There's not a single good reason for butchering Crape Myrtles

Crape Myrtles butchered into poor health

About this time of year, Crape Myrtles throughout north Texas are butchered mercilessly. Thick, healthy branches are cut off for no good reason at all. Many survive but some don't.

The typical "reason" given is that butchering promotes blooming.  This is absolutely, 100% not true, and there is not a shred of scientific evidence that it's in any way good for the Crape Myrtle. In fact, the only benefit derived is to the "landscape crew", who can  charge the owner for totally unnecessary and possibly harmful work.

Butchering trees is somewhat like the myth that frogs cause warts - it's an old way of thinking that needs to disappear. The most I'd recommend is to prune off last season's old seed heads - a purely cosmetic act.  I'd certainly never recommend cutting anything thicker around than a pencil. There's just no honest reason!

-G. Owen Yost, Landscape Architect emeritus

Keep your birdbaths full and clean! Birds need to bathe frequently in the winter to maintain insulation from the cold. Many of the birds at birdbaths are species that won't come to your feeders because they don't eat seed. Recently I've seen Cardinals, Goldfinches, Chickadees, Blue Jays, Thrushes, Brown Thrashers and several Robins in our birdbaths (we have three).

A hawk is lurking around our birdfeeder. Help!

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Cooper's Hawk

They'll do that - your feeder's clearly a place where birds gather (and to hawks, that's a few meals). My advice is to take the feeder down for a few days. The hawk will move on when he figures out the birds are elsewhere.

The most common hawks in north Texas are pictured here. The Sharp-shinned and Cooper's look very similar - the banding on the tails is the key. Both are about the size (although leaner and smarter) of an ordinary Dove. The Red-tailed is larger and the coloring is extremely variable.

Red-tailed Hawk

Contrary to what some store clerks will tell you, putting up fake owls and plastic snakes doesn't scare away hawks or any other bird for more than five minutes. Save your money! Things that move randomly are the only things that catch their eyes.


Double-scratching is a winter eating technique

Fox Sparrow

When there is leaf litter on the ground, birds that can (like sparrows, towhees, juncos and most blackbirds) will still search for food successfully. They do it by double-scratching the leaf litter, usually  uncovering tiny insects, eggs or forgotten seed.

Watch closely because it happens fast: The bird hops forward a tiny bit with both legs, then hops backward a little. He may have uncovered food!

Of course, if all the leaf litter has been removed ("the manicured lawn") forget about birds.

Downy Woodpecker

Woodpeckers have many tiny barbs on the end of his (or her) long, narrow tongue. So the tongue has sort of a bottle-brush shape. When the bird sticks his tongue into a suet cake, the barbs catch on the suet and, when bringing the tongue back, break off tiny pieces of it. Several of north Texas' birds peck, but only woodpeckers are adapted like this.

Look closely, it may be a Harris' Sparrow

Harris' Sparrow

Harris' Sparrow

Among the throngs of Juncos in north Texas this winter, there is likely to be a Harris' Sparrow or two. They're the same size as Juncos, they have the same feeding habits and they have similar colors (though in different areas of the body).

Both Harris' Sparrows and Juncos are in the sparrow family, but look closely. While a Junco's back is gray, the Harris' Sparrow back is not. It's finely striped like other native sparrows - tan and white. Nor is its entire head dark gray.



In Texas, astoundingly, NOW is the best time of year to plant native prairie grasses. They don't need fertilizer, They need very little water, and grasses require only once-a-year maintenance. They're also mostly free of pests and diseases.

There are several kinds to choose from, such as Little Bluestem, Indian Grass, Gulf Muhly and Windmill Grass. Just be very sure it's a native prairie grass or it could be a problem.

Woodpeckers are definitely not killing your tree

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Sapsucker

In north Texas, it's the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker that usually gets the blame. But it's just not so - The tree is not healthy!!

The woodpecker (whatever the species) is telling you over and over and over that the tree or shrub is deathly sick.  The tree may look fine to you; but to a bird it's in serious decline. The wood is full of tunneling insects and the tree's sap is abnormally sweet. Both these things attract Sapsuckers and other woodpeckers.

It may be possible to return the tree to health. But it may topple in high wind first.

Eurasian Collared Dove

The Eurasian Collared Dove is becoming accustomed to the north Texas environment. Priority to the mid-80s, however, it wasn't even in the area's field guides. It was introduced to the Bahamas in the seventies, and spread out gradually from there.  It is now frequently seen in the southeast, and is expanding its range westward.

Habitat loss means fewer and fewer bats

When bat populations nosedive, it means big trouble ahead for the human population as well. An example is the Cave Myotis, a species of bat that's disappearing at an alarming rate. Other species are declining too.  In the southwest, that's due largely to loss of suitable bat habitat. So what, you say? When bat populations decline, natural pollination of many crops declines too. Also, there's a large upturn in infestation and crop destruction by flying insects.

All this costs us all a lot of money and adds harmful chemicals to our air. After all, a mature bat eats around 5000 flying insects per night. For free!  You can learn more at www.BatWorld.org -  the website for an excellent, non-profit bat rescue place here in north Texas.


You're totally right to be concerned about any disease carried by birds, no matter how rare or improbable the diseases are. True - cold weather slows or stops the trasnsmission of many bird diseases. But not all! Make sure the birds that visit your yard are healthy enough to fight off diseases, and can have the energy it takes to stay warm.  Even now, clean your feeders with a mixture of 90% water and 10% bleach or vinegar.

We'd rather fly to Hawaii too, however...

If vacationing in Maui, the Bahamas or Cancun isn't in your budget, do something rewarding right now anyway.  Many people in north Texas have created (or are creating) their private "birdscape" in the back yard - a place where they can go (weather-permitting of course) and not worry about e-mails and such. At no cost! Simply watch birds while relaxing in a lounge chair, or...   A "stay-cation".

Each "birdscape" is unique and different. Size is not a big concern at all. In fact, it's often a matter of "tweaking" an existing back yard landscape. What matters most is what you put IN the birdscape. Whatever it is, it should lower your dependency on store-bought birdseed.

This blog may spur some ideas. Also, I'd like to help face-to-face. As many of you may know, I'm a licensed Landscape Architect in Texas, and have consulted on the landscape design of hundreds of homes. I can also email you a list of "birdscape" plants that are native to north Texas. Just e-mail me.  I've personally seen that these plants are attractive, effective and durable in our climate.

The best time to start planning a birdscape in north Texas is NOW, before springtime and crowds loom around the corner.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!