TRAVIS AUDUBON BIRDATHON

A feathered friendly competition to support conservation through birding

During the first week of May, Plateau's Mark Gray, Lee Kothmann, and Romey Swanson -- the Plateau Parulas -- will be competing in the Travis Audubon Society's Birdathon. Like a walkathon, it's a fundraising event in which participants collect sponsors and pledges for their efforts. Instead of pledges for every mile walked, it's every bird seen or heard. Individuals and teams of birders fan out around Texas, from dawn to dusk, and count all the bird species they see and hear. The Plateau Parula's birding will take place during a continuous 24-hour period some time between May 1 and May 8.

With permission from the Plateau powers that be, Mark, Lee, and Romey are asking for your support in their fundraising efforts for the Travis Audubon Society, an important birding and conservation group. You can make a donation to support the team by pledging a flat rate for the day or a specific amount per species. The Plateau Parulas will be competing against other Birdathon teams to try to raise the most money for Travis Audubon. The Birdathon is one of two major Travis Audubon fundraisers this year. The money raised will be used for ongoing habitat conservation and education efforts, as well as enabling the society to continue to offer great field trips, classes, and monthly meetings. All sponsors will receive a receipt for their tax-deductible contribution. Travis Audubon is a nonprofit, 501(c)3 organization.

Also, to kick up the fun quotient another notch, the guys will be on Twitter tweeting their bird sightings at twitter.com/plateauwildlife. You can monitor their birding success as it happens!

If you might be interested in supporting the efforts of the Plateau Parulas please contact Mark Gray at mgray@plateauwildlife.com or (512) 8924-3479 for more information. Mark will have birdathon specifics and sponsorship information. Also, to learn more about the Travis Audubon Society, visit travisaudubon.org.

The goal at Travis Audubon is to "Inspire Conservation through Birding". Please help Mark, Lee, and Romey help the birds!

Parula note: Bearing absolutely no resemblance to Mark, Lee, or Romey, a parula is actually a small songbird. The Northern Parula, as well as the Tropical Parula found only in South Texas, is rather small even for a warbler. Its distinctive breast patch sets it apart from other warblers.

TEN REASONS TO CARE ABOUT BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY

Over 20 years ago, Plateau co-founder David Braun wrote an article on "Ten Reasons to Care About Biological Diversity". Thanks to the forward-thinking content and the advent of the internet, David's article, in the ensuing two decades, has appeared in school curricula, environmental blogs, Austin Energy's January 2004 Green Building Program Newsletter, and, most recently, in the Nature Saskatchewan Stewards of Saskatchewan Fall 2009/Spring 2010 newsletter. In short, it is the article about extinction that will not die. As it has made its way around the globe, we're bringing it back home to Plateau.
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WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE, ENVIRONMENT AND LANDOWNERS BENEFIT

EcoLab program brings ecological research and tax benefits together for the good of Texas

Richard Garriott may be best known as an explorer of other worlds - a god among video gamers, he was the world's first second-generation space traveler and sixth private astronaut. But Garriott is also a lifelong environmental advocate and conservation activist here on Earth. So when he bought some beautiful, wild Central Texas land connected to the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve, Garriott knew he wanted to do more to protect the property than simply let it be.

"I believe the spirit of conservation is really high among most people," Garriott says. "But I also think most people don't know the legal requirements and don't understand the issues around conservation, what defines good stewardship and land management." Likewise, very few people know about government programs that reward landowners for being good land stewards, and even fewer understand the details.

With this in mind, Garriott contacted conservation law firm Braun & Associates, where attorney Cassie Gresham introduced him to the Texas EcoLab program. The program, developed by and offered through Braun, connects conservation-minded landowners with university ecological researchers. The landowners agree to let their property be used primarily for research for two years, at which point their land can transition into wildlife management appraisal. The EcoLab program advances significant ecological research while providing landowners with substantial - and prompt - property tax savings.

Story continued at braunassociateslaw.com/successstories/Braun_EcoLab.pdf.

A PRICKLY PROBLEM: TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING?

