You know what the end of March means, don't you?

 

It’s near the end of March so -THE HUMMINGBIRDS ARE BACK!  If you have not put out your feeders, you need to do so in the next day or so since they’re famished, and most nectar-laden flowers aren’t blooming yet. North Texas will host a number of Hummingbirds in the next several weeks. Two or three pairs may establish nesting territories in your yard or the immediate area. The rest will have to find territories elsewhere, or continue moving north. Almost every Hummingbird will pass through “the south”, and the majority (after resting up) will keep travelling northward to Vermont, Ohio, Missouri, North Dakota or... The result will be a tapering of numbers here, and it will seem like they are actually leaving your feeders, except for a few that hang around. The ones that nest here will stay all summer.

Even when the numbers at your feeders drop, it is imperative that feeders be kept clean and that they be

cleaned at every refill. Otherwise, a fungus will develop in the feeder, aggravated by the Texas heat, that grows on the tongues of the Hummingbirds, making them sick.

Next will be late September and October, when fall migration begins. We again will have large numbers in everyone's backyard. They will stop over to rest and replenish energy supplies for their return migration flight to central and South America. (There are absolutely NO Hummingbirds in the other hemisphere; Europe, Africa, Asia etc. -  only the Americas)

 

 

 

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.

Any day now hungry Hummingbirds will arrive in north Texas

 

   

The Hummingbirds should be arriving in north Texas about now. And they'll be tired and hungry after their migration. Last Tuesday they were just south of us, but rain may be slowing them down a bit.  My favorite web site to keep track of their arrivals (and where) is the migration maps at www.hummingbirds.net

 I hope you aren’t one of those people who wait to put up a Hummingbird feeder until you see a Hummingbird. Just think about how illogical that is!

 

 

Looks matter to Barn Swallows       Research has found that even after Barn Swallows have paired up for the season, females constantly judge their mates by their looks, in particular by the reddish color of the males’ breast and belly feathers. Females that paired with males with paler (less desireable) feathers were more likely to secretly copulate with another male.
        Cornell’s Laboratory of Ornithology also found that females paired to males with the reddest feathers cheated less. As a result, those males fathered a greater proportion of

Barn Swallow

young. Cornell speculates that the intensity of the reddish color is an indicator of the male’s health and ability to raise young - key to the evolution of the species over the generations.

 

 

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.

 

Tracking bird migration by radar

An accidental but very useful tool in keeping track of bird migrations into and through Texas is NexRad;  ”next generation radar”. NexRad is blind to non-moving objects (like buildings, towers and a mass of birds sitting on trees in a forest). Nor does it pick up very low objects (insects, dust, smoke, and most local birds). To be visible on radar, bird flights must be above roughly 350 feet. This covers migratory flight very well.

    An increasing number of TV stations are doing this during the spring migration.
     In general birds flying over the Gulf (where almost all mass migration takes place) fly at several thousand feet above the water. Birds migrating over land fly lower (1000 ft. or less). Storms or unseasonable cold sometimes mean that migrating birds aim for land sooner than normal (hitting Corpus Christi rather than Galveston for example) so they can stop and rest. Still, many migrating birds perish over the open waters.

 

 

 

 

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.

 

 

So you want to attract Purple Martins to your yard or neighborhood...

 

Purple Martin

Around now is when Purple Martins start to settle in the north Texas area. The “scouts” come first, followed by hordes of others. If you’ve put out the “welcome mat”, they may just settle down at your place.

         They prefer nest sites cleaned of the majority of old debris, near water, and free of other birds (especially House Sparrows). Martin houses are almost always on tall, metal poles, and can be raised and lowered easily for regular maintenance. Since their natural habitat has mostly disappeared, they are dependant on humans for nesting sites, so the house typically comes in a box.  In Texas, Martin houses should be made of a material that withstands heat, and be white to reflect our sun (both are crucial here). The houses need to be cleared of old nests at least yearly, and you’ll need to monitor it so other birds don’t take it over. If a house doesn’t come with a pole, shop elsewhere; and make sure the pole is easily raised and lowered.

