Favorite back-yard birds to watch

Of 52 species that I've seen in my backyard, which is on a hilltop far from woods and water [i.e. not a great birding locale], I most enjoy watching these:
Cardinal, Northern
Chickadee, Black-Capped
Flicker, Yellow-Shafted
Goldfinch
Hawk, Red-Tailed
& Red-shouldered –catching a squirrel!
Hummingbird, Ruby-Throated
Jay, Blue
Junco, Slate-Colored
Mockingbird, Northern
Nuthatch, White-Breasted
Sparrows: Song & White-throated
Titmouse, Tufted
Woodpecker, Downy & Red-Bellied

The common denominators are that they're out in the open doing interesting stuff, and I think they're beautiful.

3 favorites in one shot

And #1 is the Black-Capped Chickadee. They're the bravest, the first to find a new feeder, they have to hit a sunflower seed repeatedly against a tree to open it because they don't have seed-opening beaks like Cardinals and Sparrows; and I think they're really cute.

Though in winter, nothing beats seeing a bright scarlet Cardinal against the snow.
oops, it just flew away :)

But you can still see it in your minds eye... I think I can too!
Huge smile looking at your pictures.. lol I'm smiling so much it hurts.

birdmanct, I really enjoy the birds too, And I enjoyed your photo's, I especially like the first one of the red-bellied woodpecker with the pretty flowers to the side.

thanks Iris. I rememered this IS a gardening website; if it wasn't for the flowers, shrubs, and small fruit trees I've planted I wouldn't have many birds!

I've seen a cat catch a squirrel, but not a hawk. I've been seeing some red tailed hawks the last couple of years. Are they the ''chicken hawks?''

Red-tails are common around here. If one came near me, I'D be the chicken!! They have a 49" wing span.
I never heard that expression, but of course Googled it and discovered that indeed, even thought they almost never eat chichens, Red-tails are known as chicken hawks. I'm sorry you told me that :) http://www.desertusa.com/aug96/du_hawk.html

PS I heartily recommend this book: Red-Tails in Love : PALE MALE'S STORY--A True Wildlife Drama in Central Park . I've seen Pale Male many times in person and on a PBS show. He has a LARGE cult following who hang out at the model boat lake by 5th Ave. and 70th? street in NYC. He lives in Woody Allen's building, but as far as I know they're not related.

I didn't realize the wing span was so large. I'm usually looking at their red tail. I've only seen them soaring. Good link. Told me a lot.

birdmanct, I agree with you about the plants, I did a lot of 'Bird-scaping' here myself and wouldn't have what I get for birds if I didn't.
I have the same birds come in that you do except I also get these:

Rose-Breasted Grossbeak
King Fisher
Tree Swallow
Eastern Phoebe
Red Winged Blackbird
Grackle
Cowbird
Brown Creeper
fly catcher
Mourning Dove
Gray Cat Bird
Green Backed Heron
Purple Finch
House Finch
Northern Oriole
Rufus sided Tohwee
Yellow Breasted Chat
Yellow Warbler
Red-Eyed Vireo
Starling
Wood Thrush
Golden Crowned Kinglet
Barn Swallow
Killdeer
Sharp shinned hawk
Northern Sawheet owl
Nothern Screech Owl

OK, here's my complete backyard list. [it's my only bird list, don't worry :]

