A little snapshot of the area near where I was observing
Since I started observing birds in the first half of the semester, I have come across some fascinating birds. With the help of online databases, I have been able to identify as well as research these birds. For the first half of the semester, I was able to observe more birds as the temperatures were warmer and there was not as much rainfall. I saw the amazing red-shouldered hawk as well as the barn swallow and the purple martin. These were the birds I was able to identify in my first outings.
The Magnolia Warbler (picture is not mine, but property of All About Birds)
When the second half of the semester came around, we started having little cold fronts, or it was warm during the day and when night came around, the temperature would drop significantly. I spotted the usual birds: grackles, little swallows. While I did see new birds, it is hard to identify them with complete certainty, but one new bird I did see was the magnolia warbler. Not to be confused with it’s endangered cousin the golden-cheeked warbler, it is similar in appearance and I had to do a double take to make sure it was not the endangered Austin bird. The one key difference I was able to notice? The magnolia warbler had yellow on other parts of its body, not including its cheek, which was black.
Since the weather was starting to get cooler, (although recently it has been in the 80’s again) I was curious to research the migratory patterns of these birds. Year round, the grackle stays in North America and does not migrate south (Cornell). This is similar behavior to the red-shouldered hawk, which primarily stay in North America during the winter but some do migrate south into northern parts of Mexico (Cornell). On the other hand, both the barn swallow and the purple martin I saw in the first half of the semester have already started their migration south, while the magnolia warbler has a later migration season and will not migrate until the end of November (Shackleford).
Another aspect of the life of birds I was interested in was possible threats, especially since this park is in the middle of an urban environment. Austin is home to multiple endangered species, one being the golden-cheeked warbler and the other the black-capped vireo, both bird species.
Golden Cheeked Warbler. Image is property of the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service.
The efforts to preserve the Barton Creek Greenbelt have helped these two birds, as well as other species, stay alive. However, there are still threats to these birds that even parks cannot prevent. With the help of City Wild Life, I was able to narrow down a few dangers for local birds (City Wild Life).
- Outdoor cats (as we can recall the situation we learned about in New Zealand)
- Pesticides for lawns and gardens
- Cars and windows
- Land development
Throughout my time of living in the Travis Heights area, I have noticed that many properties have gone up for sale and that there are many houses being built on land that had nothing on it. While Austin is an eco-friendly city and is known for its wildlife and land preservation, it is still a growing city. With housing prices increasing and available land diminishing, the threat grows. As more cars are introduced into the area and less land is available for these birds to live in, we will see the bird population (as well as other populations as a result of a trophic cascade) decrease as well. On the bright side, one amazing movement that I have seen growing in my neighborhood is to become a Certified Wildlife Habitat. In order to be certified, your property must meet certain standards so that you can provide multiple types of wildlife a home. This is one of the many very possible, accessible, and impactful solutions for species preservation and conservation in a growing urban environment.
Works Cited
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology Home Page. (n.d.). Retrieved November 16, 2017, from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/Page.aspx?pid=1478#_ga=2.140360435.1752665392.1510964741-1645653243.1510788853
- City Wild Life. (n.d.). Retrieved 16 November 2017, from http://www.citywildlife.org
- Shackelford, C. E., Rozenburg, E. R., Hunter, W. C., & Lockwood, M. W. (2005). Migration and the Migratory Birds of Texas (4th ed.). Texas: Texas Parks and Wildlife.