The nearby treasure of Hagerman

Canada Goose family

Canada (not "Canadian") Geese

One day recently, a birding group at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge saw approximately  3,500 Snow Geese, 3,000 Ross's Geese, 125 White-fronted Geese, 125 Green-winged Teal, 125 White Pelicans, 100 Canada Geese, 100 Pintails, 22 Buffleheads, 30 Great Egrets, 16 Canvasbacks, and one adult Bald Eagle.  Plus lots and lots of the usual resident songbirds.        

Touring Hagerman N.W.F. by car, on their park roads, is free.  It's located about 45 minutes north of Denton on I-35, and about 15 minutes east of Gaineville - on the shores of Lake Texoma.

Snow Geese

Hagerman N.W.R.

For all but a few of us, West Nile Virus ("WNV") is not a big deal.  It's nowhere near as universally scary as the news media have hyped it to be. It's only a major concern if your immune system is poor, and/or you have a serious, underlying medical condition.

No, I'm not a physician (nor are news reporters), but I read voraciously and try to get the true facts behind things, not just accepting the media spin and hype.

I'm absolutely sure that there have been a few serious cases among the millions of people who live in north Texas (as there have been with colds). But the proven fact is that about 80% of the people who contract WNV, don't even know they're sick (they may just feel a bit tired or achy for a few days). Most don't even do anything like stay home from work or take some aspirin. (There have been just 13 cases this year in Denton County - a county of around 690,000 people)

Silly things like mosquito-spraying from trucks has dubious results and, some say, does more harm than good. However there are two things you can do to lessen the chance of getting WNV. First, make sure your immune system, and general health, is good. So your body can resist WNV naturally. Second, constantly empty any containers in your yard that hold even the slightest bit of water. Watering cans, flower pot saucers etc. Mosquitoes breed in still water. (Just put a non-poisonous "mosquito dunk" in birdbaths to keep them from breeding there.)

Texas woodpeckers that look identical, but aren't

Downy Woodpecker

Hairy Woodpecker

Both these birds are common in north Texas yards, live in the same habitat and have very similar markings. So it's often difficult to know if you're looking at a Downy Woodpecker or a Hairy Woodpecker. Look closely. The Hairy's body is slightly longer, but unless you're incredibly lucky you aren't going to see them side by side.

The clue that takes less than a second to think through is the relative sizes of the head and bill.  A Downy has an unusually small bill, noticebly shorter than the length of the bird's head. It doesn't look like it could put a dent in anything. The Hairy's bill, however, is at least as long as its head. It looks like it could do some real damage.

Maximilian Sunflower

Asteracae (or "composite") is a large family of native plants, almost all of which are particularly good at producing lots of tasty, rich food for north Texas birds.  Several should be in your yard. The most notable species are aster, coneflower, several daisies, coreopsis, blanket flower and about a dozen species of sunflower (Maximilian Sunflower is very durable, and one of my favorites since it has a lot of flowers instead of one big one).     

Why do some birds have wing markings?

Common Nighthawk

Some birds have developed distinctive wing markings over the ages.  If the species is often the target of aerial predators, it develops "false targets", visible from behind. A pursuing bird (eagle, hawk, osprey etc.) hopefully aims at the false target, which is mostly feathers. Not at the prey's body.

Red-winged Blackbird

Blue Grosbeak

Spotted Towhee

Northern Flicker

Northern Mockingbird

Birds normally don't die close to your house. But it happens. Usually they get far away from any activity and "become part of the food chain" with help from some scavenger.

But in case you run across a dead bird, how you handle it is your choice; the bird won't care. Burying it in the ground is about your emotions and traditions. This may prevent disease, but a raccoon (or other scavenger) may dig it up. A better way is double-bag the carcass and simply put it in an outdoor garbage can.

The bird that disappeared for several years

Baltimore Oriole

For a while there was no such bird as a Baltimore Oriole (like there was originally). In the seventies, it seems, ornithologists determined that the Baltimore and Bullock's Orioles (the two most widespread orioles) were a single species. They grouped them together as the somnambulently-named Northern Oriole. But further research (including then-new DNA testing) proved them to be two separate species all along, so the separate names were reinstated.

