This document provides information about migratory birds in Texas, including common winter birds, migration flyways, benefits of birds, tips for helping migratory birds, and good places to view migratory birds along the Texas coast. Some key points include: - Common winter birds in Houston include golden-crowned kinglets, American goldfinches, yellow-rumped warblers, and eastern phoebes. - Birds provide benefits such as adding joy, acting as pest control, and being indicators of environmental health. - Major migration flyways in North America include the Atlantic, Mississippi, Central, and Pacific flyways. - Good places to view migratory birds along the Texas coast include High Island,

1. LSC-CyFair
Benefits of Birds
Tim Sebesta
Professor of Kinesiology
LSC-CyFair

2. Golden-Crowned
Kinglet
American Goldfinch
Yellow-Rumped
Warbler
Ruby-Crowned
Kinglet Eastern Phoebe
Orange-Crowned
WarblerCedar Waxwing Dark-Eyed Junco
Common Winter Birds in Houston Backyard

3. Gray Catbird
Chestnut-sided
Warbler
Rose-breasted
Grosbeak
White-eyed Vireo Baltimore Oriole
Bay-breasted
WarblerMagnolia Warbler Eastern Wood Pewee
LSC-Cyfair Migratory Birds This Week
Tennessee
Warbler
Yellow
Warbler
Common
Yellowthroat

4. Benefits of Birds
• Birds add joy to the lives of many
• Birds are pollinators
• Birds act as pest control
• Birds are frequently considered indicators
of the health of our environment

5. Benefits of Birds
Nectarivores (birds that help in pollination)
Pollination helps with increase yield of
economically important plants. Many plants
are exclusively dependent on pollinating
agents for seed formation.
Birds and Agriculture
• Insect and rodent control
• Plant pollination
• Seed dispersal

6. Benefits of Birds
Scavengers: The scavenging species of birds play
an important role in nature. They help in disease
outbreaks and help in the recycling of nutrients in
nature. Vultures help keep the environment clean
by eating up rotting animal carcasses. Vultures,
kites and crows are invaluable scavengers. They
speedily and effectively dispose of carcasses.
Vultures kites and crows are efficient scavengers
by removing dead animals.

7. Benefits of Birds
Insectivores: A large proportion of the
normal food of the birds consists of
insects. Insects can be considered “pests”
if they damage crops or could possible
cause injuries to humans.

8. Benefits of Birds
Frugivores: (Fruit Eating Birds): These birds help in the
dispersals of seeds, which helps in regeneration. Ex: Red-
bellied Woodpeckers, Northern Mockingbirds, Cedar
Waxwing, Brown Thrashers, Orchard Orioles, Baltimore
Orioles, Scarlet Tanagers, Gray Catbirds, Rose-breasted
Grosbeaks, Western Tanagers, Eastern Bluebirds

9. Migration Facts
• 778 are migratory
• 300 species migrate to Latin America
• 19 species of shorebirds migrate 8,000 miles
1 way
• 34 species of wood warblers and 22 of the 29
species of waterfowl are shared between
U.S., Canada, Mexico
Of the 852 bird species in the United
States:

10. Migration Flyways
• The major wintering areas for North
American migrating birds are the southern
United States and Central America.
• Four major flyways south: the Atlantic
flyway, the Mississippi flyway, the Central
flyway, and the Pacific flyway.

12. Why Do Birds Migrate?
• The reasons are complex and not fully understood.
But a simple explanation is food and a safe place to
breed. Birds which breed in the summer in the
extreme north such as the Arctic benefit from an
abundance of food as plants and insect life flourish in
the long daylight hours; and because few large
permanent predators can survive the harsh winter.
Many birds that breed in the Arctic simply lay their
eggs on the ground. Being able to fly, they can avoid
the harsh winter conditions, and be the first to arrive to
enjoy the summer benefits.
Western
Sandpiper

13. Why Do Birds Migrate?
• Behavior is inherited; however, birds will not migrate in the
absence of certain physiological and environmental cues.
In the late summer, the decrease in sunlight stimulates a
migrating bird's pituitary gland to produce the hormone
prolactin and its adrenal gland to produce the hormone
corticosterone. These hormones, in turn, cause the birds
to accumulate large amounts of fat just under the skin,
providing them with enough energy for the long migratory
flights. The hormones also cause the birds to become
restless just prior to migration. The exact time of
departure, however, is dictated not only by the decreasing
sunlight and hormonal changes, but also by such
conditions as the availability of food and the onset of cold
weather.

