Author: Sue Ann (Suna) Kendall

The person behind The Hermits' Rest blog and many others. I'm a certified Texas Master Naturalist and love the nature of Milam County. I manage technical writers in Austin, help with Hearts Homes and Hands, a personal assistance service, in Cameron, and serve on three nonprofit boards. You may know me from La Leche League, knitting, iNaturalist, or Facebook. I'm interested in ALL of you!

Lisa’s Watering Hole

Sue Ann (Suna) Kendall2 Comments

by Lisa Milewski

During this heat, I have been filling the bird baths once or twice a day while enjoying watching the birds drink, splash, and bathe. So far, the birds I mostly see are cardinals, blue jays, northern mockingbirds, finches, house sparrows, mourning doves, white-wing doves, European Starlings, ruby throated hummingbird. Even the fox squirrel, cottontail rabbit, and bees seem to appreciate the water left out for them. Here are just a few that I have been able to get pictures of so far.

European Starlings
White wing doves wait in line to get a drink and enjoy water.

You don’t want to know my nickname for the doves. Let’s just say that I have to wash my driveway and car often.

“Peter” the cottontail rabbit in his favorite spot sharing his water with “Jay” the blue jay
“Peter” getting a drink

Here’s “Rocky” the fox squirrel getting a good drink

I found that with these larger bird baths, it’s easier to fill them with rocks and top with soil and then place smaller bowls in them. This makes it a lot easier to clean them out daily and refill.

And here’s my favorite, “Ruby” the ruby throated hummingbird drinking from the hummingbird feeder.

Remember to wash out the bird baths and change hummingbird feeders daily or every other day in this heat. We want to help our friends, not make them sick.

Out-of-Sight Parasite

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by Lisa Milewski

Why Do Birds Sunbathe?

As I look out the window, as I often do to bird and butterfly watch, to my surprise, I see these European Starlings all laying on the ground with their wings spread out. At first, I thought they fell to the ground due to the extreme heat and were in trouble. 

Photos were taken through a window, to not frighten the birds, so they are a little blurry.

I then looked up why the birds would do this and if intervention was needed and I found this:

According to an online Audubon Society article called “Hot, Bothered, and Parasite-free: Why Birds Sun Themselves,” when it is hot enough, they do this not only for warmth and dryness but to rid themselves of parasites living on their skin and feathers. 

It’s not known exactly how sunlight might kill the parasites; however, scientists believe that short blasts of heat, UV radiation, or some combination of both from the sun’s rays is likely the cause. The researchers found that even in a relatively short time in the direct sunlight, around 10 minutes, heated the wings to 140 to 160 degrees Fahrenheit, which far exceeds the temperatures required to kill bedbugs, for example, which die at around 120 degrees. According to another study, 84% of other parasites, such as lice, died in direct sunlight at 140 degrees Fahrenheit in three minutes. At 158 degrees they all perished. 

There are birds from more than 50 families that sunbathe, including birds of prey, rails, doves, larks, swallows, thrushes, finches, buntings, and more, though they may bathe for different reasons and different times.  

Learning about Raccoons

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by Catherine Johnson

Master Naturalists attended a recent All Things Wild (our region’s wildlife rehabilitation center) program on raccoons. They are more active than the opossums we learned about recently and require much care from the TPWD-permitted volunteers. 

Raccoon presentation, from the ATW Facebook page.

Some facts about racoons:

  • Raccoons eat almost anything, and rub items between their hands in water to tell what kind of food they have.
  • Babies stay with their mothers for five months.
  • They purr when happy.
  • Their fur is not waterproof, so they do not swim much. 

We were informed by the presenters of disease risks with racoons and how to humanely get them to leave your property.  They do not make good pets, and as always, you should contact a rehabilitation center if in need of help with them. 

You can see some of the reasons not to keep raccoons as pets in this photo from the ATW Facebook page.

Animal Ambassador River lives at the center and is blind and has seizures. 

Exciting news from All Things Wild is that there are plans underway to acquire permanent land for an expanded center nearby with direct access from a highway. 

By the way, make sure you sign up quickly for their programs, as they fill up within two hours.

Tree Frog

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by Donna Lewis

There are still really neat little creatures to see, even though there is no rain and it is very hot outside.  You really have to look.

Right by some of my birdbaths and a large vine, I found a tiny Common Gray Tree Frog.

It was in the shade and sitting on a frog tube I made just for tree frogs. There is an inch of water in the bottom of the tube.  It was so little it was hard to get a good photo of it.

It turned its back to me just as I took the photo.  I guess it was camera shy.

The Gray Tree Frogs are a little bit smaller than the green ones. I don’t see these often, because they have a camouflage pattern on them.  That’s great for hiding.

Anyway, it was neat to see it.

There is always something if you look.

Stopped for a Visit…the End of Purple Martin Season

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by Donna Lewis

All my Purple Martins have fledged. The last baby left the house on July 9th.  It’s a good thing because it is way too hot in the martin houses. I actually had a few deaths related to the extreme heat. I was happy and sad when they got out and up into the air where the breeze could cool them and lift them up.  It’s where they do their magic.

So, after they leave the nest, they visit their house occasionally. They will live in the trees now like other birds. This is when they learn to fly and catch their food in the air. Learning to drink on the fly is also a skill they will have to master.

Right now, they are honing all their new skills and getting stronger every day.

When it’s time, they will head South to Brazil. Only they know when it’s time. Some have never been there, but the older ones will return to the forests they know.

Then next February they will return here again and start breeding all over again.

A long trip with many dangers lies ahead.

But, what an adventure!!!

Goodbye my friends; I hope to see you next year.