    Purple Martins are exceptionally good fliers  – all their food is caught during flight (the ultimate “in-flight meal”). They’ve been timed at 41 mph. It’s not unusual to see hundreds of them at once; on, in and around the special house you provide. 

Each year more and more people put up Martin houses; either the traditional “apartment house” or the natural-looking gourds. Also, several neighborhoods and communities in north Texas have become Purple Martin landlords, and enjoy a reduction in flying insects.

 

 



Screech Owl

Where are owls’ ears?      Despite how they appear, owls do not have external ears; 100% of their hearing function is inside the body. What look like ears on their heads are just tufts of feathers mostly unrelated to their exceptional sense of hearing.  What is also exceptional is their eyes, which let them see in near-total darkness.

 

 

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. 

Hummingbirds get here around the end of March. Will your nectar harm them?

 



Black-chinned Hummingbirds

        
Adding coloring to nectar is just an “urban legend”; it’s never been proven to be necessary.  According to Wildbird magazine, if nectar is dyed red, a typical Hummingbird (weighing just a few grams) takes in 10 times the amount of dye necessary to cause DNA damage, interfering with reproduction.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

High doses of Red #40 (the most popular dye) will also result in “significantly reduced reproductive success, parental and offspring weight” according to researchers. Plain nectar is what they need. Nothing more. 

Here in the north Texas, microscopic bits of mold (found in most food coloring) can multiply rapidly, ruining an entire batch of nectar and making the birds go elsewhere.

     Nowadays, almost all feeders are colorful enough all by themselves.  In truth, it’s not just red that attracts them.  It’s any bright color except green; (an adaptation that lets them spot nectar-producing flowers in a leafy jungle). 

          So please keep the nectar fresh and clear. They'll get to north Texas around the last week of March, so give them the nectar they want and need - to attract a healthy share to your yard.

 

 

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. 

Where have all the ground-nesting birds gone?

 

Killdeer

Meadowlark

Chuck-wills-widow

This observation was about Quail, but applies to all other ground-nesting birds as well (such as Meadowlarks, Horned Larks, Killdeer, Nightjars [Chuck-wills-widow] and most species of ducks).  A former official of the Texas Parks & Wildlife Dept. stated that their declining numbers are due to habitat fragmentation, uncontrolled fire ants, and feral hogs and cats. In urban and semi-urban areas, the lack of meaningful habitat for ground-nesters is very controllable. It’s done by naturalizing and uniting undeveloped areas such as parks and floodplains, and by controlling fire ants in a safe manner (both relatively simple to do).

 

Before you swat it…       America’s native pollinators cheerfully pollinate a whole lot of crops; for free. Our native bees alone do $3 billion worth of crop pollination that would otherwise have to be done by hired honeybees (which are mainly European in origin). As of yet, nobody has received a bill for all the pollination by home-grown pollinators.

 

 

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.

The direction of a birdhouse's entrance hole

 

   

You could put up a birdhouse (or “nestbox”) at the right height, with the right design and in just the right place, but birds still may turn down your invitation. Maybe it’s the direction that the entrance hole faces. Avoid facing it into the prevailing winds, or the direction from which most spring storms come. In north Texas that means the hole should face generally east (anywhere from SE to NE is ok). In Texas’ heat, you don’t want the hot, west sun to shine inside a birdhouse - ever.

            The Cornell Lab of Ornithology did research, proving that more birds fledge from boxes that face east. In fact, several friends have reported that Bluebirds have laid eggs in boxes already. It’s certainly not too early to put one up since many birds produce several broods – all summer long. Generally it's the older birds (with more experience) that produce early or very late broods. Putting a house up now should help them get used to its being there.

 

Many Texas birds don't even use birdhouses, preferring to build their own nests. So please put out plenty of nest-building material too.

 

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.