Sunday, September 28, 2014

Chickadees remember where they (or you) put that seed

In a study of Black-capped Chickadees, the portion of the brain used to process spacial information (the hippocampus) varies in size during a typical year. It enlarges in the fall and winter, when seeds are harder to locate, coinciding with seed-hoarding and -finding activity. It shrinks in the spring, when feats of memory are no longer crucial.

Careful of those hot-air balloon injuries! During the past 50 years, only 48 U.S. residents contracted rabies from bats (not "died from"); that's less than one per year. That’s less than the number of hot-air balloon injuries in the whole country! (for comparison: in 2001 alone, 15,989 people contracted TB). Nationally, less than half of one percent of bats even have rabies. Bats aren’t rabies vectors anyway.

Just to be super-safe, however, never pick up a bat from the ground with your bare hands.

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.

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Cooler weather's coming here fast. Get ready now!

if you have no trees...

Fall is here, and cool weather is right around the corner - falling leaves and all! A tree without leaves can look gloomy, but a simple, old method can liven things up by attracting bunches of birds to it. There’s even a simple way to attract tree-loving birds, when you have no trees.

Just mix up what I call “tree goop”; peanut butter and seeds - like the old scouting trick. I use cheap peanut butter (smooth or crunchy – doesn’t matter). Into it I blend (with a sturdy utensil) a bunch of fresh birdseed containing black-oil sunflower seeds. There’s no magic ratio, but the more seed there is, the more it appeals to birds.

Now, visit your bare trees and liberally spread some of the mixture on it (at least a square foot). (in north Texas, most leafless trees are Post Oak, Blackjack Oak, Green Ash and Cedar Elm). With the addition of the “tree goop”, however, the birds will bring some color. You could spend a lot more money buying some costly, pre-packaged mixtures. But the results are the same.

If you don’t have a tree (which means few, if any, squirrels), try a log section (pictured). All it is is a log about a foot long and 2” to 4” in diameter. Simply screw an eye-hook into the top, spread some “tree goop” and hang it outside. Any “clinging” birds in your area should find it.

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Why is that Woodpecker making so much noise?

Woodpeckers sometimes hammer on metal siding or flashing, resulting in an annoyingly loud noise. It’s almost always a male, and he’s not looking for insects; he’s discovered that his pecking can be heard from much farther away.

It looks like the same hammering behavior that's typical of all Woodpeckers. But it’s a signal telling females that he’s on the prowl, and for other males to stay way. If it doesn’t work (and it rarely does), he’ll eventually go try something else.

it’s magic! Colonial New Englanders believed that the Chipping Sparrow and the Dark-eyed Junco were the same bird! The Chipping Sparrow (which is there in summer) simply changed its plumage for the winter, to a Junco’s gray. Understandable for the 18th century I suppose - they’re roughly the same size and have a similar song; and DNA hadn’t been figured out yet.

Chipping Sparrow

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

start planting NOW, but not invasive, non-native plants

Starting in about a week or two will be the very best planting time for north Texas' climate. If you've been waiting 'til the spring; that habit is just a holdover from gardening practices "up north". Just make sure you're not planting an invasive species, that you'll regret later.

An “invasive” plant is one that sounds great at first. But it’s so vigorous that it rapidly becomes a pest. A nuisance. A pain in the landscape. To put it politely, you can’t restrict or contain the growth of an invasive plant with anything short of a thick concrete barrier or a nuclear explosion. (Even that’s not effective in some cases)

It’s a plant that grows too well, which may sound pretty good to those of you with a brown thumb.

However, the rapid, overcrowding growth of these invasive plants quickly turns into an expensive nightmare, one that may involve your neighbors as well. Invasive plants crowd out, and often kill, your other landscape plants. Often they produce a great many seeds, sprouting in other parts of your garden, in cracks in the sidewalk, in nearby parks and in your neighbors’ landscapes.

These plants, which are almost always non-native, should be avoided (or removed if already planted) because they;

Crowd out native, and endangered plants,

Foul up the instincts of our birds, who look for native plants to feed on, and for nesting material and shelter.

Steal soil nutrients and water from other plants,

Crowd out host plants for butterflies and food sources for our native wildlife,

Hybridize with native plants, often resulting in weakening the genetic makeup,

Serve as hosts for plant diseases that can infect desired plants,

Prevent the establishment of seedlings of desired trees and shrubs,

Increase the overall water demand of your landscape,

Cause you to spend more time and money weeding, and with insect-controlling sprays.

The poster-child of invasive plants, the “plant that ate the south”, is Kudzu vine. Like so many non-native plants it was brought to this country from Asia without the natural insects and pathogens that normally control it.

One case involving invasive plants in the north Texas area is the colorful monarch butterfly. The monarch requires plants from the genus “Asclepias” to lay its eggs. (Milkweed and butterfly weed). But these plants are being crowded out by things like non-native privet and English ivy. Result: fewer monarch butterflies.

Another example, our native hummingbirds are confused when they see a Japanese honeysuckle, which appears fine, but is less nutritious and more insect-prone than our native honeysuckle. Result: hummingbirds go elsewhere.

