Summer Bird Feeding

Male house sparrow at
sunflower feeder

Do you feed birds in the summer? Should you? Most people remove all of their feeders in the summer, except their hummingbird feeders. 

The reasons? Feeding the birds is expensive, and there is more available food from natural sources in the summer.

However, I do feed the birds in the summer, although I do feed a lot less. Why do I choose to feed in the summer? 

I still like to see the birds and the feeders do bring them where I can see them. Although I get mostly unexciting birds like the house sparrow pictured, I do get some of the birds I prefer.

Another reason to feed in the summer is to help out the parent birds. Although birds primarily focus on insects in the summer to feed their young, parents are run ragged trying to keep baby mouths full, so easy access to some seed helps the parents stay healthy.

I hang four feeders in the summer: a hummingbird nectar feeder, a sunflower (or mixed food) feeder, a shelled peanut feeder, and a safflower feeder. In the winter I usually have at least four more feeders going. Sometimes more. 

Why these four feeders? I think the hummingbird feeder is self-explanatory. I feed black oil sunflower because it appeals to more types of birds than other foods, and it tends to be less expensive than a seed mix. When I feed a mix, I choose one that is predominantly black oil sunflower. This is also the feeder that the squirrels like, and I do love to watch the squirrels. The safflower is for the cardinals, although house finches also seem to like it. Unfortunately, the white-winged doves also like safflower, and yes, the buggers can hang on to a tube feeder. The peanut feeder is for my woodpeckers. However, since the starlings have discovered the peanuts, they prefer that one. Fortunately, I don't have many starlings. And I love my woodpeckers. They will eat the sunflower seed, but in the summer, peanuts are their preference.

In the summer, I only add food once a day. When it's gone, it's gone. Sometimes, I may skip a day.

Don't forget water. If you don't want to feed, at least provide water. You may have to fill your bird bath multiple times a day when it is hot. If your bird bath is deep, then add some rocks to create some shallower pools for the smaller birds. The birds also appreciate a mister if you have one.

Keep your feeders clean. A good scrub once a week is good. As always, watch for any birds that appear to be ill. If you see sick birds, take your feeders down immediately and clean them thoroughly. Wait 10 days before putting them back up. 

Good birding!

Lake Arrowhead SP Monthly Bird Outing

Yellow-billed cuckoo
Dominic Sherony, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Saturday, 12 July, was our regularly scheduled bird outing at Lake Arrowhead SP. It's July, and typically, not the best month to be out birdwatching. That held true this month. Not the best month we've had, but not the worst either. Hot and humid though.

Birds seen included Canada goose, killdeer, great egret, great blue heron, snowy egret, double-crested cormorant, Eurasian collared dove, mourning dove, ladder-backed woodpecker, cardinal, eastern phoebe, cliff swallow, painted bunting, yellow-billed cuckoo, common grackle, great-tailed grackle, red-winged blackbird, and house sparrow.

Remember these outings are the 2nd Saturday of each month at 8 AM, regardless of the weather (unless the roads are icy). There is a $4 entry fee per adult to the park. We meet at the admin building parking lot, which is just on the other side of the building from the fishing pier. The walk is fairly level. We don't walk fast--we're looking at the birds (and other interesting plants and animals. The walk is about 1 mile--sometimes a little more if every one is up to it. Depending upon what we're seeing, the circuit can last from 1 hour - 2 hours. Beginners are welcome!

Good birding!

Catching Up

Pretty mourning dove

I may not have been telling you about it, but I have been birding. Not as much as I would like, but it is July in Texas, so neither the birds not I are all that keen to spend a lot of time in the heat.

I was at 3 Rivers Ranch with some Texas Master Naturalists a couple of times in the last few weeks. The first time, we were looking for horned lizards, although nothing says you can't look for birds at the same time. I went with a group again last week. The rest of the group went out to look for more lizards and I stayed to do some much needed weeding in the pollinator garden we have there (and did see a horned lizard while doing so).