The Baltimore Oriole is a summer resident here. A
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Orchard Oriole

more common oriole in north Texas yards, however, is the Orchard Oriole.




Yes, birds can carry ticks. But ticks are very "host-specific". So it's extremely unlikely that a bird-borne tick will latch onto a human, cat or dog. Also, birds  groom themselves a lot and actually eat ticks.

If you like to be "one with nature" occasionally, you may pick up unwanted hitchhikers in the form of ticks. To rid yourself of the vast majority of them, try a lint roller - with wide tape. Unless they've dug in, it will collect them effectively.

Notice a lot of Gulf Fritillaries in your yard?

Gulf Fritillary

Gulf Fritillary

I've been noticing a lot of Gulf Fritillary butterflies in my yard, particularly on nectar-laden, native flowers like Turks Cap and Lantana. In north Texas the orange variety is prevalent. We're about as far north as their range goes, since they need to fly to a frost-free area for the winter.

Allow me to say what many of you already know; butterflies are insects.  So if an insecticide you use says something like "kills mosquitoes" on it, it almost certainly kills other insects too;  and it clearly won't do Gulf Fritillaries any good. The host plant for Gulf Fritillaries are several varieties of Passionflower. Having several around your yard should bring you even more than what's here now.

OUR "DUCK FACTORY":     Some areas of north Texas are fortunate enough to host ducks, be they Mallards, Wood Ducks, Canvasbacks, Mottled Ducks or whatever.  Some may even have been born here, but almost all ducklings are born in the Prairie Pothole region of the northern great plains - North America's "duck factory". Unfortunately, the climate is slowly changing so this area is getting drier. Coupled with man-made intrusions, the result is a lot fewer ducks (and other birds) for everyone.

Many birds here aren't attracted to seed at all.

American Robin

Certain bird species that hang out in north Texas like Robins, Bluebirds, Mockingbirds, Swallows, Wrens and Flycatchers, won't show up at seed feeders at all. They eat only insects ("insectivores"). Birdseed means nothing to them. but you can try tempting them with fruit.

Some like dried fruit (like raisins or prunes) softened by soaking in warm water for about an hour. Others might find sliced fruiit attractive (in north Texas, particularly for its water content) such as apple or orange slices, or chunks of banana, melon or pear.

Northern Mockingbird

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

Of course, every bird on the planet likes clean, fresh water. Especially on hot days.

Bluebird

A really smart and easy way to save water (and make what water you use go a lot further) is with an automatic hose timer.  If you water your landscape with hose-end sprinklers you can set a timer to turn the sprinkler on at a time when the pressure is best, the water isn't going to be lost to evaporation, and it'll do plants the most good.

I have hose timers set to turn on sprinklers at about 4 a.m., and run for around an hour. Watering doesn't interfere with showering or dishwashing, and your expensive water isn't lost to the sun and heat.

Battery-operated hose timers are available from any good hardware store. I prefer simple ones that forego elaborate tasks which I may never encounter - it just turns the hose on and off when I want.

Saving a lot of water with north Texas' native plants

Using plants native to north Texas can reduce outdoor water usage by 20 to 50 percent. And there are hundreds and hundreds of native plants; many now available via most mainstream sources.

Most native plants exist on no water (or very little) other than what falls from the sky naturally. They've adapted to the local weather over the centuries. Conversely, by far the biggest water-waster is a large non-native lawn. In Texas, it demands a phenomenal amount of water.

A rain barrel is an easy way to capture the water that falls from the sky; and the water's yours free! You can buy one, or buy the few materials it takes, at any good hardware store. Plans are on the internet.

The average household currently uses about 30% of all its water outdoors. In arid climates like north Texas it may be as high as 70%. By using native Texas plants that are used to our climate, that percentage could be reduced greatly.


LIKE PLAYING THE PIANO.     Most songbirds in north Texas (such as Chickadees, Wrens, Cardinals, Finches, Titmice and Warblers) belong to the rare group of animals that actually learn the vocalizations (songs) they make, instead of acquiring them genetically. While birds have physical traits which make bird sounds easier to produce, it develops them only from hearing them over and over from other birds.