Many peoples' hearts desire is to see a Blue Jay

 

From "The Grass is Always Greener" department:  
A survey of casual birdwatchers from other parts of the world asked which American bird they most wanted to see during their visit here. For its striking appearance, unusual behavior and notable songs, the winner (by quite a large margin!) was the Blue Jay.

Blue Jays

Blue Jay (juvenile)

 
The Blue Jay belongs to a group of birds called the Corvidae family. Members are known for their intelligence. They can’t calculate the area of a triangle or name the capital of Nicaragua, but Crows, Ravens, Magpies and Jays are at the top in terms of avian evolution, reasoning and use of simple tools. (Wow, I resisted the childish urge to say “bird brain”)

 

 

 

A stamp that actually works!       What’s known as “Duck stamps” are for sale at post offices and via the internet, Begun almost 50 years ago, the proceeds help purchase land for the National Wildlife Refuge System (including nearby Hagerman N.W.R.). With this year’s proceeds the program was able to buy over 19,000-acres of wetland, prairie and other bird habitat with over $4-million.

Blue Jay

 

 

 

OWEN YOST, in addition to being a blogger, is a licensed Landscape Architect emeritus who has lived and worked in north Texas for over 30 years. He is the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award of the Native Plant Society of Texas, and is a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), International Federation of Landscape Architects, National Wildlife Federation and the Audubon Society. His office is at Yost87@charter.net in Denton.

 

 

Birds prefer finding natural nest material

 

Spring is when most birds build nests and lay eggs. If given a choice, birds choose to build nests with naturally found materials from native plants. They especially love the remains of tall, native grasses (unglamorously called "debris"). Some good ones for here are Bluestem, Indiangrass, Muhly, Sea Oats and Gramma (we have several native grasses in our landscape, the majority being Inland Sea Oats – birds love it!)

Pieces of yarn or thread are popular with birds. Just make sure that no piece is longer than 3-inches. Any longer and there's a risk they can get it tangled in their legs or around their bodies.

       The materials that birds use for nest-building can be almost anything that’s somewhat small, stringy and lightweight. Also, many nests are cemented together with mud, so it’s good to have water and/or mud nearby. (It doesn’t have to be very conspicuous, or even in your own yard – birds will find it!)  A bird might make over a thousand trips with beaks-full of mud, twigs, grasses, leaves or whatever, at the start of nesting season.

Two of the most used natural materials are cotton and feathers. Often these are used to fill, blankets, pillows, jackets etc. If you have an old, worn-out one of these taking up space, rip it a little and leave it outside. Birds will find this "gold mine".

        Another natural material birds love is fur. When we comb our dogs we’ll save the fur. Then we put it in something like an old wire suet basket, hanging it from a branch. We’ll see all kinds of birds pull out strands of fur to take to their nearby nests. Later, if we’re lucky enough to spot a nest, we’ll carefully inspect it and may find several tiny bird eggs nestled in our pets’ fur. Nice!

At first glance, used drier lint or drier sheets look fine as nest material. Avoid them however. Many laundry detergents contain stuff that's harmful to baby birds, so dispose of them some other way.

There are, clearly, lots of materials that can become nest ingredients. The key is to let them find it - just place it where they might be.

OWEN YOST, in addition to being a blogger, is a licensed Landscape Architect emeritus who has lived and worked in north Texas for over 30 years. He is the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award of the Native Plant Society of Texas, and is a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), International Federation of Landscape Architects, National Wildlife Federation and the Audubon Society. His office is at Yost87@charter.net in Denton.

 

 

We have a special species of Oriole here in Texas!!

Yes, there are orioles around here.

 

Orchard Orioles, male(L) and female(R)

Orchard Oriole

We’ve actually heard of several people who’ve attracted Orioles to their yards. In north Texas we have Orchard Orioles and Baltimore Orioles. The first is certainly the most common here. As with all Orioles, the male and female look very different. They all are mainly insect-eaters, but love grape jelly or orange-halves.  The simplest “feeder” is just attaching an orange-half to a board or branch via a finishing nail – at least 5 ft. off the ground. Ants can overwhelm it, but if there are just a few ants they will be eradicated by birds.