When to keep and when to kill the prickly pear

Like most things in life, the prickly pear cactus has it pros and its cons. For anyone who has ever had a brush with prickly pear glochids, those tiny, barbed spines that can inflict a world of hurt, it might be difficult to envision particular positives at that moment. But fans of the slightly tart, almost citrus flavor of nopalitos, made from the tender young pads of the cactus, are happy to extol the prickly pear's culinary virtues. The brilliant magenta fruit of the prickly pear - the tuna - can also be eaten raw (once denuded of its spines and peeled) or used to make sweet jellies or syrups. In his accounts of experiences in the area now known as Texas, Spanish explorer Cabeza de Vaca noted the prickly pear as a staple of the native peoples' diet. During times of drought, the prickly pear has long served as an emergency source of food for livestock. Ranchers have often initiated controlled burns or used "pear burners" to rid the cactus of its painful spines, making it easier for cattle to eat.

But while a plate of fajitas con nopalitos washed down with a prickly pear margarita is all fine and tasty, what about prickly pear and wildlife?

In moderation, prickly pear is an excellent plant for whitetail deer, javelina, and other wildlife. As a bonus non-nutritional benefit, bobwhite quail and small mammals utilize the cactus for screening and protective cover. It can also serve as a protective "nurse plant" for more desirable woody and herbaceous plants. Like many other native plants, it has its wildlife-beneficial features, as long as it is limited on a property. It also occupies an aesthetic place on the Texas landscape, particularly during the spring when its delicate pink buds blossom to showy yellow flowers. However, when landowners have too much of a good thing and prickly pear density and abundance suppress native grass, forb, and shrub diversity, then it needs to be controlled. In addition to crowding out other native plants, over-abundant prickly pear can also limit some wildlife management practices such as mowing and discing due to concerns about spreading the prickly pear.

Unlike other cacti which tend to grow slowly, the fast growing prickly pear can spread at a sometimes alarming rate. This tends to happen in pastures that have been subjected to long-term overgrazing. Once prickly pear gets established in dense stands, the only way to reduce its dominance is to kill it. Options for doing so include digging out the plants (roots included) by hand or with equipment, which is labor intensive, and the plants must be gathered to prevent creating new plants from loose pads. Prescribed fire followed by immediate grazing can reduce its dominance and has other benefits, but the most practical, long-term solution for problem prickly pear is to have it professionally treated with a herbicide.

It takes a strong herbicide to take down prickly pear and, if not carefully applied, it can kill other desirable plants. Herbicides that control prickly pear are almost all controlled use herbicides, which means you must have a license to buy and use them.

Because many landowners do not have a controlled use license for prickly pear herbicide, or the experience to assess the value of leaving some prickly pear for wildlife, Plateau offers prickly pear removal as one of its many Wildlife Management services. Plateau takes the time to thoroughly treat each plant individually to get the best possible kill without wasting expensive herbicide, and to make sure that only the target plants are treated.

The best time to treat prickly pear is when the invasion is still limited to small, but abundant, plants. Select plants should be retained for the positive benefits they provide, including cover and food. While prickly pear control can be done year round, the best seasons to do so, if a herbicide is used, are spring to early summer, and then in the fall, as post-treatment rainfall is important to move the herbicide into the soil. But, as we all know, Mother Nature doesn't always follow the calendar, so ideal windows can shift from year to year. Summer applications can also be very effective if soil moisture levels are adequate and rainfall is expected.

Because successful herbicide application takes planning, landowners in need of prickly pear control - or those in need of an assessment of their prickly pear situation - should contact professionals like Plateau prior to the ideal treatment seasons so a treatment plan is at the ready when the time is right.

Early summer is also the only good time to do foliar herbicide applications for mesquite. Half-cutting mesquite is best done during the spring/early summer period as well.

TEXAS YOUTH HUNTING PROGRAM: A NATURAL ALTERNATIVE

At a time when studies show that today's youth spend close to 8 hours a day consumed with alternate reality, from television to computer to video games, a real-world program created by two wildlife organizations, with help from private landowners, offers a natural alternative.

With the Texas Youth Hunting Program (TYHP), the Texas Wildlife Association and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department have joined forces to create a program designed to preserve the hunting heritage in Texas, instill in youth a basic understanding of practical conservation, and encourage wildlife habitat access, enhancement, and management. TYHP sponsors introductory instructive youth hunts for deer, turkey, hogs, javelina, exotics, dove, small game, waterfowl, varmints and other species. TYHP typically provides mentors, lodging, and meals for the youth participants. Private landowners also benefit by opening their gates to the program.