Horned lizard

Between the two trips, I saw/heard the following birds: killdeer, red-tailed hawk, mourning dove, Eurasian collared dove, ladder-backed woodpecker, golden-fronted woodpecker,  common nighthawk, bobwhite, barn swallow, dickcissel, mockingbird, eastern phoebe, painted bunting, blue grosbeak, roadrunner,  Bell's vireo, northern cardinal, yellow-billed cuckoo, scissor-tailed flycatcher, great crested flycatcher, brown-headed cowbird, lark sparrow, house sparrow.

I also visited Copper Breaks State Park. It doesn't get enough attention. It's well worth a visit. I was again there to look for horned lizards, so wasn't focused on birding, but did see a few birds. Burrowing owl, mourning dove, Eurasian collared dove, turkey vulture, bobwhite quail, roadrunner, ladder-backed woodpecker, Bewick's wren, cardinal, mockingbird, scissor-tailed flycatcher, painted bunting, lark sparrow, and brown-headed cowbird.

I also went with a group to do a quail call survey in Wilbarger County. In addition to some quail, we did see some other birds. Among them cattle egret, killdeer, mourning dove, cliff swallow, painted bunting, dickcissel, cardinal, yellow-billed cuckoo. red-winged blackbird, brown-headed cowbird, lark sparrow, eastern meadowlark, western meadowlark, and Cassin's sparrow.

Good birding!

Like to Be Outside?

 

Do you like to walk and perhaps learn about nearby places  you haven't been to? If so, the Rolling Plains Chapter Texas Master Naturalist is sponsoring monthly hikes for the public throughout their 10-county area.

So far, the chapter has sponsored hikes in Wichita, Archer, Clay, Foard, and Wilbarger counties. Next month will be Hardeman County at Copper Breaks State Park on August 2. Copper Breaks is a pretty park that tends to be overlooked because of its location near Quanah.

The hike is free, although participants will need to pay the park entrance fee (13 and up $3; children under 13, free). The hike is scheduled for 4 hours, beginning at 8 AM. Generally, the hikes aren't difficult and the pace is slow, allowing everyone the opportunity to look at and learn more about the flora and fauna seen. Several Texas Master Naturalist members will be available to answer questions about what participants see. Depending upon the temperature, it is possible participants may see some Texas horned lizards during the hike.

Since it will be the height of the summer, hats, sunscreen, bug spray, and water are highly recommended.

The town is named after Quanah Parker, the last Comanche Chief, and those interested in history will find a couple of small local museums of interest after the hike.

Sign up through Eventbrite. There is no cost, but it helps to know how many plan to attend. Here's the ticketing link.

If you are interested in the upcoming hikes, more information is on the group Facebook Page as well as on Eventbrite.

Exploring New Places

 

Wildflowers and more by the lake

It's fun to explore new places. The Rolling Plains Chapter Texas Master Naturalist decided this year to host public hikes in all 10 counties we cover. April was Archer County. We originally planned the hike for the 5th, but we had that wonderful rain, so rescheduled for this Saturday.

I was responsible for selecting the place for this month's hike so decided to check out Archer City to see what I could find. I thought about a few other locations in the county, but I have been meaning to check out some other things in Archer City and just haven't gotten around to it, so decided to make it a day.

I checked out Burkett Park. Initially, it looked like a typical community park with a playground, a picnic pavilion, and a ball field. However, after some exploration, I found the entrance to a hiking path and decided this would be a good short hike for this event.

Saturday turned out to be a nice morning for a hike, although it was very windy, which for me was disappointing, since it reduces the number of birds seen. We had 15 people participate in the hike. Because the wind was so strong, the lake was very choppy, so other than a couple of Canada geese flying by, there were no waterfowl. However, there were still some nice birds. Canada goose, turkey vulture, black vulture, cedar waxwing, Carolina wren, blue jay, northern cardinal, northern mockingbird, scissor-tailed flycatcher, western kingbird, barn swallow, red-winged blackbird, common grackle, European starling, and house sparrow. A couple of the hikers saw a roadrunner cross the trail, but I missed it. Nothing striking, but any day birdwatching is better than housework. I will need to come back when I can explore more of the trails behind the park.

After the hike, I decided to try Murn's Cafe. I have seen it many times when driving through Archer City, but I have never stopped. If you haven't been there, I would recommend it. Good food and very economical. 

