Sunday, March 8, 2015

Where have all the ground-nesting birds gone?

Killdeer

Meadowlark

Chuck-wills-widow

This observation was about Quail, but applies to all other ground-nesting birds as well (such as Meadowlarks, Horned Larks, Killdeer, Nightjars [Chuck-wills-widow] and most species of ducks). A former official of the Texas Parks & Wildlife Dept. stated that their declining numbers are due to habitat fragmentation, uncontrolled fire ants, and feral hogs and cats. In urban and semi-urban areas, the lack of meaningful habitat for ground-nesters is very controllable. It’s done by naturalizing and uniting undeveloped areas such as parks and floodplains, and by controlling fire ants in a safe manner (both relatively simple to do).

Before you swat it… America’s native pollinators cheerfully pollinate a whole lot of crops; for free. Our native bees alone do $3 billion worth of crop pollination that would otherwise have to be done by hired honeybees (which are mainly European in origin). As of yet, nobody has received a bill for all the pollination by home-grown pollinators.

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.

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

The direction of a birdhouse's entrance hole

You could put up a birdhouse (or “nestbox”) at the right height, with the right design and in just the right place, but birds still may turn down your invitation. Maybe it’s the direction that the entrance hole faces. Avoid facing it into the prevailing winds, or the direction from which most spring storms come. In north Texas that means the hole should face generally east (anywhere from SE to NE is ok). In Texas’ heat, you don’t want the hot, west sun to shine inside a birdhouse - ever.

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology did research, proving that more birds fledge from boxes that face east. In fact, several friends have reported that Bluebirds have laid eggs in boxes already. It’s certainly not too early to put one up since many birds produce several broods – all summer long. Generally it's the older birds (with more experience) that produce early or very late broods. Putting a house up now should help them get used to its being there.

Many Texas birds don't even use birdhouses, preferring to build their own nests. So please put out plenty of nest-building material too.

Sunday, March 1, 2015

Bought Weed & Feed recently? Big mistake!!

“Weed ‘n feed” is a two-in-one weed killing and fertilizer product which claims to kill weeds and fertilize the grass in a single application. It’s often used purely out of habit, and is marketed under varying brand names, none of which work.

The idea of accomplishing two tasks in one action have made weed ‘n feed among the most frequently used lawn care products. But Weed 'n feed actually weakens your lawn—causing the kind of fast, weak, unnatural growth that makes your yard susceptible to pests and disease.

1. It doesn’t work as advertised

The two ingredients in weed ‘n feed products simply aren’t meant to be applied at the same time. The pre-emergent part of it should be applied about 2 months earlier than the soluble fertilizer part of “weed n feed”. Putting them both in the same bag doesn't change this.

2. Excessive application of weed killers is wasteful and dangerous.

Granular “weed and feed” products are applied to the entire lawn, not merely to areas of weeds, which results in chemicals being applied where they are not needed. One ingredient should be applied to the entire lawn, and one is intended for problem spots. In most lawns, broadleaf weeds like dandelions usually occupy less than five or 10 per cent of the area.

Most contain 20 to 30 percent more weed killer than is really needed – too much fertilizer too. When we give lawns more food than they need, the excess fertilizer ends up polluting groundwater because plants simply can’t absorb it all.

3. They can kill your trees.
Quick-release fertilizers, commonly used in most weed ‘n feed products, apply a quick and heavy dose of nutrients to the lawn, and are likely to wash off. Another main ingredient in “weed and feed” – atrazine, should never be used on 99.9% of residential sites, and many commercial sites. Simply said, atyrtazine kills trees in addition to broad-leasf weeds. And tree roots cover the entirety of many residential lots.

For this reason alone I do not recommend Scotts Bonus S, Vigero, Sam’s Club weed n feed and a few others. Studies have also linked weed-and-feed pesticides to massive bird deaths.

4. Long-term lawn health is compromised.
Once you begin a program of using synthetic fertilizers, your lawn becomes dependent on these chemicals for every following year. However, over-fertilizing with synthetic chemicals disinfects or kills most of the beneficial fungi and organisms in soil. This makes it more difficult to build naturally healthy turf which contains beneficial organisms. Result; you need to buy more of their products every year.