14. Help Migratory Birds In Your Community
• Because many birds use constellations for guidance,
well-lit skyscrapers and communication towers
provide misleading cues and lure birds away from the
correct path. These man-made structures can
sometimes cause them to circle for hours until they
become disoriented, exhausted or stunned, leading to
predation and death. You can help prevent this
tragedy by encouraging cleaning crews, building
management and security guards to turn off the lights
in offices, especially during peak migration seasons,
and by working with others in your community to
address the proliferation of communications towers.

15. Help Migratory Birds – Be A Caring Consumer
• Much of the coffee we drink comes from Central and South America.
Traditional plantations grow coffee under a canopy of trees, which
provides habitat needed by over-wintering birds. Increasingly,
however, land is being cleared to grow coffee in full sun; this habitat
loss, coupled with the alarming rate of summer habitat loss in the
United States, is the most significant factor contributing to the decline
in Neotropical migratory birds. You can help preserve critical winter
habitats for birds such as the ruby-throated hummingbird, Baltimore
oriole, Kentucky warbler, and swallow-tailed kite by purchasing only
shade-grown coffee and cacao.
• http://nationalzoo.si.edu/ConservationAndScience/MigratoryBirds/Cof
fee/Bird_Friendly/birdlist.cfm

16. Eliminate The Poisons In Your Yard
• Yet, we assume that the lawn and garden chemicals found on the shelves at hardware
stores are safe to use around birds (and people.) Take a close look at the labels. Too many
popular pesticides are lethal to birds. And while many pesticides may not kill birds on
contact, they can contaminate bird food (insects) and water.
• What are the alternatives? Mechanical and biological techniques for pest control provide
less hazardous options.
• Website http://www.audubon.org/bird/pesticides/#Insecticides
ACEPHATE (An organophosphate insecticide used in Orthene and other Products.)
BENDIOCARB (A carbamate insecticide used in Ficam and other products.)
CHLORPYRIFOS (Organophosphate used in Dursban, Dragon, Ortho-Klor, and other
products.)
DIAZINON (Organophosphate used in Bonide Diazinon Soil Granules, Knox-Out, and other
products.)
DIMETHOATE (Organophosphate used in Cygon and a variety of other products.)
BRODIFACOUM (An anticoagulant rodenticide used in d-CON, Talon-G, and other products.)
GLYPHOSATE (An alphatic herbicide used in Roundup and other products.)

17. Cat Predation
• Americans keep an estimated 60 million cats as pets.
• Scientific studies actually show that each year, cats kill hundreds of millions of migratory
songbirds. In 1990, researchers estimated that "outdoor" house cats and feral cats were
responsible for killing nearly 78 million small mammals and birds annually.
• University of Wisconsin ornithologist, Dr. Santley Temple estimates that 20-150 million
songbirds are killed each year by rural cats in Wisconsin alone.
• Cats are a serious threat to fledglings, birds roosting at night and birds on a nest.
Research shows that de-clawing cats and bell collars do not prevent them from killing birds
and other small animals. For healthy cats and wild birds, cats should not be allowed to
roam free.
• Work with your local humane society, veterinarians and state wildlife agency to enact and
enforce free-roaming cat regulations.
Cat Collar with
Bell To Reduce
Risk

18. Bird-Window Collisions
• Contemporary homes and modern office buildings often use insulated and reflective glass
to replace walls. These windows may be aesthetically pleasing to humans, but often they
are lethal to birds. Unfortunately, many birds cannot distinguish the difference between
real sky and a reflection of the sky in a window.
• In the United States alone, Dr. Dan Klem of Muhlenberg College estimates that each year
during migration 98 to 976 million birds fly full tilt into windows and are fatally injured.
• Dr. Klem says we can minimize these collisions by breaking up the reflection on the
outside of the window with a non-reflective window coating, window screens, flash tape
and bird netting.
• Life size animate "scares" (plastic falcons, owls and balloons) and falcon or owl silhouettes
attached to windows with suction cups are not effective deterrents.
• Planting trees and installing window awnings to block the sun from hitting the window may
eliminate some reflection. Putting a bird feeder on or within a few feet of a window helps to
slow birds down and lessen the effect of impact.
• Migration isn't the only time homeowners have trouble with bird-window collisions. Birds
may hit your windows during breeding season and in the winter too.

