on earth. For example, one adult Barn Owl eats about 90g. of food a night – the equivalent of two rats.  A breeding pair and their chicks can eat about 3000 rats per year. Where rodents have been displaced by recent construction, owls (particularly Barn Owls) eat well.

     Unfortunately, the large, dead trees they like to nest in are frequently cut down and natural tree cavities are filled in, so good nesting sites can be hard to find.  Man-made nest boxes can help alleviate the problem, although not all owls use boxes. Boxes can be put almost anywhere – even on the wall of a house. It should be in shade most of the day and, especially in Texas, shouldn’t face the hot, west sun.

Screech Owls

Barred Owl

 Since owls fly quietly at night, you may never know that they’re around. During the day, they often sleep in the open, undetected, since they are so well-camoflaged. Hence they’re very good neighbors. With the leaves gone from most trees, now is an excellent time to look for them resting in trees.








 

Why do birds puff up in cold weather?

Carolina Chickadee, puffed up

 

In cold weather they can look like tennis balls with wings sometimes! It just means they’re trying to keep warm. When a bird puffs up, or plumps up, he’s actually conserving warmth by raising up his feathers, fluffing and separating them, then bringing them back into place - except with lots of tiny air pockets between the feathers and the bird’s body.  This trapped air increases insulation for extra warmth, and the trapped air is is kept warm by the bird's body heat.

If you have a birdbath, remember that only clean feathers fluff up properly. If a bird has dirty feathers, inclement weather affects him greatly. So, even in winter, birds need a clean, handy birdbath. In very cold weather, the actual bath only takes only a second or two.

Lots of birds, however, hang around a birdbath a lot, to get multiple baths and sips of water. In freezing weather I'll pour hot water in ours to keep it from icing over.

 

 

Fox Sparrow

Double-scratching birds     In the winter, many birds forage for food by scratching through the leaf litter on the ground. In north Texas, you’ll see Juncos, Towhees, most blackbirds, many kinds of native Sparrows, and others doing this. Watch closely; actually the birds hop forward by moving both legs forward at the same time, then backwards a little if there’s snow covering the ground. This double-scratching does an excellent job of locating food.

 

 

 

Squirrels v. your birdfeeders

A hungry squirrel is an athletic squirrel.  It can leap about 8 feet horizontally - from standing still on a nearby branch or roof. Also a squirrel can jump about 4.5 feet vertically - possibly from the ground to a birdfeeder.  So merely hanging a typical birdfeeder from any old tree branch is often asking for trouble.

no seed for you!

There are two reasonable solutions that don't involve traps, firearms or hanging a feeder from a far-away branch.  1.  Fill a feeder with safflower. Most birds like it, but squirrels hate it. One taste of safflower seed and that particular squirrel won't be a problem any more.  2.  Use a squirrel-proof feeder; I suggest a Squirrel-Buster by Brome (pictured). Several feeders claim to be squirrel proof, but the Squirrel-Buster is the only one I know of that actually is. It costs a bit extra, but you'll save the extra cost in a year or two.
We have two at our house. They try, but no squirrel has ever gotten a single seed from them.

A few desperate friends of mine trap them and relocate them. When the "removed" squirrel is gone, however, several nearby ones will fight noisily over the now-vacant territory (a huge headache). The original squirrel usually finds its way back, anyway.

We use the other method too; filling feeders with safflower seed, at our house - in very vulnerably located feeders. Safflower is available at most good birding stores.