Molting birds aren’t sick or in pain…it’s natural

 

Around this time of year, lots of birds look shopworn, unkempt and raggedy. Don‘t worry about it! 

Birds lose some or all of their feathers on a regular basis. It’s called “molting”, and the regularity of it depends on the species. New totally-normal feathers grow back.

Feathers are NOT alive, but are keratin much like hair or fingernails on humans. When they get too worn, the birds’ bodies slough them off and new ones grow. This helps them stay warm when needed. Usually it’s simply due to the ravages of time, and our climate, that wear out feathers. But other causes may be at fault.

A common reason is microscopic mites which occur on all birds. Normally, a bird preens them off using his beak. But in areas that the bird can’t reach (like the neck or head) the mites may overpopulate and ruin a lot of feathers.  Winter weather will take care of mites, but the birds look bad for a time.

There’s no need for you to worry about it. There’s nothing for you to do but wait for cooler weather to solve the problem naturally.

Owen Yost, in addition to blogging, is a Landscape Architect emeritus from here, who‘s worked in north Texas for over 30 years.  He is a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), International Society of Landscape Architects, the National BirdFeeding Society, National Wildlife Federation and the Audubon Society. He was honored with a Lifetime Achievement award by the Native Plant Society of Texas. His design office is at northwestern68@yahoo.com

 

 

 

Privet and Ligustrum: plants to NEVER plant

 

 Privet invades a landscape quickly, growing into thickets that crowd out native plants and change the very ecology of an area. Even if the shrub can be removed effectively, it’s tough for a landscape to return to its previous condition.

Actually, privet and ligustrum are two names for the very same plant. First introduced into the U.S. in 1852, Chinese Privet (Ligustrum sinense) escaped cultivation by the 1930s and spread across the Southeast.  “Chinese privet is the primary cause of the decline in diversity of native herbaceous plants and tree seedlings in the areas it infests.” said research entomologist Jim Hanula.

Results from a five-year study published by U.S. Forest Service researchers showed that not only can a thorough removal of privet last at least five years without a follow-up, but also that native plant and animal communities steadily return to areas cleared of the invasive shrub. Hanula and Horn began investigating how privet removal affected the recovery of plant and animal communities by comparing the treated plots to reference areas that had never been invaded by privet and control plots that were invaded and not treated. The results were dramatic,” said Horn. “The hardwood forests we’re working on are some of the most beautiful places in the South when they’re not choked with privet. We saw the return of native plant species in all of the treated plots.”

Results from their studies on pollinators were even more dramatic. “After only two years, there were four to five times more bee species in privet-free areas, 40 or 50 compared to the 10 on control plots infested with privet,” said Hanula. “We caught three times as many butterfly species on the mulched plots and nearly seven times as many individuals.”  “Overall, these results are encouraging, since we expected to have to re-treat the privet more frequently to preserve the integrity of the removal plots,” said Horn. “These results show that control following one removal event lasts at least five years.”

Ligustrums are notorious water guzzlers, pilfering water from more desirable plants. Around homes, fall is a great time to pull them out of the ground (they’re extremely shallow-rooted). Large plants can simply be cut at the base with pruning shears. Then, plant a few native plants, or let the natives re-fill naturally.

 

Owen Yost, in addition to blogging, is a Landscape Architect emeritus from here, who‘s worked in north Texas for over 30 years.  He is a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), International Society of Landscape Architects, the National BirdFeeding Society, National Wildlife Federation and the Audubon Society. He was honored with a Lifetime Achievement award by the Native Plant Society of Texas. His design office is at northwestern68@yahoo.com

 

Maybe we'll see more locally grown produce at farmers' markets?

     The Denton City Council approved a change allowing beekeeping in the city, It allows residents to keep honeybee hives if they meet certain criteria.

     The city also has applied for a Bee City USA designation that would help promote healthy bee habitats and overall knowledge about bees.

     To be able to keep honeybees, residents must inform their adjacent neighbors, have a source of water within 20 feet of all hives and register with the city. The size of a person’s land also can limit how many hives they can keep.

     Before, most beekeepers followed the nuisance ordinance, which said Denton residents couldn’t keep bees if they endangered their neighbors’ health or welfare. Some, however, took this to mean that beekeeping wasn’t allowed at all.

     With the addition of beekeeping to the city code, Christina Beck, president of the Denton County Beekeepers Association, said she hopes this will encourage more people to keep honeybees. Because bees are such good pollinators, it could result in more local food sources.