5. There are safer, more effective alternatives.
Inundating your lawn with synthetic chemicals may do harm to other living things that frequent your yard. Pets, wildlife, even small children may be harmed. The good news is that you can have a beautiful, healthy lawn without using blanket applications of synthetic chemicals.

Consumers should also realize that weed ‘n feed products do not prevent new weeds from growing. You can prevent new weeds from germinating by applying a pre-emergent herbicide during that first warm spell in spring and in the early fall. One of the best pre-emergents is corn gluten meal, a completely natural substance that also provides the benefits of fertilizing. Corn gluten meal is an organic alternative to weed ‘n feed.

In short, if you bought weed n feed, and haven’t put it on you lawn yet, take it back.

Where is the “east-west” division? In the north Texas area we see the Eastern Bluebird, the Eastern Phoebe and the Western Kingbird. Not to mention the Northern Mockingbird. Huh??

The clarity of the east-west line has gotten a little fuzzy. According to Roger Tory Peterson, “the logical division is a belt between the hundredth meridian and the foothills of the Rockies”. In other words, the east-west divider is not so much a “line” as a “region”. Informally it’s the Rocky Mountains.

However, since birds can fly, they can be found almost anywhere. Members of several bird species have flown over the Rockies. A few species are actually IN the Rockies. In north Texas, the bird species are more “east” than “west”.

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

A safe, inexpensive fire ant killer that you'll need real soon!

As I write this, there is a crust of ice and sleet on the landscape. Birds eat anxiously, and hardly a thought is given to the regular spring happenings. Spring will be here very soon, however. It’ll bring the nice stuff like flowers and warm days. But it will also bring fire ants.

Fire ant mounds erupt in unexpected and inconvenient places each spring. So, many homeowners rush to a store and buy anything that promises to kill fire ants, not realizing that it also damages/kills pets, children and wildlife (including birds). It’s poison!!

Instead, I mix up a natural mixture - one that’s very effective, safe and inexpensive. I make a batch of the ”base” every year or so from ingredients at most hardware stores. The cost is about a tenth of the poisonous commercial stuff.

I suggest a mixture of about 40% compost tea, 30% orange oil and 30% liquid horticultural molasses (mixed thoroughly). You can mix up a batch of this “base” now and keep it ready. When the time comes to eradicate a mound I take half a cup of this mixture, mix with one gallon of water, and saturate the fire ant mound with it. Pour slowly to saturate the mound, and let it soak in – not run off. (I use a stick to quickly break through the mound’s crust.)

This doesn’t poison anything. It instantly dissolves insects’

exoskeletons. In about 5 minutes there’s no ant activity at all. A few days later, I’ll add beneficial nematodes to the soil to control fire ants long term.

Sunday, February 22, 2015

What's a "pile" of chickadees, and why should you care?

Carolina Chickadee

On cool nights, chickadees (the ones in north Texas are Carolina Chickadees) sleep together in a pile to conserve and share body heat. This way, they stay alive to propogate. Normally this takes place in a hollowed tree, or brushpile, but could be in an artificial “roost” you set up (a roost could be a variety of cozy places, such as an unused birdhouse or any other place that offers some protection from the winds, weather and predators). Other birds seek out roosts too - but chickadees are known for “piling” in the winter and cool spring nights.

You’ll probably never see a true Black-capped Chickadee here. Ours is a

Carolina Chickadee

slightly different species called Carolina Chickadee. It has a black cap too – hence the confusing names. The term ‘Carolina’ stems from the late 1700s when everything west of each of the original states was informally earmarked for that state’s future expansion. So things in north Texas were ‘Carolina’.

Insect eaters like good fruit, too

Many insect-eating birds (in north Texas that’s Robins, Mockingbirds, Kinglets, Orioles, Thrashers etc.) will turn into fruit eaters whenever insects aren’t abundant. Insects aren’t around in cooler weather, and fruit (typically in the form of berries) gives them the energy they need. They may even try fresh seeds when they’re really hungry.

