Purple Martins Heading Out!

Purple Martins are the first bird to migrate back to us in the spring and the first to leave.  They start showing up in February and leave the end of July/early August, although there are records in our area into September.

I haven't yet seen a roost. The purple martins tend to congregate in a large swarms after the young fledge before they leave on their way to Brazil for the winter. There is a tree in a field near me that was a roost site for several years, but it wasn't used last year. There were easily 1000+ birds in this roost. That is not overly large. I am keeping an eye on it though, because it is in a good spot. There are documented instances of roosts in other locations of 100,000 - 200,000 birds.  Birds disperse during the day to hunt insects and congregate back to the roost at sunset.

If you see a roost site, please let me know. txbirds@gmail.com.

Good birding!

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.