     Beck also said the ordinance could help curtail the spread of Africanized bees, a type of aggressive bee that is often called a “killer bee.” Because our honeybees travel in larger colonies, they could possibly overpower other bees.   “Hopefully, we’ll see more produce in our community market,” she also said.

 

A sparrow by any other name…   The familiar and often pesky House Sparrow isn’t actually in the same biological family as our native Sparrows. Imported from Europe in 1851, it’s actually a weaver-finch. The common name came about because the small birds look similar to our native Sparrows. House Sparrows (sometimes called English Sparrows) are in north Texas all year long. The real sparrows migrate north for the winter. Our native sparrows belong to the Emberizidae family, but House Sparrows are in the Passeridae family (if it really matters!).

  Owen Yost, in addition to blogging, is a Landscape Architect emeritus from here, who‘s worked in north Texas for over 30 years.  He is a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), International Society of Landscape Architects, the National BirdFeeding Society, National Wildlife Federation and the Audubon Society. He was honored with a Lifetime Achievement award by the Native Plant Society of Texas. His design office is at northwestern68@yahoo.com

Put nectar feeders away, and still attract hummingbirds

Yippee!! My experiment is working quite well. No longer do I have to deal with messy, sticky nectar feeders for hummingbirds on a regular basis. But I still have lots of hummingbirds dropping by and/or living in nearby vegetation.

Instead of regularly handling messy nectar feeders, I planted large masses of colorful, native flowers. Their nectar is what hummingbirds eat naturally, attracted by the brightly-colored flowers. In my yard, I use lantana, Turks cap and flame acanthus. But you could use any native

Texas flower. Hummingbirds will love you for it, and visit often. And I’m able to put my nectar feeders away.

I’ll only use my feeders twice a year – when hummingbirds arrive and when they “pork up” to leave (late September).

You can put away your nectar feeders too. But please forego the planting until late winter or early spring, when plants are starting to grow. My advice to anyone wanting to plant in our summer is to throw the plants you buy directly into the trash, saving one step.  :)

Move along, Mr. Wasp       Wasps (primarily “paper wasps”) tend to build nests in the worst places.  If they’re prone to building nests on the underside of your roof eaves or the platform of your birdfeeder, try rubbing some bar soap there first. The soap prevents them from attaching the wasp nest.   (I’m told foil works too, but you may not like how it looks)

  

Owen Yost, in addition to blogging, is a Landscape Architect emeritus from here, who‘s worked in north Texas for over 30 years.  He is a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), International Society of Landscape Architects, the National BirdFeeding Society, National Wildlife Federation and the Audubon Society. He was honored with a Lifetime Achievement award by the Native Plant Society of Texas. His Denton design office is at northwestern68@yahoo.com

I'm trying an alternative to messy, troublesome nectar feeders

I am gradually removing myself from feeding Hummingbirds via nectar feeders. I've had it with sticky counters, boiling pots, hungry ants, and artificial nectar that gets stale quickly in the Texas heat.

The artificial nectar does the job just fine. It's just too much mess and trouble. Besides, I'd rather feed Hummingbirds the natural way - the way nature has been doing it for thousands of years. With flowers.

In the last few years I've planted and encouraged several "masses" of colorful, native flowers. They're chock full of natural nectar which continuously refreshes itself. The nectar they produce has evolved to be in the perfect proportions. All I have to do is water it and fertilize it when it needs it (which is hardly ever). Hummingbirds love ‘em, and an added benefit is the bunches of butterflies.

For the record; my nectar masses (each at least 20 square feet) are Turks cap, Lantana and Mistflower. (Each mass is composed only of one species, except one has a tree in the middle). There are also Flame Acanthus, Spiderwort, Butterfly weed and Roughleaf Dogwood randomly growing in the yard. Being native, they all do fine in Texas' radical climate.

There are just two times when I’ll augment my flower masses with nectar feeders. One is early spring when Hummingbirds arrive in this area after an arduous migration. The other is late September, when Hummingbirds throng feeders to ”bulk up” for the long migration trip ahead.

 

Owen Yost, in addition to blogging, is a Landscape Architect emeritus from here, who‘s worked in north Texas for over 30 years.  He is a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), International Society of Landscape Architects, the National BirdFeeding Society, National Wildlife Federation and the Audubon Society. He was honored with a Lifetime Achievement award by the Native Plant Society of Texas. His design office is at northwestern68@yahoo.com

North Texas' night owls

Great-horned Owl

Owl’s ears are not at the same level on its head, and they face forward not to the side. This helps him (or her) locate prey easily at night (usually an unfortunate rodent). Also, those tufts on an owl’s head are not ears – just feathers. The Great-horned Owl is the largest in this area, but north Texas has many Screech Owls (which don’t make the familiar “hoot-hoot” sound) and are somewhat smaller.