Several other plants that have been brought to this area can also be invasive. The main reason is that there’s no natural constraint to their growth, like there may have been where they were brought from. Therefore avoid; Japanese honeysuckle, English ivy, water hyacinth, periwinkle, Tartarian lantana (our native lantana is excellent), Chinese wisteria, trumpet-creeper, pachysandra, scarlet firethorn, elephant ears, golden bamboo, mimosa, redtip photinia, Siberian elm and privet (or ligustrum). Some people even see Bermuda grass as an invasive pest.

Of course, there are several other plants that can be invasive. Also, some plants I’ve listed above may not be invasive in very specific, well-controlled environments. The best way to avoid bringing an invasive plant home is to make sure you get ”Texas-native” plants.

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Our State bird often pretends to be something else.

Northern Mockingbird

A few species of birds are the only living creatures, other than humans, that can imitate sounds that they weren’t born to produce. This ability to learn and imitate strange sounds is called verbal mimicry, and the few species of birds that can do it are called mimics. The most common mimic in north Texas is our State bird…the Mockingbird. I've heard stories of Mockingbirds mimicking a squeaky screen door, a ringing cell phone and computer dings.

Wide open, disease-free spaces Birds like plenty of space for feeding, and it prevents disease. While images of dozens of birds crowded onto a single feeder are attractive, the likelihood of contact between sick and healthy birds grows. Also, jockeying for space may increase a bird's stress level, making it more susceptible to disease.

To prevent overcrowding, use feeders that minimize contact between birds and provide additional places to feed. That could mean having several feeders, planting large clusters of native plants, or both. The most important task, however, is to keep the feeding sites clean.

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Many birds going extinct !!!!!!

Eastern Meadowlark

More than half of birds in North America are currently losing critical habitat and food sources as the planet warms, said a report by the National Audubon Society.

The Bald Eagle and Brown Pelican, are among hundreds of species facing threats to their survival due to climate change, researchers said Tuesday.

Another recent report called the "State of the Birds 2014, USA," issued by the 23-member US Committee of the North American Bird Conservation Initiative, described losses of as much as 46 percent of birds in deserts and drylands such as Utah, Arizona and New Mexico since the 1960s.

Common backyard birds are becoming less common. If you see an n Orchard Oriole, for instance, take a good look because you may not see another for long time, if ever. Those birds that breed and eat in the coastal wetlands, and prairies, are struggling most o0d all. Birds like the eastern meadowlark and the bobolink have declined by some 40 percent since 1968, but losses have leveled off since 1990 with the help of "significant investments in grassland bird conservation," said the State of the Birds report.

The Audubon report found that the Bald Eagle's summer range could shrink by nearly 75 percent in the next 65 years, while warming temperatures might make nesting and breeding difficult for birds like the Common Loon and the Baltimore oriole.

"Official state birds at risk include Brown Pelican (Louisiana), California Gull (Utah), Hermit Thrush (Vermont), Mountain Bluebird (Idaho and Nevada), Ruffed Grouse (Pennsylvania), Purple Finch (New Hampshire) and Wood Thrush (Washington, DC)," said the findings.

"We all will see the effects of changing climate in our own backyards. We just cannot ignore such a sobering wake-up call," said Terry Root, a Nobel Prize-winning Stanford University professor and Audubon board member. Bird conservation and sensitive land development can go hand-in-hand.

The reports' release coincided with the 100th anniversary of the extinction of the passenger pigeons, which were once among the most abundant creatures on Earth. The last known passenger pigeon, Martha, died at the Cincinnati Zoo in 1914. "When we think about Martha and what happened to her kind in the span of about five decades, think about what will happen in the three or four decades between now and the middle of the century as we add another two-plus billion people to the planet," Ashe said.

"We can never forget that we can see something go away forever," said Pete Marra, head of the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, recalling other species that have disappeared since, including the Carolina Parakeet, the Eskimo Curlew, Bachman's Warbler and the Po'ouli of Hawaii. Marra said the biggest causes of bird declines are habitat loss, urban sprawl, lack of food sources and pollution.

Dangers to birds will only increase as the global population swells from its current seven billion in the coming decades, said US Fish and Wildlife director Dan Ashe.

Science may be able to create birds that may be similar, but are merely distant cousins of the real species that was lost to extinction. He called for people to recommit themselves to conservation and environmental awareness in order to prevent further extinctions.

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Most of north Texas' Woodpeckers don't migrate.

Downy Woodpecker

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Some migrate – but most of them are here all year. Evasive answer, I know. Of the 22 Woodpecker species north of Mexico, only 15 migrate long distances. Non-migrators include the most frequently-seen here; the Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers. The Red-bellied Woodpecker doesn’t migrate either. On the other hand, our local species of Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (a member of the Woodpecker group) spends summers up north and winters here. So it's called a "Migrator”.

How a woodpecker eats suet If you looked closely, you’d see that a woodpecker has many tiny barbs on the end of his (or her) long, narrow tongue. So the tongue has sort of a bottle-brush shape. The barbs catch on the suet and break off tiny pieces. The “regular” tongue brings these pieces into the woodpecker’s mouth. Although many birds peck at suet, only the woodpeckers (in north Texas, Downy WPs, Hairy WPs and Red-bellied WPs are common) are adapted like this.