Preparing for a Winter Feast

 

Pine Siskin feeding on Thistle

Gardens can be a source of delight even during the winter months, if created with native plants for wildlife in mind. As the weather turns cold and foraging becomes more challenging, home gardens can be a critical resource for many different species.  Planting layers of vegetation, from ground covers to trees, provides the food and shelter necessary to sustain wildlife. 

Since different species utilize different types of food, it is important to consider the fructivores, nut eaters, granivores, and insectivores.   Native berry producing trees and shrubs that persist into winter are numerous and include yaupon, possumhaw, southern wax myrtle, American beautyberry, flameleaf sumac, roughleaf dogwood, Virginia creeper, Texas persimmon, and rusty blackhaw viburnum.  Trees such as the native Texas Red Oak, Live Oak, Post Oak, pecan, and Arizona walnut provide highly desirable nuts.  

Southern Wax Myrtle Berries

Rusty Blackhaw Viburnum Fruit

Post Oak Acorns

Another valuable practice is to create areas that mimic the forest floor by leaving leaves, which allows animals places to forage for overwintering insects.  Raking, mowing, and blowing is detrimental to many species of moths, butterflies, snails, spiders, beetles, and dozens of arthropods (such as millipedes).  Many moths and butterflies overwinter in the egg, caterpillar, or chrysalis/cocoon stage and use leaf litter as winter cover.  If you must keep your non-native lawn free of leaves, carefully rake them into a pile in the corner or spread them underneath trees and shrubs as a natural mulch.

Just as important is the practice of leaving seedheads and not cutting or pruning back perennials until they begin to break dormancy in late February or early March.  Birds can pluck seeds from spent flowerheads, hollow stems can become nests for solitary bees, and overripe fruits can be left to fall to the ground for animals to find.  Several native plant species that should be left standing throughout the winter include purple coneflower, blazing star, fall aster, common sunflower, tall goldenrod, western ironweed, frostweed, Texas thistle, Turk’s cap, blue mistflower, chile pequin, pigeonberry, and white boneset. 

Tall Goldenrod Seedhead

White Boneset Seedhead

Native grasses left to seed are also very beneficial, with clump-like vegetation at the base providing shelter from the cold and seedheads supplying food.  In early spring, the previous year’s leaf blades also provide necessary nesting material for many birds and small mammals.  The grass species to consider include inland sea oats, sideoats grama, switchgrass, big muhly, big bluestem, little bluestem, bushy bluestem, and indian grass.

Inland Sea-Oats Seeds

The colder months of the year are a good time to evaluate how well your garden provides a winter feast and haven for wildlife.  Helping our native animal species during the more barren months of the year by providing naturally occurring food and shelter helps to prepare them for a healthy and productive spring breeding season.

The Preserves Around Us

Golden-cheeked Warbler, Setophaga chrysoparia

One of the main reasons Austin is such a wonderful place to live is because it is interlaced with a patchwork of preserves, which together comprise the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve (BCP) System.  In 1992, voters in the City of Austin passed Proposition 10, approving $22M in bonds for the sole purpose of acquiring and improving lands to protect air and water quality, conserve endangered species, and provide open space for passive public use. Jointly owned and managed by the City of Austin, Travis County, the Lower Colorado River Authority, the Nature Conservancy, the Travis Audubon Society, and private landowners, the BCP’s ultimate goal is to set aside 30,428 acres that contribute to the quality of all life here in Austin. 

A multi-agency conservation effort that operates under a regional permit issued under the Endangered Species Act by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the BCP consists of several tracts of land in western Travis County.  It is important to note that a ‘preserve’ is different than a ‘park’, and is set aside for the purpose of maintaining a natural state rather than developed for recreational use.  The BCP protects prime habitat for the endangered Golden-cheeked Warbler, a bird species that is found only to breed within Central Texas’ specialized mix of native, mature Ashe Juniper (often incorrectly called ‘cedar’) and stands of Live, Spanish, and Shin oak trees.  This type of mixed oak-juniper woodland grows mainly on our moist steep-sided canyons and slopes, providing the warbler with the food, water, and nest-building material it needs to breed.  

Black-capped Vireo, Vireo atricapilla

In addition to the Golden-cheeked Warbler, 7 other endangered species make the preserve system their home, including the Black-capped Vireo, Tooth Cave Ground Beetle, Tooth Cave Pseudoscorpion, Tooth Cave Spider, Kretschmarr Cave Mold Beetle, Bone Cave Harvestman, and Bee Creek Cave Harvestman.  These last 6 species are called karst invertebrates, arthropods that spend their entire existence underground in karst formations.  These karst features, such as caves, sinkholes, cracks, and crevices, were formed by the dissolution of calcium carbonate in limestone bedrock by mildly acidic groundwater.  Over 70 other rare plant and animal species also exist on the preserves, making this region one of the most biologically diverse areas in the country. As such, Central Texas is happily home to more habitat conservation plans than any other region in the United States.   

These wild and beautiful areas require management plans in order for them to remain pristine habitats.  This includes establishment of secure boundaries and rules for access control, maintenance of appropriate trails, species monitoring, habitat enhancement, and – last but not least – public education and outreach to promote good neighbor relations.  As Austin residents, we can do our part to become stewards of these unique habitats.  While in the preserve system, we can stay on marked trails, travel only on foot, and “take only photographs, leave only footprints.”  In our neighborhoods, especially those that border preserve tracts, we can landscape with native plants, remove invasive plants, eliminate pesticide use, be responsible pet owners, practice water conservation, and always respect preserve boundaries.

Most importantly, we can all minimize further negative impacts on the fragile habitat that surrounds our neighborhoods by caring for the preserves through volunteering.  Some of the activities you can become involved with in the preserve system include long-term habitat restoration, gathering and planting native seeds, removing non-native invasive plants, leading guided hikes, and learning about and sharing your knowledge of the native plants and animals that make this such a special place to live.  For more information, visit the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve website at http://www.austintexas.gov/bcp.