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| Dark-eyed Junco |
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| Cedar Waxwing |
The Lone Star state is home to more
kinds of birds than any other state in the union. Over 600 species live
here! That includes the beautiful Cedar
Waxwing, whose first-of-season local sighting was east of Denton. It also
includes the Golden-crowned Kinglet, sighted by friends near Northlakes Park. And
an American Woodcock, in a friend’s yard south of here. This is mainly because
Texas takes in so many ecological zones. Many of these birds can be seen around
Denton County, because this area includes several of these zones. We even have
cold & snow – when the birds are exceptionally active, fighting through the
weather and trying to get warm. At these times, birds are especially grateful for the high-energy seeds (and such) you provide.
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| Great-crested Flycatcher |
A Real Pane. Research has proven what I strongly suspected – it’s OK for you to
put feeders directly on or near windows. In the study feeders directly on, or
within 3 ft., of a window resulted in NO bird deaths from flying into a
window. It seems that the real “danger zone” is when feeders are 3 to 5 ft.
from a window, especially a reflective one.
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