To spot juvenile Robins, look for spots

Robin (fledgling)

Robin (fledgling)

About the time of year, fledgling Robins (just out of the nest) are apt to appear at backyard birdbaths. The adult with them is teaching them how to swim and bathe. (It doesn't come naturally)  The male parent is usually in charge of fledglings. They’re the same size as adults, but can be recognized by black speckles on their orange/red breasts, which they outgrow in 3 or 4 weeks.

 

 

 

OWEN YOST, in addition to being a blogger, is a licensed Landscape Architect emeritus who has lived and worked in north Texas for over 30 years. He is the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award of the Native Plant Society of Texas, and is a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), International Federation of Landscape Architects, National Wildlife Federation and the Audubon Society. His office is at Yost87@charter.net in Denton.

 

 

North Texas bats need landlords, since we've taken much of their habitat

 

Bats are cute little creatures that weigh about half-an-ounce, but eat lots and lots of mosquitoes – and they’ll soon be returning from Central America looking for homes. The bats in the north Texas area are mostly Mexican free-tail Bats (like those in the Congress Ave. Bridge in Austin). They cleanse the nights of tons of pesky bugs and avoid humans as much as possible.

An average bat will eat up to 5000 mosquitoes and other flying pests every night. In simpler terms, that’s like a 60 lb. child eating 126 peanut butter & jelly sandwiches a day. A colony of bats is a safe and cheap replacement for a lot of pesticide spraying! But those scary, misinformed TV shows don't tell you that.

Since a bat can hear four times better than a typical dog, they actually hear the mosquitoes’ wings. They also communicate among themselves and avoid obstacles (like humans) with “echo-location”, which is sort of like Doppler radar.

Bats also pollinate many crops. If your day includes soap, shampoo, cosmetics, coffee, toothpaste, margarine, paper, ink, rope, lumber, beer, candles, air fresheners, rubber, vegetables, spices, fruits, or chocolates you are not simply helped by bats – you are dependant on bats.

Less than half of 1% of bats have rabies. They are not carriers of rabies! If bitten, they’ll come down with it; just like any other mammal. And, being so small, they usually die within a day. Actually, you have a much better chance of getting rabies from a pet dog or cat.

Injuring, killing, or confining a bat is illegal in Texas. Such acts (usually based on ignorance and superstition) need to be reported. Specialty birding stores often sell different sizes of bat houses. Providing housing for a free-flying bat makes you a “sanctuary”, and is perfectly legal. Make sure the house’s design is approved by a non-profit, rehabilitation group. Now, before they come back to the north Texas area looking for homes, is the ideal time to put up a bat house, or for municipalities to promote what's almost certainly around already.

 

 

OWEN YOST, in addition to being a blogger, is a licensed Landscape Architect emeritus who has lived and worked in north Texas for over 30 years. He is the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award of the Native Plant Society of Texas, and is a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), International Federation of Landscape Architects, National Wildlife Federation and the Audubon Society. His office is at Yost87@charter.net in Denton.

Don't unknowingly pay for weeds when you buy birdseed.

 

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

A recent university study examined ten popular brands of birdseed and found that half of them contained seeds of at least six species of weeds. Not only are you paying for the weed seeds unknowingly, but they’re likely to sprout and spread in your yard, and wild birds rarely eat them.

 

From my experience, the merchants most guilty of selling weed seeds mixed in with real birdseed are the grocery stores or "big box" stores, where "low price" is king, and quality is not considered. 

A sense of accomplishment     If you’re putting up a birdhouse especially for woodpeckers, try putting a too-small entrance hole in it (less than 2“). Three reasons: 1. it forces the woodpecker to peck to enlarge the hole – a key part of their courtship behavior,  2. the small hole keeps starlings from taking over the box,  3. it’s easy to see if a woodpecker is interested, just by looking for signs of pecking.

