The seasonal water needs of north Texas birds

 

Birds need water every minute of every day, all year long.  Especially when it’s cold out! Since they also need to fly, they can’t store water in body fat like most animals. They must constantly get water either in its liquid form or as a component of the food they eat. Since birds live an active life, they lose water at a rapid rate. The smaller a bird is, the greater its daily water loss.  Since a big part of water loss is due to the air temperature, north Texas birds need A LOT of clean water, all year long.

They need water in the winter to keep warm, believe it or not. They need to bathe to stay alive (the actual bath takes just a few seconds). Clean feathers trap air efficiently and help insulate from the elements.  Only clean feathers! In freezing weather, I’ll keep baths unfrozen by adding boiling water every few hours.

 In warm weather, a small, inexpensive “dunk” floating in the birdbath kills mosquitoes, but won’t harm birds or pets at all.

 If you’re planning to put out a birdbath, remember that birds frighten easily. They’re small and (except for a few species) swim poorly. They shy away from water that’s more than 2½-3 inches deep.  They also prefer a gradually sloping bottom, instead of a sudden dropoff to the birdbath’s full depth.

Use dead leaves the way nature intended; Don’t rake

Before long, you’ll get tired of moving fallen leaves from one place in your yard to another. Maybe you end up stuffing them into plastic bags or you decide to call a mound of leaves a "compost pile." Here’s an idea: instead of using a rake, use your lawn mower to improve your soil and get fallen leaves out of sight.

The easiest and most environmentally sensible thing to do is leave the leaves where they fall, and shred them up with your mower. That’s what I do, once or twice during the winter.  No special mower or blade is necessary; just do it like you’re cutting the lawn. By far the worst thing you can do is rake up all the fallen leaves, leaving bare ground exposed to the elements. Raking just encourages unwanted vegetation and erosion. A thin carpet of shredded, dead leaves protects the soil from compaction and erosion; and it’s free!  It also loosens the soil so it holds water better.

 After the leaves are shredded into tiny bits, the next rain will make them disappear. They’ll filter down between the grass blades and become part of the soil as they decompose, just as nature intended.

Most of the trees in north Texas are oak trees. All spring and summer, the leaves store up nutrients gathered from the soil. These nutrients are roughly equivalent to the nutrients in store-bought compost, which we'll gladly pay good money for! About now, however, leaves are dying and falling to the ground. Then they start decomposing naturally, releasing the nutrients and strengthening plants’ roots.  They’re also composting as they’re releasing all of that naturally stored nutrition.


Shredding them up with a mower simply increases their surface area, so they decompose a lot faster. (It's a natural, yearly cycle.) This coming winter, the dead leaves will protect fragile roots (which are usually near the surface) from the cold, and plants will green up faster come spring with the extra nutrition. 

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

Squirrels dominating your birdfeeder?

DISTRACTING SQUIRRELS

There are some highly squirrel-resistant bird feeders around that work 99% of the time. We use several styles. But there is no such thing as an absolutely Squirrel-Proof feeder, and there probably won’t ever be one. The best bet is to place a feeder on a baffled pole (not a tree branch) away from any vegetation, railing or roof that squirrels could use as a launch pad. And never trap or kill squirrels - that just makes the problem worse after a couple of days. 

Also, offer squirrels their own food (corn, for instance) far from the bird feeder and out of sight, so they have something else to go for. Since they’re territorial, it’s unlikely you’ll attract more squirrels competing for the territory.

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 in Denton at northwestern68@yahoo.com

Why do Houses Finches seem to be everywhere?

 

House finches are small, often red-headed birds. Despite their great numbers in Texas, however, this region is not their natural home. They are native to the dry regions of the west. Because of the males’ red coloring, they used to be trapped and sold in the New York area as “Hollywood finches”. Being illegal and not wanting to get caught, the dealers released them around 1940, all in the Long Island area.  The House Finches liked it and adapted quickly! 

Within two decades, the species expanded to the Carolinas. Eventually, Texas. The rest is history. As you can see in the picture, the males are red & gray;  females are gray & black.

 

 Cut down the right tree.  Now is the time to mark those trees that need removing this winter; due to its death, disease or location. Winter is easily the best time; for one, you have far less chance of damaging neighboring trees.

I mark trees with bands of brightly-colored "flagging tape" which is used by surveyors. But you can use anything handy. That way, I'm not afraid of cutting down the wrong tree by mistake. 

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

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