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| Killdeer |
Many of
us have seen killdeer, but didn’t realize it.
These ground-dwelling, long-legged, ring-necked birds are very good at
hiding in plain sight. They tolerate quite a lot of human activity. Like, next
to a roadway or in a paved parking lot – for example, we see them often in the
parking lot "islands" of the Factory Stores, on the north side of Denton. What they can’t
tolerate is their nestlings or eggs being picked up by a human and moved to a “safe”
place. If someone is headed toward a Killdeer
nest, females may divert him or her by acting as if they’re injured.
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| Killdeer on nest |
Are they really “green”? In the U.S., there are over 17,000 circulating
publications (that means magazines and newspapers,
but does not include junk mail or catalogs). Producing one requires, on
average, the equivalent of 2,165 trees.
Of those 17,000 publications, fewer than 200 use
any post-consumer recycled material. The few that do, destroy about 217 trees
each; 1,948 fewer. In other words, each of those few mailers leaves 1,948 trees
– to provide shade, cool the earth, rejuvenate the soil, emit oxygen and
provide homes for birds.
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.
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