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.