          You can also accomplish this with a birdhouse you buy, just by fastening a thin piece of wood or cardboard (with a too-small hole) over the real hole.

 

 

 

OWEN YOST, in addition to being a blogger, is a licensed Landscape Architect emeritus who has lived and worked in north Texas for over 30 years. He is the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award of the Native Plant Society of Texas, and is a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), International Federation of Landscape Architects, National Wildlife Federation and the Audubon Society. His office is at Yost87@charter.net in Denton.

 

 

An inexpensive, natural fire ant control. One that's safe and actually works!

fire ant mound

 About this time of year, subterranean insects (such as fire ants) resurface and start to build nests/mounds. This is also the time of year when lots of people get bit by fire ants. Small children, pets and wildlife too – a few of which are seriously and permanently injured by the ants OR by the poison that's meant to kill the ants.

 You’d think that birds would eat them nearly to oblivion; and in ten, twenty or thirty generations they might. But fire ants are a relatively recent introduction to North America, and our birds haven’t figured out yet how to eat them safely.

For now, I control fire ants by soaking their mounds with a non-poisonous liquid compost solution. I don’t claim to be an etymologist, but this safe, homemade solution works for me – and costs less than 10% of what I’d pay for an advertised poison. And, if you get the queen, fire ants won't return.

I recommend a mixture of 40% compost tea, 40% orange oil and 20% liquid horticultural molasses (mixed thoroughly). Then I mix a half-cup of this mixture with one gallon of water, and saturate the fire ant mound with it. Pour slowly, making sure it soaks into the mound, and doesn’t just run off. (I use a stick to quickly break through the mound’s crust)

This natural solution doesn’t poison the fire ants (or children or wildlife or pets), it instantly dissolves the insects’ exoskeletons so they can’t walk, dig or eat. In about five minutes, there’s no ant activity. A few days later I’ll add beneficial nematodes to the soil to control fire ants long term.

 

 

 

OWEN YOST, in addition to being a blogger, is a licensed Landscape Architect emeritus who has lived and worked in north Texas for over 30 years. He is the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award of the Native Plant Society of Texas, and is a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), International Federation of Landscape Architects, National Wildlife Federation and the Audubon Society. His office is at Yost87@charter.net in Denton.

 

Birdfeeders and windows; the danger zone

A lot of birds are killed by flying into windows. There are zones, however, where it’s OK to put a feeder near a window. A feeder closer to a window than 2 feet (including on the window itself) is safe. Also, a feeder farther away than 7 feet is OK. The “danger zone” of between 2 and 7 feet should be avoided. You may still have a few bird strikes, however, when birds just aren’t paying attention. Like if it's being chased by a hawk or something.

White-throated Sparrow

A White-throated Sparrow crashed into our large kitchen window early this morning. (it was probably migrating north, like all true sparrows) The lifeless body was on our deck. Putting pathos aside, it was an opportunity to examine it up close. It’s a beautiful  bird – black streaks, pure white throat, vivid spots of yellow, and tan and gray body. I felt a deep responsibility for seeing to the needs of these couple-of-grams creatures whose home we have chosen to usurp.

Cats belong indoors   Ordinary housecats are one of birds’ greatest dangers; natural predators. They’re naturally stealthy and excellent hunters, even if well fed.  Nobody knows for sure, but there may be 2.5-million outdoor cats in Texas. Each kills an average of 5 or 6 birds a year. That works out to 12½ to 15 million dead birds annually. (Cats live a lot longer when kept indoors anyway.)

We have a cat at our house. However we never let it outside. It stares longingly out the window at birds. Not only will it lives longer as an “inside cat”, but so will the birds in our neighborhood.

 

 

OWEN YOST, in addition to being a blogger, is a licensed Landscape Architect emeritus who has lived and worked in north Texas for over 30 years. He is the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award of the Native Plant Society of Texas, and is a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), International Federation of Landscape Architects, National Wildlife Federation and the Audubon Society. His office is at Yost87@charter.net in Denton.