Sunday, February 15, 2015

Killing all the bugs in your yard means saying goodbye to birds too.

In Texas, all but one species of wild bird (even those that eat seed like Cardinals) feed their newborns nothing but insects. They’re easier to digest since newborn birds don’t have fully developed digestive systems! When they leave the nest, young birds learn to find and eat seed – maybe at your birdfeeder with the help of their parents. The exception is Finches, whose nestlings can eat seeds.

If the parents can’t find bugs to feed their newborns, they’ll

probably go elsewhere.

Avoid stale seed or birdseed mixed with other stuff Birds will NOT eat “other stuff” but you are charged for it nonetheless. The “other stuff” tends to be twigs, plant stalks, stones, dirt and empty hulls left from the production process. Birds don’t like stale seeds either, and will quickly fly elsewhere for a decent meal.

Short of tearing open the bag in the store, you can’t tell if seed is mixed with other stuff. But if you find it when you get home, complain to the merchant or shop elsewhere next time. From my years running a birding store I know that the middleman charges a tiny bit extra (about a penny a bag) for cleaning the seed. This charge, and the service, is usually the first to go in a price war. I’ve run across this at a nearby Tractor Supply, and a Wild Bird Unlimited in Flower Mound, so I don’t shop there.

Seed is also suspect when bought from many grocery stores and “big box” stores. It’s likely to have been sitting on store/warehouse shelves losing nutrition hourly. Stale seed is avoided by birds since it’s not nutritious anymore, and they need nutrition to survive.

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, February 11, 2015

How to spot wild birds that are trying hard not to be seen

Spotting birds in nature has challenges that often discouraged us. Too often the birds win and we slink away in disappointment.

First, don’t use your binoculars to begin with. Binoculars severely limit your area of view to a very small portion of what it should be; a “target bird” may be just a few feet outside of your area of view, and you’ll never know it. Instead, keep binoculars handy, but in your lap, to use only when you actually see a bird.

At first, look at the whole expanse in front of you with your unaided eyes. Try not to focus on a single area or item, but let your eyes cover the whole viewing area. Movement is much easier to spot that way, which will easily locate a bird among motionless branches and such (since birds have a need for almost-constant motion). I try to ‘back off’ putting anything in sharp focus until I see motion.

Cedar Waxwing

When you see motion, it’s probably an actual wild bird. Swing into action! With a reference point in mind, bring the binoculars to your eyes and train them on the bird. (Practice doing this without losing your target bird). Then adjust the binoculars, focusing to get the sharpest view.

Resist the urge to look up the bird right then in a field guide. Instead, deliberately recite its characteristics to yourself such as “small bird, brown body, one white wingbar, short pointed beak, two white bars on head“ and such. After the bird flies away (which he’ll probably do in 5 or 6 seconds) you’ll have plenty of time to check your field guide.

That’s about all there is to it; except for obvious matters like avoiding loud noises, sudden movements and bright clothing. Also hope for a relatively calm day, when strong winds don’t put branches in motion, and more birds are out and about.

Hooded Warbler

Sunday, February 8, 2015

Start preparing for calcium season by saving eggshells

In egg-laying season (soon!) female birds need extra calcium so their bodies can produce eggs.

Sometimes they get it from eating paint chips (particularly the light colors). More often they get it when you put out egg shells (saved after making breakfast) broken into tiny bits. Sometimes they get it from the extra calcium added to most types of suet.

If they don’t get the extra calcium they need at this time of year, their bodies take it from the birds’ bones, weakening them.

Rinse off any “slime” before storing shells and, before you put them out for birds, heat them to kill any remaining bacteria.

Stressed birds Cornell’s Lab of Ornithology reports that birds in cities often live more stressful lives than their rural relatives. Just think about it – lots of cats and dogs, lots of noise, lots of lights at unusual hours, pollution and parking lots instead of fields full of seed. Birds can usually adapt to city life, but are likely to have shorter life spans and fewer healthy offspring.

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Put out the welcome mat now for Purple Martins

Purple Martins

Purple Martins start scouting out potential housing in north Texas in late February. They’ll keep looking (until they find a home) into late April. Lots of people are “landlords” because Martins are pleasant singers, and exceptionally good and graceful fliers. They look for multi-unit homes on a tall pole. The housing they prefer to nest in is usually the kind that comes in a box, is well-ventilated, and isn’t welcoming to other birds. White is by far the best color in Texas, since it reflects heat. The homes are typically made of aluminum, and look like little apartments with round doors. The dimensions of the holes, and the “apartment” itself, are crucial in deterring predators and excluding pests.