Blackbird, Red-Winged M&F
Bluebird, Eastern M&F -migrants
Cardinal, Northern M&F
Catbird, Grey
Chickadee, Black-Capped
Cormorant, Double-Crested -overhead
Cowbird, Brown-Headed M&F
Creeper, Brown
Crow, American
Dove, Mourning;
Rock (pigeon)
Eagle, Bald 2/04 & 4/06 flew right past house!
Finch, House M&F; & Purple??
Flicker, Yellow-Shafted
Goldfinch M&F
Goose, Canada -overhead only, thankfully
Grackle, Boat-Tailed; Common
Grosbeak, Pine; -migrant
Rose-breasted M&F -migrants
Gull, Ring-billed
Harrier, Northern
Hawk, Cooper’s;
Sharp-shinned
Red-Tail -resident;
Red-shouldered
Broad-winged
Heron, Great Blue -overhead
Hummingbird, Ruby-Throated
Jay, Blue
Junco, Slate-Colored
Kingbird, Eastern
Lark, Horned
Mallard -overhead
Mockingbird, Northern
Nighthawk, Common
Nuthatch, White-Breasted
Oriole, Northern
Ovenbird
Owl, prob. Long-eared
Phoebe, Eastern
Robin, American M&F & Juveniles
Sparrows: Chipping;
House;
Song;
Tree
White-throated ;
Starling, European M&F
Swallow, ?type
Thrush, Wood
Titmouse, Tufted
Vulture, Turkey -overhead
Warbler, Yellow-Rumped
Waxwing, Cedar
Woodpecker, Downy M&F;
Hairy;
Red-Bellied M&F
Wren, house

I haven't had any vireos, kinglets, water birds. lots of overlap, tho!

No Fair,, I wasn't counting the 'over-head' birds :) Ever get any boblink?

I dont believe I've ever had a oven bird or horned lark, I'd say we are pretty close to even, you got a couple that I don't and visa -versa, But all in all , Theres quite a few huh? And Sooo enjoyable ...I love the sounds of them all! Do you have a lot of bird-houses up?? I think I have about 40 up right now.

Okay... my yard list ( :>

great blue heron (overhead)
turkey vulture (overhead)
red-tailed hawk (overhead)
Harris' hawk
Cooper's hawk (winter)
sharp-shinned hawk (winter)
kestrel
Gambel's quail
Virginia rail
killdeer (heard only)
mourning dove
Inca dove
white-winged dove
rock dove :-P
peach-faced lovebird (established wild population)
great-horned owl
elf owl (heard only)
lesser nighthawk
Anna's hummingbird
Costa's hummingbird
black-chinned hummingbird
Gila woodpecker
flicker
Say's phoebe
western wood pewee (migrant)
common raven
verdin
cactus wren
American robin (migrants)
ruby-crowned kinglet (winter)
yellow warbler (migrants)
orange-crowned warbler (migrant)
yellow-rumped warbler (migrants)
mockingbird
curve-billed thrasher
sage thrasher (I don't know what he was doing here!)
starling
phainopepla
cardinal
black-headed grosbeak (migrant)
western tanager (migrant)
chipping sparrow (migrants)
white-crowned sparrow (winter)
Lincoln's sparrow (migrant)
Abert's towhee
green-tailed towhee (migrants)
brown-headed cowbird
bronzed cowbird
great-tailed grackle
Bullock's oriole (migrant)
house finch
lesser goldfinch
house sparrow

I think Dave's Garden needs a BirdFiles just like PlantFiles :))))

angele, Me too!

Magpied, Wow! Thats quite a list!! I wish we had the climate for Peach faced lovebirds here!! They are so pretty!! Your so lucky to have so much variety!!

Birdman, my list is about the same as yours, but I don't have the following:
Cardinal
Cormorant
Grackle
Grosbeaks
Jay
Mockingbird
Nuthatch
Ovenbird
Wood Thrush
Titmouse


I do have a returning pair of Western Bluebirds that come when i call them to breakfast of meal worms. Haven't figured out which house they have decided on .

For the past 8 or 9 years I had a nesting pair of chickadees, (just about my favorite birds) but this past winter the sharpshinned hawk got them both, for which I am very sorry as I really enjoyed their company.

However I do have to say there aren't as many birds as there used to be. I have noticed a definite decline in the past couple of years.

birdman how many years have you lived on your hill top and have you planted lots of trees and shrubs to entice birds in. I have lived here on my hill for 23 years now. There was nothing here but sagebrush and native grasses. There are no native trees anywhere near. I have planted more than 100 varieties of trees, not all lived but I do have quite a lot of trees, however none are older than 12 years, I also planted quite a lot of berried shrubs.

