Did you ever want to know about Purple Martins? Why do
the call them purple when they are not purple? When and where do they migrate?
Where do they breed? What are they know for? What do they do when approaching
their nesting site?
If you ever wanted to know about Purple Martins, come join us March 14th at 9 am at the Community Center. We will have a guest speaker to answer all your questions. We will also have coffee and donuts along with ORWMA caps and Tee shirts for sale. Hope to see you there.
Ms. Laramie Naumann, MS with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, will be presenting a seminar about butterflies and hummingbirds on Saturday, May 18, 2019 at 9:00 am.
Attention Oakridge birders: our winter census is scheduled for the weekend of Feb 2-3. If you are new to birding, you can join with one of 3 or 4 groups covering the ranch. Learn birds and meet neighbors. Let Amy Hardy know if you are interested!
Our 2018 Winter Birding Census will be held on Saturday & Sunday, the 3rd & 4th of February, 2018. Participants can bird either morning they wish. If you are interested in joining in, please contact Amy Hardy, ORWMA Birding Chairperson, at amyhardytx@gmail.com for additional information.
The Birding Census will conclude with a lunch at the Hardy home on Sunday, Feb 4th.
We hope everyone will consider participating! Bird counts are generally done at daybreak when the birds are most active. Simply walk your property and use the attached bird list to write down how many you see of each species. Turn your completed list(s) in to Amy via email or take them to the lunch on Sunday, the 4th. Grab a cup of coffee, bottle of water, your binoculars & cameras and hit the fields and woods of Oakridge Ranch.
Fall has come to Oakridge Ranch! What a beautiful time of year!
But even better is the fact that Fall & Winter brings a beautiful bird to our area, the American Bald Eagle. Thank you, Maggie Lynch, for this picture! So neighbors, keep your cameras ready. You never know what you’ll see or what is seeking a safe haven here at Oakridge Ranch. Click on the picture to enlarge it and check out this amazing bird of prey.
Live life outdoors!
American Bald Eagle, Photo by M.Lynch, October 2017
Greater Roadrunner, July 2017, Photo by B.LaVergne
The Greater Roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus) is native to the desert southwest portion of the U.S., also found in most states of the southwest. These birds are year-round natives of Texas, including the Oak Prairie Region here at Oakridge Ranch. Several birds have been seen for the last few years in our area and we have had a nesting pair for the last 4 years.
These birds are much more interesting than the one made famous in the Warner Brothers cartoon series. Adult birds are 20-24 inches long with a large up-turned tail and long beak and mottled black/brown & white feathering throughout its body that appears to look like stripes. These birds have long legs with 4 toes on each foot, two pointing forward & two pointing back. You’ll rarely see a Roadrunner in flight for more than a few feet because it can’t get the lift it needs due to its size. However, Roadrunners have been clocked at 12 to 17 miles per hour.
Roadrunners mate for life and have 2 or 3 clutches per year as habitat conditions and food availability allow. A hen will usually lay 2 to 12 eggs in one clutch, but records show up to 20 eggs have been laid in rare clutches. Their nest is built by the female 2 to 12 feet off the ground with materials supplied by both the male and female. Interesting thing is the male sits on the nest at night since the female’s body temperature drops too low to keep the eggs warm enough. Young birds hatch out at about 20 days and are taken care of by both parents. The baby Roadrunners will leave the nest at 18 to 21 days, but will continue to be fed & cared for by the parents until day 30 to 40 when they go out on their own. Greater Roadrunners’ life span is approximately 8 years.
Greater Roadrunners are omnivores. Their diet is varied and includes insects, various plants & berries, lizards, small birds such as sparrows & hummingbirds. And they are fast enough to take on rattlesnakes for dinner! These beautiful birds do drop their activities by approximately 50% during the heat of the day.
Stay alert when you’re on the roads in and around Oakridge and you just might catch a glimpse of the amazing birds.
Below is a link for more information on breeding of Roadrunners in Texas: http://txtbba.tamu.edu/species-accounts/greater-roadrunner/
Check out this next link for a map of their locations in the U.S.: http://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/greater-roadrunner
Eastern Bluebird at Oakridge Ranch, unknown photographer/date
Since the first years of the millennium, folks at Oakridge have conducted winter and summer bird censuses. In keeping with that tradition, we invite anyone interested in birds at the ranch to participate in this year’s winter census on the morning of Saturday February 4th from first chirp (around 7 am) to Noonish or whenever you think you’ve had enough! We will meet later that afternoon (between 3 and 5 pm) at our house to turn in checklists, have some snacks and refreshments and discuss the birds we saw.
You are welcome to census your own place or join a team and maybe learn a few new birds with your neighbors. We will try to cover as many habitats within the ranch as possible. If you are interested in participating, please let me know so I can send you a checklist and so we can plan for how many people are coming that afternoon.
Birds are an essential ingredient in any wildlife habitat and censuses may qualify as an activity in a wildlife plan. I hope you will participate and start down that path to becoming a bird nerd, if you’re not already! It’s fun and easy.
Amy Hardy
Chairman-ORWMA Bird special interest group amyhardytx@gmail.com