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

ROUND-UP, and similar products, linked to spike in chronic diseases

A new study published in the Journal of Organic Systems has linked glyphosate, the primary ingredient in Monsanto’s best-selling herbicide, Roundup, to an enormous increase in chronic diseases. The study proved – once again – that glyphosate and Round-up are lethal, even in small amounts.

More than 650,000 metric tons of glyphosate products were used over five years ago, with the amount being used increasing each year. This increase is contributing to the development of diseases such as diabetes, obesity, lipoprotein metabolism disorder, Alzheimer’s, senile dementia, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, autism, and cancer.

The report details how there is a direct correlation between the incidence of these diseases and glyphosate use. It isn’t as if the toxicity levels of glyphosate are not already known by its makers. Monsanto was refusing to release to the public lab tests conducted in St. Louis,, which gave them authority to use glyphosate in China.

The poison developed by the Monsanto Company has been allowed on the US market since the 1970s. It isn’t just Monsanto who sells glyphosate at retqai8ol. There are over 100 different manufacturers of the product throughout the world. You can find it in other products with names such as Killzall, Clearout 41 and Honcho.

Although glyphosate is used primarily in agricultural settings, it is also sprayed by public authorities on roads and pavements. Even home gardeners still use the toxic chemicals to control weeds, although alternatives exist.

According to the new study:

“Within the last 20 years there has been an alarming increase in serious illnesses in the US, along with a marked decrease in life expectancy (Bezruchka, 2012). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that the cost of diabetes and diabetes-related treatment was approximately $116 billion dollars in 2007.

Estimated costs related to obesity were $147 billion in 2008 and cardiovascular diseases and stroke were $475.3 billion in 2009. Health care expenditures in the US totaled 2.2 trillion dollars in 2007 (CDC, 2013a). The onset of serious illness is appearing in increasingly younger cohorts. The US leads the world in the increase in deaths due to neurological diseases between 1979-81 and 2004-06 for the 55-65 age group (Pritchard et al., 2013).”

The study points out that, “these findings suggest environmental triggers rather than genetic or age-related causes,” especially since chronic diseases are showing up in younger and younger individuals.

“During this same time period, there has been an exponential increase in the amount of glyphosate applied to food crops and in the percentage of GE food crops planted (Benbrook, 2012). We undertook a study to see if correlations existed between the rise of GE crops, the associated glyphosate use and the rise in chronic disease in the US.”

My advice; Read the label on any herbicide or insecticide you’re thinking of buying. Make sure it can’t harm pets, children, birds etc. besides killing weeds or bugs.

Sunday, February 15, 2015

Killing all the bugs in your yard means saying goodbye to birds too.

In Texas, all but one species of wild bird (even those that eat seed like Cardinals) feed their newborns nothing but insects. They’re easier to digest since newborn birds don’t have fully developed digestive systems! When they leave the nest, young birds learn to find and eat seed – maybe at your birdfeeder with the help of their parents. The exception is Finches, whose nestlings can eat seeds.

If the parents can’t find bugs to feed their newborns, they’ll

probably go elsewhere.

Avoid stale seed or birdseed mixed with other stuff Birds will NOT eat “other stuff” but you are charged for it nonetheless. The “other stuff” tends to be twigs, plant stalks, stones, dirt and empty hulls left from the production process. Birds don’t like stale seeds either, and will quickly fly elsewhere for a decent meal.

Short of tearing open the bag in the store, you can’t tell if seed is mixed with other stuff. But if you find it when you get home, complain to the merchant or shop elsewhere next time. From my years running a birding store I know that the middleman charges a tiny bit extra (about a penny a bag) for cleaning the seed. This charge, and the service, is usually the first to go in a price war. I’ve run across this at a nearby Tractor Supply, and a Wild Bird Unlimited in Flower Mound, so I don’t shop there.

Seed is also suspect when bought from many grocery stores and “big box” stores. It’s likely to have been sitting on store/warehouse shelves losing nutrition hourly. Stale seed is avoided by birds since it’s not nutritious anymore, and they need nutrition to survive.