"In addition to giving our youth an initial positive and educational hunting experience, the program aims to assist landowners," said Doug DuBois, Jr., TYHP Area Coordinator. "Given their approval and harvesting targets, we are able to help landowners with their Wildlife Management program."

Participating landowners provide the place to hunt, with land access defined by their comfort level, and TYHP handles the rest, regardless of ranch size or facilities. The program provides liability insurance and promises safe, mentored, youth hunts.

"With over 90 percent of Texas under private control, we rely on folks like Plateau landowners," said DuBois. "Thanks to those who open their ranch gates, we are able to groom new conservation-minded hunters with the highest ethical standards in hunting."

For those interested in learning more about the program, visit tyhp.org or contact TYHP Executive Director Jerry Warden at 800-460-5494 or via email at JWarden@texas-wildife.org.

FIRE ANT CONTROL REMINDER

Plateau finds the key time for imported red fire ant (IRFA) control is now through June*, before the heat of summer hits. When the ants are hot (or cold) they go deep into the ground for temperature regulation and do not actively forage above ground. They also go deep during dry periods in order to find moisture, and come above ground during wet periods to avoid drowning.

Why does IRFA control matter? The impact of imported red fire ants in the state of Texas is estimated to be $1.2 billion annually. The ants are pests of urban, agricultural, and wildlife areas and can pose a serious health threat to plants and animals (Texas Imported Fire Ant Research Project). The ants can sting to death and consume any animal or insect that cannot defend itself including nestling birds and young animals.

For more information on IRFA control, contact Plateau.

* Treatment starts up again in September after the heat of the summer and before the cold of winter.

LOVE IS IN THE AIR AND NEST BOXES

No other season is heralded by nature's song like spring. When you hear the singing of mating calls and tuneful proclamations of territory, you know that eggs and nestlings are not far behind. As recommended in the last issue of Seasons early February was the time to clean out your nest boxes for the upcoming breeding season.

Now, your boxes should be checked for use so that nesting success can be monitored. Indeed, nest box monitoring can be a very fun and rewarding part of your Wildlife Management program. Be sure to document each time you check your nest boxes so you have a record to reference and documentation for your Central Appraisal District. Documenting use of nest boxes will also help you determine which boxes are in suitable locations or should be moved. Monitoring the use of nest boxes will help measure nesting success of breeding birds on your property -- not to mention the joy in watching your baby birds grow up!

If you aren't quite sure what you're looking at as you curiously peek into your nest boxes, below are some helpful tips for identifying several species of cavity-nesting birds common in the Texas Hill Country, and most likely happily using the nest boxes on your property.


Carolina Wren - These birds usually begin breeding between mid-March and early April and will often raise multiple broods. Clutches (eggs laid at a single time) are most often between 4 to 6 eggs, but the Carolina Wren may lay as many as 7 or 8. The small, somewhat elliptical white eggs are smooth and moderately glossy and finely speckled, spotted, or mottled with reddish-brown, purplish-brown, or paler purple or gray markings. Heavier markings are usually on the larger end of the egg, with fine, profuse speckling elsewhere. Nests are made predominately of plant materials such as grasses, weed stems, strips of bark, leaves, moss, and rootlets, and lined with fine grasses, rootlets, hair, and feathers. The nestlings are hatched naked, blind, helpless, and totally dependent on their parents. When Carolina Wren nestlings begin to develop feathers, they are scantily covered with a slate gray down. Mouths are yellow and the area around the corners of the mouth will be yellow as well. The babies usually fledge (leave the nest) between 12 to 14 days of hatching.

Should you find a nest of baby birds while checking your nest boxes, try to make your inspection quickly to minimize disturbing the babies and parents. If a baby jumps out of the nest, simply pick it up and put it back in. Most birds have a very poor sense of smell, so there is no need to worry about the parents abandoning them due to the scent of humans.

Eastern Bluebird - Bluebirds begin breeding in mid-March or early April and will usually raise 2 to 3 broods over the course of the breeding season. They form loosely built cup nests made of dry grass, weed stems, and small twigs that are lined with fine grasses, hair and feathers. Clutches are usually made up of 4 to 5 somewhat elliptical, smooth, glossy, pale blue eggs with no markings. The hatchlings are born helpless and pink-skinned with dark gray down on the head, wings, and lower back. Mouths are deep yellow and have pale yellow gape flanges (around the corners of the mouth). Babies usually leave the nest at 15 to 18 days old and are tended by the father while the mother begins to nest again. Note: If you are able to monitor your bluebirds closely, make an effort to remove the nest each time a clutch of baby birds fledges. This will encourage the female bluebird to build a new nest and utilize the nest box again.