The Barn Owl is another area owl. An adult Barn Owl kills and eats, on average, about five rats/mice each evening.

  

 

Owen Yost, in addition to blogging, is a Landscape Architect emeritus from here, who‘s worked in north Texas for over 30 years.  He is a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), International Society of Landscape Architects, the National BirdFeeding Society, National Wildlife Federation and the Audubon Society. He was honored with a Lifetime Achievement award by the Native Plant Society of Texas. His design office is at northwestern68@yahoo.com

 

How do hummingbirds get the energy for their high-octane lifestyle?.

 Hummingbirds’ “fighter-jet” acrobatics are as dazzling as their plumage, but the same physics that sets them apart exacts a steep price.

As the world's smallest birds, hummingbirds have a high surface-area-to-volume ratio. That means they lose a lot of heat through their skin. The problem is compounded by a lack of downy feathers, the fluffy insulation that keeps most birds warm. Skipping the down shaves weight, but the birds must compensate by refueling constantly, consuming two or three times their body weight every day. 

That's also why hummingbirds love nectar. They will visit multiple flowers in a short time, lapping up three to seven calories daily. That may seem like a trivial amount, but when scaled to the size of a human, it translates to about 155,000 calories a day. If the birds were any smaller, it would be physically impossible for them to eat enough to stay alive. As a result, hummingbirds are territorial. They stake out flowers and feeders, defending a food source at all costs—even at the cost of having a social life.

Unlike many other birds, hummers don’t gather in flocks (except when they concentrate near food); males and females don’t even raise their families together. Mating takes about half a second, after which the female zooms off to build a nest, lay eggs, incubate them, and raise the eggs/chicks by herself.

Because hummingbirds have such high metabolism, even sleep could prove fatal. Going for several hours without refueling could cause them to starve. Luckily, the birds have evolved an extreme solution: At night they enter a state of controlled hypothermia, slowing their breathing and heart rate and drastically lowering their body temperature to save energy. On a particularly frigid night, a hummingbird’s metabolism can drop as much as 95 percent.

Because the birds have few natural enemies, life expectancy is mostly determined by their own biology. Hummers age about 10 times faster than humans. They seem to have a high rate of heart attacks, ruptures, and strokes—not all that surprising given the fast pace of their lifestyle (up to 6.2 beats per second). If a hummingbird slows down, it dies; its existence leaves no room for laziness. You can help prolong their lives by having multiple feeders, full of fresh, clear nectar. Also, lots of native flowers such as cherry sage, turks cap, lantana and mistflower.  But, in the end, these birds essentially blow themselves out. 

CAN A MACHINE GET RID OF MOSQUITOES? The simple answer is “no”. That doesn’t stop manufacturers from making carefully-worded claims, however,

Bug zappers for instance. They use ultra-violet light to attract bugs, which are then electrocuted. They’ve been found to be totally ineffective in eliminating biting insects. Numerous studies show that less than one percent of the insects fried by zappers are biting insects. Many are “beneficial” bugs (which eat other bugs) like lacewings, ladybugs and dragonflies. It’s other things that attract biting insects such as mosquitoes, like carbon dioxide and ingredients in mammalian sweat.

We now have more elaborate and expensive machines, and fancier claims. New studies have shown these expensive machines are nearly as ineffective against mosquitoes as the old bug zappers. Much of what they destroy, in fact, are harmless insects that are food for insect-eating birds such as wrens, kinglets and swallows. Also, almost all birds need insects to feed to their young.

    The best mosquito defense that I know of (short of moving to the desert) is to have lots of birds and bats around. As I said, many birds eat mosquitoes (the purple martin is said to eat up to 2,000 a day!) The bats in the north Texas area (despite a horrible reputation thanks to Hollywood) can eat more than that!

  

Owen Yost, in addition to blogging, is a Landscape Architect emeritus from here, who‘s worked in north Texas for over 30 years.  He is a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), International Society of Landscape Architects, the National BirdFeeding Society, National Wildlife Federation and the Audubon Society. He was honored with a Lifetime Achievement award by the Native Plant Society of Texas. His design office is at northwestern68@yahoo.com