Waterstone Wildlife Journal Cp_4_12- Waterstone Wildlife

Archive for '2007 Journal' Category

May 28 2007

Continued feeding hummingbirds. (Feeders need refreshing every 4 days in hot weather, it is especially needed when the color of the sugar mixture appears cloudy instead of clear.)

Emergent Pipevine Swallowtail butterfly seen on post at gate entrance

Removed Johnson grass throughout yard area
Transplanted Blackfoot daisy
Cleared trail to river which was overgrown due to increased rains
Removed ragweed from river bottom

Posted in 2007 Journal, Census, Habitat, Food

May 24 2007

Light scattered rain

Neighbors dog was loose and killed a lizard. It was severely scolded verbally.

Hummingbirds are very active

A chrysalis was found in town on parsley plant. It was removed, transported to watersto_jennystone and put in a net to observe.

Cowbirds:

Seen at feeders (Brown-headed cowbirds are a parasite in songbirds nests)
Plan for elimination (shooting if target is in a safe hunting area, also considered building a cowbird trap according to the directions found on TPWD website)

Caretaker's note: Here are some resources from Texas Parks and Wildlife to help landowners deal with cowbirds.

Cowbird Description
Cowbird Training Class - Trapping cowbirds requires training and certification.
How to build a cowbird trap (PDF)

Caution is encouraged in trapping cowbirds, because it is possible to introduce even more cowbirds with a decoy than one might have naturally without the effort.

Posted in 2007 Journal, Census, Predator