Plateau offers services and products that can help with your songbirds. Our Spring Breeding Bird Census is conducted by qualified wildlife biologists who welcome your participation on this great nature walk on your own land. Our biologists offer their professional services to guide your management activities. We also offer feeders, nest boxes, and seed. Just let us know whenever we can help.

Carolina Chickadee - Chickadees readily use nest boxes and begin breeding as early as late February in Central Texas. Their nests have a base of moss and a cup made of plant down, feathers, hair, and plant fibers. They usually only produce a single brood each year. Typically, 6 eggs are laid, but the nest size can range from 5 to 8 eggs. The eggs are quite small (15 x 11 mm), smooth, not glossy, and white to a creamy white with a fine speckling or spotting of reddish-brown or purplish-brown markings. Quite commonly there is a higher concentration of markings on the larger end of the egg. The babies are born helpless with pale pink skin and dark gray down. Their mouths are light yellow and their gape flanges ivory. Nestlings usually fledge from the nest at 17 days after hatching.


Tufted Titmouse - Titmice begin breeding in mid-March and usually fledge their second and last brood by mid-July. These woodland birds build nests with a base of moss and dead leaves and a cup made of hair, fibers, fur, wool, cotton, and other similar materials. Titmice usually produce 5 or 6 eggs that are smooth and non-glossy to slightly glossy, white to creamy-white, and finely speckled or spotted with chestnut red, purplish-red, or brown. Sometimes the spots will be a paler purple or lilac color and are typically fairly evenly distributed over the egg. There may be some concentration of spots on the larger end. Titmouse eggs are larger than those of a Chickadee (18 x 14 mm). Titmouse babies develop most of their feathers by the time they are 10 days old and generally fledge at 15 to 18 days.

Black-crested Titmouse - Although genetically and vocally distinct from the Tufted Titmouse, the Black-crested begin their breeding season around the same time in March and wrap-up in June. Their nests are built of leaves, moss, dried grass, hair, strips of bark, and sometimes feathers, and lined with hair or similar material. These Titmice produce clutches of 4 to 7 eggs that are white and finely speckled with reddish dots. As juveniles, the Black-crested Titmouse is virtually indistinguishable from the Tufted Titmouse.


Eastern Screech-Owl - Usually monogamous, most Eastern Screech-Owl pairs remain together for life. Some males, however, mate with two different females. Breeding season for Eastern Screech-Owls is generally around mid-April, but some may breed mid-March to mid-May. These birds nest in tree cavities but also readily use nest boxes. The clutch size is from 2 to 6 white eggs. If the male has mated with two different females, the second female may evict the first female, lay her own eggs in the nest, and incubate both clutches. The hatchlings are born covered in white down, eyes closed. The fledging period is about 31 days.

Bewick's Wren - Breeding season for the Bewick (pronounced like the car, Buick) begins in February. Nests are made of sticks, leaves, moss, spider egg cases, feathers, and hair, and often lined with snake skin. The Bewick Wren typically produces 3 to 8 eggs that are white with varying amount of dark spotting frequently concentrated around the large end. Hatchlings are helpless with only wisps of down. Bills are yellow, gape yellowish with an orange tinge, and skin is pinkish. They usually fledge 14 to 17 days after hatching.

Purple Martin - The Purple Martin in North America has nested almost exclusively in nest boxes for more than 100 years. The nests made of twigs, plant stems, mud, and grass will be home to 1 to 8 eggs. Eggs are white and average 24 x 17mm. Born helpless and naked, the Purple Martin chick fledges in 28-29 days.


At the end of the summer, after your avian guests have departed for the season and flown to different skies, be sure clean out the nest boxes in preparation for winter and new guests.

WILD FOOD: AGARITA

When song lyricist June Hershey wrote "the sage in bloom is like perfume" it was probably because "agarita" didn't have the same poetic ring to it. Right now, the lovely yellow blossoms of the agarita are sweetening the air, but beginning around May, they will turn to candy-tart, gloriously red little berries. This wild fruit is a magnet for birds and small mammals, as well as a cover source. And if the songbirds and cottontails leave you any leftovers, those little berries can also be transformed into sweet jellies, pies, cobblers, and even wine.