19. House Sparrows And Starlings
• Every Spring, birds that nest in cavities compete with each other for a
limited number of nest sites. The neotropical migrants that nest in
cavities - purple martins, tree swallows and great-crested flycatchers -
have adapted to competition from chickadees, titmice and woodpeckers.
• The "rules of competition" changed around the turn of the century when
we humans imported two European cavity nesting species: house
sparrows and starlings.
• House sparrows eliminate nest competitors by attacking the adults and
killing the young when they are on the nest. Starlings eliminate nest
competitors by taking over cavity nesting sites. Our native birds don't
seem to be able to defend themselves from house sparrow and starling
attacks. So, if you put up a nest box to help bluebirds, martins,
chickadees, titmice, woodpecker, wrens or flycatchers, you must monitor
the box and eliminate house sparrows and starlings.

20. Protect, Create and Restore Habitat
• Getting involved in migratory bird conservation here in the United States or in Latin America can
be as simple as writing a check, donating equipment or picking up a shovel. Many agencies and
organizations that work to protect, create and restore breeding and wintering habitat for
migratory birds are participating in Partners in Flight. You can get involved in this international
effort by contacting any of the participants listed at the end of this booklet.
• Then think about your lawn. How much lawn do you really need?
• Survey your yard for dead and dying trees. Top them so they don't fall on your house, but leave
the standing trunks and make a brush pile with the downed canopy. Dead trees and brush piles
provide shelter, nest sites and food (insects) for migrating birds.
• Providing water can be as simple as putting out a bird bath or as complicated as installing a
pond with a creek and waterfall. Birds are attracted to water features that are shallow (less than
2" deep), clean (hosed out daily, sanitized with hot soapy water and bleach at least weekly) and
noisy (the sound of dripping water is a magnet for songbirds). Water features are most effective
when placed out in the open, where birds can see predators coming.
• If you put out bird feeders, select a safe feeder and keep it clean. Polycarbonate plastic tube
feeders are the easiest to clean. Use one kind of seed per feeder, don't use seed mixes. Wash
seed, suet and fruit feeders in hot soapy water and chlorine bleach at least once a month. If you
use a tray or bowl feeder, plan to sanitize it more often. To be sure your hummingbird feeders
do not harm the birds.
• You don't have to put out a bird feeder to provide food for our neotropical migrants. Landscape
your yard with native evergreen and fruiting trees, shrubs, grasses and vines. Design your
garden so that your plants flower and fruit throughout the spring, summer and fall.

21. Help Migratory Birds In Your Own Backyard
• You can make your yard a stopover for migratory
birds by providing them with some essentials: water
(even just a shallow dish), cover (evergreens and
brush piles), and berry-producing trees and shrubs
(such as dogwoods, American holly, viburnums,
American highbush cranberry, and serviceberry). To
attract the insects that birds eat, mulch your leaves in
a sheltered corner and don't deadhead flowers such
as coneflowers, marigolds, cosmos, and sunflowers.
Birds will feed on the seeds. You may also choose to
put out a variety of seed feeders during migratory
periods, along with cut or dried fruit.

22. • Certification will require:
– At least 50% native plants
– Food for the wildlife year round,
preferably provided by plants.
A feeder alone will not be
considered.
– Shelter for the wildlife, including:
brushy plants, tall trees, shrubs,
and wildflowers. Artificial shelter
such as nest boxes, brush piles,
rock piles, and bat houses may also
be included.
– Water in a useable, reliable form for
the wildlife.

