Nesting? In early February!?! You gotta be kiddin’ me! A Carolina Wren collects skeletonized leaves for a nest under the eaves of the cabin at the Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary, Houston. February 2013 started out warm, signaling an early spring. Several major cold fronts soon followed, however.
Houston Audubon’s Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary is a gem: 17 acres of dense forest and thicket in an easy-to-get-to suburban setting. A great diversity of food plants, both native (e.g., yaupon holly, trumpet creeper; scarlet buckeye) and non-native (Ligustrum, Pyracantha) no doubt contribute to the diversity and abundance of wildlife. Any time is a great time to visit, but we visit especially often in winter and spring, particularly for the resident and migrating songbirds and raptors, some of which can be seen in this small collection.
American Robin with Ligustrum Fruit at the Edith L. Moore Sanctuary, Houston. Ligustrum is a foreign invasive, but Robins and Cedar Waxwings enjoy the blue-black fruit.Cooper’s Hawk with Nesting Material. A mated pair of Cooper’s Hawks is currently nesting at Edith L. Moore. One bird is seen here with some conifer bark it just stripped from its perch. Photo taken in late March.