A wild Texas native, agarita is a drought-tolerant evergreen shrub fond of rocky limestone flats and slopes. While their holly-like prickly leaves might dissuade berry-picking, a little Texas ingenuity can render a basketful of fruit. Simply lay an old sheet under a bush and knock the bush with a stick. A good shake while wearing thick gloves can also do the trick. The ripe berries should fall to the sheet which can then be gathered up.

The internet is ripe with agarita recipes, but for those curious for a quick and easy taste of the wild fruits of your land beyond eating the berries raw, author Delena Tull in A Practical Guide to Edible & Useful Plants suggests the following: "To prepare a refreshing, cool drink from the berries, mash the fresh fruit, add water, heat to 190 degrees (F), and simmer for 10 minutes. Strain the liquid through cheesecloth, and sweeten to taste."

As an added agarita bonus, the young, tender leaves make a nice salad green. They have an almost lemon flavor, just be sure to pick them while they're soft, or your salad will bite back!

BREEDING SEASON IS HERE, ARE YOUR SONGBIRDS SAFE?

A Brown-headed Cowbird reality check for landowners

There was a time when the Brown-headed Cowbird migrated with bison across the Great Plains. In the words of rock band Journey, "they say that the road ain't no place to start a family" and, as birds on the road, cowbirds would lay their eggs in nests of other birds and then move on with the bison.

But the days of that traveling roadshow are long gone. Where there were once open plains and roaming bison, there are now fenced pastures and cattle.

After a cowbird lays its eggs in a host nest, the host bird returns to unwittingly raise the cowbird's young as its own. As typically larger eggs that hatch earlier than the host eggs, the large and in charge cowbird hatchlings loudly vocalize their hunger, beg for food, and ultimately kick out the host bird's offspring. Back when cowbirds migrated with bison, the impact on a host species was not as great. Many songbirds, for example, when parasitized by a cowbird will simply build a new nest. If cowbirds were moving on down the road this would work, but, today, cowbirds hang with cows in fenced pastures. The cows don't migrate and neither do the cowbirds, which leave them to concentrate on one area and potentially decimate a species of host birds. In fact, cowbirds are known to parasitize over 225 species of birds. Moreover, on average, female cowbirds lay an astonishing 40 eggs per year in other birds' nests.

While many argue the cowbird as misunderstood, the fact of the matter is that humans created this situation and, if we want to protect our songbirds, humans will have to take action.

Because Plateau believes the Brown-headed Cowbird poses a potentially dire situation for our native songbirds, we are now offering cowbird trapping and trap monitoring services. We have been trained and certified by Texas Parks & Wildlife to humanely dispatch the cowbirds and safely release non-target birds. The key time to implement is now through the end of May when the songbirds are nesting. In addition to helping promote songbirds, cowbird trapping qualifies as an activity for Wildlife Management Tax Valuation purposes.

For more information on Plateau's Brown-headed Cowbird trapping options, contact us today. We can sell traps to all landowners and perform trap monitoring for properties close to our home office in Dripping Springs.

"SETTING UP A WILDLIFE LEASE" PRESENTED BY PLATEAU

Plateau's Craig Bowen has been invited by the Texas & Southwest Cattle Raiser's Association to present "Setting Up a Wildlife Lease" at their convention in Fort Worth on Friday. If you're at the convention, look for Craig!

WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT VALUATION INFORMATION

If you missed our just concluded free seminars and are curious about Wildlife Management Valuation (WMV), just ask! Contact us today for information. If you are currently in Ag and thinking about making the switch, don't wait another moment. The April 30 deadline is almost here!

WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT SEMINAR IN SAN ANTONIO TONIGHT!

Plateau's Tim Milligan will be presenting a free seminar this evening on Wildlife Management Valuation tonight in San Antonio. Join Tim at the Bass Pro Shop. For information on time and more, contact Plateau.

WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT SEMINAR IN HOUSTON TONIGHT!

Plateau's Craig Bowen will be presenting a free seminar on Wildlife Management Valuation tonight in Houston from 6-8PM. Join Craig at the Houston Arboretum & Nature Center (4501 Woodway Drive). For information now, contact Plateau. For more upcoming seminar dates, see scroll down the left column.
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