I also stopped in Booked Up. Formerly, Larry McMurtry owned the bookstore, which was housed in multiple buildings. Currently, it is a rare and fine book store. If you are a collector, or a Larry McMurtry fan, you definitely need to stop in to browse. Many of the used books are overpriced (in my opinion), but there are some interesting collectibles, and they do have signed copies of Larry McMurtry's books as well as many books from his personal collection with his bookplate in them. It also houses the Larry McMurtry Literary Center and book sales are considered a donation. I did find an Encyclopedia of Nursery Rhymes I felt I had to have.

Archer City is known for the filming location for The Last Picture Show and Texasville, both based on novels by Larry McMurtry. The courthouse on the square is an interesting building. I need to go back and explore some more another time.

Next time you are driving through Archer City, take a little extra time and stop.

Good Birding!

Rainy Morning at Lake Arrowhead State Park

Snowy Plover

Well, this morning wasn't the nicest for a bird outing but a couple of us braved the rain to see what we could find for the monthly bird outing at Lake Arrowhead SP. The best bird of the morning was a snowy plover, which is considered a rarity for our area at this time of year. I did get an admittedly poor picture (left). I am sure Debra got a better one.

Like I said, it was raining, windy, and in the low 40's when we started out, so we didn't expect much. However, we had a good walk and saw a fair number of birds. 

In addition to the snowy plover, we saw and/or heard American coot, double-crested cormorant, neotropic cormorant, gadwall, norther shoveler, white pelican, killdeer, ladder-backed woodpecker, mourning dove, northern cardinal, northern mockingbird, spotted towhee, Harris' sparrow, white-crowned sparrow, ruby-crowned kinglet, dark-eyed junco, American pipit, western meadowlark (and some others that could have been either eastern or western), red-winged blackbird, and great-tailed grackle.

We need the rain, so no complaints, especially since we saw some good birds. This is a good time of year to bird, so get outside, wherever you are.

Good birding!

Hummingbirds Arriving Soon

Male ruby-throated hummingbird

 I haven't had a lot of luck with hummingbirds the last few years, but I get a few, so I make sure there is always a feeder with fresh nectar available.

There have been reports of hummingbirds in Austin, so they should be arriving here before too much longer. That means it is time to get out your feeders and get them cleaned up.

The picture to the left shows a common bottle-type feeder, which is fairly inexpensive.  As I rule I don't recommend them as they are difficult to clean. I had one of these and even with a bottle brush, I couldn't reach all the corners of the nectar bottle. 

A couple of things about feeders. The birds don't care if they are red. Yes, this red and yellow feeder stands out, but somehow, the hummingbirds can tell if the feeder contains the correct percentage of sugar and the nectar is fresh. To prevent ants, get a feeder with an ant moat and keep it full. To prevent bees and wasps, don't fill the feeder all the way or get one with extruders. Looking at the picture above, you can see it has deep flowers. That is intended to discourage bees and wasps, since hummingbirds have longer tongues. I personally prefer an flat feeder that is kept half full. 

Flowers are better than a feeder any day, but it never hurts to have some backup, since we tend to get some pretty hot, dry weather in the summer.

Another recommendation is not to buy nectar at the store. Plain old water and sugar is fine (and less expensive). (DO NOT use honey--this can be deadly to hummingbirds). Tap water is okay, although I do use filtered tap water. You don't have to boil the water. Hot water does make it easier to dissolve the sugar though. Use 4 parts water and one part table sugar (1 c water and 1/4 c sugar). Once the sugar is dissolved, you are ready to go. If you boil the water, let the nectar cool first before putting out the feeder. I can't imagine a hummingbird trying to drink hot sugar water, but you could be scalded if you bobble the feeder when hanging it up.

Keep your feeders clean. Bacteria grows quickly in the warm weather. I clean mine out every other day at a minimum. If you see the water getting cloudy, you definitely need to change it.

I tend to see my hummingbirds more in the early morning and at dusk. I know if the morning they are desperate to tank up. They expend a lot of energy and after several hours of no food, they are in a hurry to find food. I imagine that's why I see them just before their bedtime as well.

I hope you enjoy some hummingbirds this season.

Good birding!