two questions about Austin trees & gardens (house, neighborhood)

[southdown]

I know this should be in the garden threads but it is specific to Austin and might be general knowledge...

1) When do the brown leaves stop falling??!! The oaks (with big leaves) in my yard produce a ton of leaves a day. It's mid-Jan now - winter - not fall!

2) There are no birds in my neighborhood - none. Not one. But one mile away my friend's yard is like a wildlife park. I'm in a quiet area with big backyards and lots of trees. Plenty of squirrels tho - they eat the birdseed I put out!!
How can I attract birds into my backyard?

[Trainwreck20]

There are some good 'squirrel proof' feeders (yeah, yeah, I know, none of them are 'proof'). The kinds that slide shut if weight is put on the feeder work well, it seems, but get the metal ones so that the squirrel doesn't just chew em up.

Feeders can be huge for attracting birds, and it may take a season or two to attract them from their usually areas. The birds tend to nest in the same place, year after year (or the birds around our house do). Also, be careful of what you wish for....we have a mockingbird that has lived in our yard for years, but, DANG, he can make a racket!

[Darlynn0217]

Here are some great ideas for attracting wildlife to your backyard!
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_bk_w7000_0960.pdf (broken link)

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publicat...w7000_0861.pdf

and best of all! Info about everything Native!! Just search away!http://bestsmileys.com/cowboy1/2.gif (broken link)

Texas Parks & Wildlife Department | Land & Water

I miss Bluebonnets....sigh

[achtungpv]

Originally Posted by southdown

How can I attract birds into my backyard?

Be careful what you wish for. You may end up with a grackle infestation!

[Darlynn0217]

They have noise maker dealies and thingys with BIG EYES to keep them away....
pigeon control, bird control, bird repellent

probably work about as well as the fake owls.

[PeacePlease]

I live in Steiner, and we get a lot of birds in our back yard every day. We get an amazing variety too. We also have a bird feeder hanging from a tree in the back and squirrels do get to it.. we never tried to stop it and expect it to part of having a bird feeder.

One thing to note is that when we moved into our house, we had very few birds visit our backyard, but since the construction (yes I blame the construction) has considerably slowed down around the area where we live, birds and squirrels can be seen often.

[austifornian]

In the Arboretum they play tapes of grackle distress calls and predator noises to keep them away. Look up in the trees sometime by Friday's and you will see the speakers. Seems to work pretty well.