23. FOOD SOURCES: Natural or Supplemental
• Identify the types of plants that provide fruits,
nuts, berries, seeds, nectar and other materials
that wildlife might eat.
– Acorns from oak trees
– Fruits attract numerous birds and small mammals
– Sunflower (Helianthus) provides seeds for many kinds
of birds
– Tubular flowers attract hummingbird species

24. FOOD SOURCES: Natural or Supplemental
• Identify the types of plants that provide fruits,
nuts, berries, seeds, nectar and other materials
that wildlife might eat.
– Acorns from oak trees
– Fruits attract numerous birds and small mammals
– Sunflower (Helianthus) provides seeds for many kinds
of birds
– Tubular flowers attract hummingbird species

25. FOOD SOURCES: Natural
• Tall Trees
– Live Oak
– Red Mulberry
– Pecan
• Small Trees
– Yaupon
– Mexican Plum
– Shining Sumac
• Shrubs
– American
Beautyberry
– Texas Wax Myrtle
– Dewberry
• Perennials
– Turks’s Cap
– Cardinal Flower
– Shrimp Plant
– Firecracker plant

26. FOOD SOURCES: Supplemental

27. WATER SOURCES: The Key Ingredient

28. SHELTER: Natural

29. SHELTER: Artificial

30. Wildscaping Tips:
■ Use native plants adapted to your local conditions that
provide the kind of food and cover wildlife require.
■ Recycle leaves, plant clippings and kitchen scraps into
compost and don’t bag grass clippings.
■ Conserve water. Irrigate in the early mornings or evenings to
reduce water waste.
■ Closely follow all label instructions when applying pesticides
and fertilizers, and try to minimize their use.
For more information on creating your Habitat visit:
www.tpwd.state.tx.us/wildscapes

31. How To Watch Spring Migratory Birds
Along The Texas Coast
• Plan to arrive after April 15 and before May 15 for the best birding. Make reservations at a
central spot that will give you access to several birding areas along the coast.
• Make High Island one of your main stops. Smith Oaks, a 122.2-acre sanctuary here, is one
of the best-known migratory stopovers on the coast. Boy Scout Woods and Eubanks
Woods are other excellent birding sites on High Island.
• Consider Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge. Although this is better known as a wintering
ground for thousands of ducks and geese, there are good numbers of birds here year-
round. In spring, areas such as The Willows may serve as migrant traps for a variety of
warblers and other birds.
• Spend some time at the Bolivar Flats Shorebird Sanctuary on the Bolivar Peninsula. This is
a great spot for regularly occurring shore birds, as well as migrants, and has been
recognized as an internationally important site by the Western Hemisphere Shorebird
Reserve Network. Bring a scope for the best views.
• Stop at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, best known as the wintering place of endangered
whooping cranes. The cranes start to leave the refuge in early April to go north to nesting
grounds in Canada, but there is still much to see here in migration.
• Visit Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge. This area has plenty of varied habitats and
can be a good migrant trap in spring, especially when the weather is bad.
• Check your bird guides and maps for other birding locations on the upper Texas coast.
Those mentioned are the most visited, but there are many more birding opportunities in the
region.

32. Where To Go To View Migratory Birds

33. Texas Ornithological Society - http://www.texasbirds.org/
National Audubon Society - http://www.audubon.org/
American Birding Association - http://www.americanbirding.org/
American Bird Conservancy http://www.abcbirds.org/
World Birding Center - http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/worldbirdingcenter/
Bird Links to the World (Texas) http://www.bsc-
eoc.org/links/links.jsp?page=l_usa_tx
Houston Audubon Society - http://www.houstonaudubon.org/
Outdoor Nature Club - http://www.texasbirding.net/hog/
USGS - http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/infocenter.html
Enature - http://enature.com/birding/birding_home.asp
Saturday Edition of the Houston Chronicle, Star Section, “Wonders of Nature”
TEXBIRDS listserv - http://listserv.uh.edu/archives/texbirds.html
http://www.texasbirding.net/maps/wharris.htm

34. Sources Of Information About Migratory Birds
To keep current with efforts in migratory bird conservation, get
on the mailing list for the free
Partners in Flight Newsletter http://www.partnersinflight.org/
(National Fish and Wildlife Foundation,
1120 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 900,
Washington, DC 20036.)
TEXAS
Parks & Wildlife, 4200 Smith School Rd.,
Austin 78744