Not all yards are good for Martins, however. They need a treeless (grassy) circle around the house with a radius of about 25 to 50 feet, so they can hunt for insects an fly around.

Sunday, February 1, 2015

Are Monarch butterflies disappearing permanently?

Monarch

Every year, millions of colorful Monarch butterflies migrate from all over North America (including north Texas) to one small part of central Mexico, where they are right now. (They’re one of the few insects that actually migrate). However, illegal logging in this “Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve” has cleared more than 1,000 acres, imperiling their survival.

Monarchs (migrating)

Now’s a good time to clean feeders With avian activity winding down somewhat, most birdfeeders have gotten dirty. I know mine have! Cleaning is easy and good for birds. I soak mine for a few hours in a 10:1 mix of water and bleach (although I’m told diluted vinegar or laundry detergent is just as good). Several times during the “soak” I agitate the feeder to get stuff out of tight spaces. Then I brush it inside and out, and rinse it with fresh water. I’ll let the sun dry it, and the birds could be “feederless” for less than a day.

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Silly superstitions about bats should have faded long ago

They’re cute, innocent mammals that weigh about half-an-ounce, but eat lots and lots of mosquitoes – they don’t get in your hair, suck your blood and they have less chance of having rabies than your pet dog. Superstitions like that are just plain silly and outdated. Most were created by Hollywood!

Bats are about to return from wintering in Central America. The bats in north Texas, mostly Mexican free-tail Bats, cleanse the nights of tons of pesky flying bugs, while avoiding humans as much as possible. A colony of bats is an environmentally-safe replacement for a lot of malathion and a lot of chemical spraying!

An average bat will eat up to 5000 flying pests each and every night. In terms we can all understand, that’s like a 60 lb. child eating 126 peanut butter & jelly sandwiches every day. Sadly, bat populations have fallen for several reasons. It’s a shame since nothing gets rid of flying insects as efficiently, cheaply, quietly and safely as bats.

A silly myth concerns rabies: actually, less than one-half of one percent of bats have rabies, admittedly a serious disease. They are not carriers without becoming sick themselves! If bitten, they’ll come down with rabies; just like any other mammal. If a bat gets rabies it’ll probably die in a few hours.

If you find a bat during the day (un-bat-like), pick it up only with heavy gloves, and bring it to a wildlife rehabilitator. He’ll be scared and may bite in self-defense. He may not be sick, however. He could have been attacked by a predator, blown down in a storm, or orphaned by chemical fogging. Or it could be a young bat learning to fly.

Bats don’t try to get in your hair. That’s silly! They avoid humans by every means possible. Getting tangled in anything could probably mean death.

Bats aren’t blind. They “see” far better than humans do, using a system similar to radar, but much, much better – to get around fine even in total darkness.

Providing housing for a bat colony is environmentally-smart. In fact, it’s the responsible thing to do. Now, while they’re returning to the north Texas area looking for a home, is the ideal time to put up a bat house. If you have any fear of putting up a bat house because you might attract vampire bats, fear not. No vampire bats exist (or have ever existed) on this continent (except Hollywood seems to have put them in several movies).

Sunday, January 25, 2015

Robins' winter diet in Texas

American Robin

During the winter months, Robins who happen to live up north migrate to the southern states (including Texas!) to find food. But the ones that are already here, stay here. So the local population swells. All these Robins don’t eat earthworms in winter of course, but modify their palates to consume large amounts of wild berries (like from hollies) and mealworms (which are actually beetle larvae).

Birds’ flights for the Gulf crossing are affected by the strength and direction of winds in the upper atmosphere not by what’s in your feeder or anything else. These winds may be stronger than surface winds, and often are not from the same direction. They usually try to fly with the upper-air winds so they can cover greater distances and not use up all their stored energy. Birds will be moving much faster than observed wind speeds so flocks are easily distinguishable on NexRad.

For the record, a really strong-flying bird, with really good winds and perfect weather, can make the non-stop Gulf crossing in just over 8 hours. It takes an average of 19 straight hours of flying, however, for an average bird, and more for a small bird.