Birding Our Area

Birdwatcher Jeff Mohamed joined us today to describe some of the birds that can be found in our own backyard. Texas has a lot of birds - 680 species, with the United States having about 985. Our Lone Star-CyFair campus alone has spotted 169 species. People come from all over the world to Texas just to see the birds. It's a big industry here in Texas. And we have so many habitats: prairie, piney woods, marshes, beaches, and urban spaces for our feathered friends. We also are so close to Mexico and on migration paths "fly ways" of birds up from South America and down from Canada and Alaska.

Jeff explained that we have some birds we see year round and others are migrants who come and go. He showed us a slide show of local birds that he actually saw and photographed. His favorite haunts to spot birds here in Harris County are as follows: Kleb Woods Park, Katie Prairie, Paul Rushing Chain-of-Lakes Park, Warren Ranch Lake, Bear Creek Park, the Brazos Bend State Park (alligators, too), the Baytown Nature Center, Carpenter's Bayou, Sheldon Lake Environmental Center, Rookery at Smith Oaks and the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge. The college pylons and buildings are also homes to many local birds.

Did you know the bald eagle is so lazy that he steals his fish if he can? Benjamin Franklin didn't like this character trait and preferred the industrious wild turkey for our national bird. But the mighty bald eagle won out.

Check out Jeff's wonderful birding blog: www.jeffincypress.blogspot.com  

And learn more information about birds in our area at the Audubon Society: www.houstonaudubon.org

Angry (Thirsty) Birds

Our bird population is thirsty and maybe a bit angry over last year’s dearth of water in our area. Tim Sebesta and Jessica Armenta revealed how our bird population has adjusted to our drought and how it has affected migration. A joint ALL/LIFE program. 

Image: http://nestbirds1.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/bird-bath1.jpg

In Harmony With Wildlife

Greetings LIFEers! We were joined this week by Virginia Kennedy from the TWRC: Texas Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, a great non-profit organization that helps rehabilitate wildlife and educate the public.

Quick, put this number on your refrigerator or list of emergency phone numbers. 713-468-8972. The next time you come across an injured animal or find an abandoned nest, call the TWRC. They will talk you through the situation and tell you what to do, and usually, what not to do, when encountering wildlife.

Some interesting facts we learned; opossums are awesome! And they are also technically called opossums, not possums, but either is okay. Did you know opossums don't carry rabies and have fewer germs and diseases than your average cat and dog? Did you also know that opossums are great for getting rid of vermin, since they eat mice, snakes, roaches, rats and other creatures you usually don't want in/near your house? They also cause very little damage to property and gardens; they just root around looking for a little snack. Opossums are not attack animals, they only defend themselves by hissing and biting. They also can't jump, so if one gets in your trashcan, turn the trashcan on its side so the opossum can get out. They are the only marsupials in North America and are great creatures to have in your neighborhood. We were lucky enough to meet Frodo, the TWRC's resident training opossum. He was a little agitated at being awake in the daytime in a small cage, and he moved about erratically (hence the blurry photo below) but he was super cute.

A few more tidbits we learned in class:
1) Leave the wildlife outside in its natural habitat. Don't bring turtles, snakes and other creatures into your home to keep in terrariums. It stresses them out and they don't live long.
2) Many baby animals don't need to be rescued. Baby rabbits 4-5 inches long, and baby opossums 7-8 inches long (not including the tail) are old enough to live on their own.
3) If you find a baby bird, put it back in the nest if it is uninjured. Birds have a lousy sense of smell, so don't worry about the parents rejecting it because it smells like a human. If the nest is destroyed, make a new nest out of a basket or planter.
4) For all injured or abandoned animals, don't feed or water them! Put them in a big box or container they can't get out of (with air holes!) in a quiet, dry, warm place. You can put the box on a heating pad set on low. Then bring the animal to the TWRC as quickly as possible.

The TWRC is located near the intersection of I-10 and Sam Houston Toll road. They have give tours, speak to schools, and are always looking for volunteers.

Visit their website at http://www.twrc-houston.org/

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

In Harmony With Wildlife

View more presentations from LSC-CyFair Library, LIFE Workshops.

Are You A "Good" Bird, Or A "Bad" Bird?

Hello LIFEers. This week Professor Tim Sebesta came to our LIFE class to warn us that we are being invaded! They’re already here! No, it’s not the pod people, but birds, millions and millions of birds invading our towns and countryside. And while they aren’t attacking us directly, like Hitchcock would have you believe, some are threatening our native birds, crops and ecosystems. Hence the class’ title, “Are you a good bird, or a bad bird?”

Did you know that in North America today there are nearly 100 alien bird species? This includes game birds and escaped pet birds. Some alien birds got here on their own, such as the Old World Cattle Egret, which arrived in South America around 1880 and in Florida around 1940. It now thrives in the cow pastures of the southeastern US. Other species were brought here and released deliberately, such as the European Starling. In 1890, Eugene Schieffelin, a wealthy businessman, released 60 Starlings in Central Park, and then another 40 the following year. Today, Starlings live coast to coast, from Alaska to Mexico, with an estimated population of over 200 million.

Another introduced bird is the House Sparrow. People brought it to the US because they thought it was pretty and that they would control pests. After being introduced to North America in 1850 in Brooklyn, NY, it took only 50 years to spread across the US. But not all birds that are introduced to a new area are considered invasive. Out of the most familiar introduced bird species; European Starling, House Sparrow, Common India Myna, Mute Swan, Rock Pigeon, Ring-Necked Pheasant, Eurasian Collard-Dove and the Monk Parakeet; the last three are not considered invasive.

The Sparrow, Pigeon and Starling are considered the most invasive and damaging to the US. The Starling damages crops and livestock feedlots, the Pheasant eats sprouting corn, Starlings make dirty and smelly nests in cities, and all birds living in cities foul structures with droppings. It is believed that many years of bird droppings may even have contributed to the highway bridge collapse in Minnesota; the acid in the droppings accelerating the corrosion process.

So why are these birds thriving here? It is a combination of factors; they fight aggressively for territory and food, and reproduce more quickly. Meanwhile they kill or inhibit the reproduction of native species, bring parasites and diseases, contaminate our food storage facilities and are responsible for over $4.5 million in damage to aircraft.

What can you do about this invasion, you ask? You can start in your own backyard. First target: food. If you have birdfeeders, try to use thistle, safflower seeds, suet, nectar or fruit and nuts for food. Avoid corn, wheat, oats, millet and bread scraps, which are favored by invasive species. Avoid hopper-style feeders, platform feeders or putting food on the ground. Instead use clinging mesh feeders, sock or tube feeders with perches shorter than 5/8 of an inch, or feeders with weighted perches. Hanging style feeders that sway in the breeze are also good deterrents to invasive species. Finally, stop feeding in the summer. Food is abundant this time of year, and by providing food you are probably encouraging the spread of the invasive species. Feed only the winter when food is scarce.

Second target: minimize their nesting areas. Fill in gaps in your house, usually in eaves under the roof, by using 19 gauge hardwire cloth. Birdhouses with small openings will prevent the spread of Starlings, but won’t stop Sparrows. Third, you can trap invasive birds and destroy their nests and eggs. Last, be a good egg and inform your family, friends and neighbors about invasive birds so they can join the effort to minimize their spread.

See you next week!

Help Migratory Birds Reach their Destination

Tim Sebesta, LSC-CyFair Professor of Kinesiology, demonstrated some simple steps you can take to make your yard bird friendly, including making a brush pile and a green roof.