The hummingbirds are very late in arriving. Saw the first one on April 20 and it just flew by didn't stop. Yesterday one did stay long enough to sample the sugar water in one of the two feeders I hung, beging 2 weeks ago, had to change the water twice. DonnaS

Wow, I have most of your birds except the extreme ones like the cormorant, king fisher, kinglet etc.

Iris - no Bobolinks. no Bobwhites. no Bobcats. YES overheads!! Yes "voice only". Yes neighbor's yard if I can see it from my window :)

no birdhouses yet- my son just gave me a fancy stained-glass, copper-roofed, hand-made bird house, so I'll have to hang the darned thing somewhere. And I have a Bluebird house, but don't have a good site for it.

40 houses??!!?? How many acres are you on??

This message was edited Apr 26, 2006 4:14 PM

magpied - nice list! Is your emoticon ( :> a bird's face? If so, what species? Looks kinda like I'd imagine a surprised Peach-faced Lovebird would look like.

PS I love to say "phainopepla"

This message was edited Apr 26, 2006 4:20 PM

rutholive - Tonasket? Is that near Wauconda? [just kidding; I MapQuested you!]
I've been here 9 years, but only started gardening the summer of '03. I'm just a babe in the [former] woods.
The rear yard is 80' by 110'. It had only a large White Ash tree and a typical grass lawn. I killed the lawn, planted Buffalo grass on the middle 40%, and put in perennials plus:

TREES, large
Pinus strobus Eastern White Pine #3 by fence DR CT

TREES, small flowering, fruit
Amelanchier x grandiflora Apple Serviceberry DR CT
Cornus alternifolia Pagoda Dogwood CT
Cornus floribunda Flowering Dogwood [front of house, original] CT
Cornus kousa Kousa Dogwood
Crataegus viridis ‘Winter King’ Green Hawthorn
Malus x zumi ‘Calocarpa’ Crabapple #2 DR

SHRUBS, high
Aronia melanocarpa Black Chokeberry 3-8’ A.arbutifolia CT
Buddleia davidii 'Harlequin' 'Nanho Blue' 'Red Plume' Butterfly Bush 10-12’ DR
Clethra alnifolia ‘Ruby Spice’ Summersweet or Sweet Pepperbush #2 6’
Cornus sericea Red-osier dogwood
Euonymus alatus Winged Euonymus [front of house, from Enid] DR
Hydrangea paniculata ‘Grandiflora’ Peegee Hydrangea [front of house, original]
Ilex glabra Inkberry
I.verticilata Winterberry holly CT
Myrica pensylvanica Northern bayberry , 6’-12’ #4 CT DR
Rhododenron catawbiense Rhododenron [front of house] R.maxima CT
Sambucus canadensis ‘York or Adams’ American elder 8-12’
Taxus Japanese Yew
Thuja occidentalis American Arborvitae: ‘Emerald Green’
Viburnum ?? [horizontal branching] Viburnum
Viburnum carlesii 'Compactum' Koreanspice Viburnum
Viburnum dentatum’? Arrowwood Viburnum [LawnTailors]
Viburnum dentatum 'Blue Muffin' Arrowwood Viburnum
Viburnum plicatum tomentosum 'Mariesii' Doublefile Viburnum
Viburnum trilobum ‘Bailey Compact’ American Cranberrybush Viburnum #2
SHRUBS, low
Berberis thunbergii f. atropurpurea ‘Crimson Pigmy’ Barberry 1.5-2’
Clethra alnifolia ‘Hummingbird’ Summersweet or Sweet Pepperbush
Cotoneaster [adpressus or horizontalis] [Creeping or rock] Cotoneaster –
Erica carnea ‘Pink” Pink Spring Heather – 2 by right center feeders
Euonymus fortunei ‘Moonshadow’ Moonshadow Euonymus – 1 by Vaccinium
Heather ??genus 1 left rear, 1 right rear
Symphoricarpos ‘Amethyst’ Snowberry #2
Symphoricarpos x chenaultii ‘Hancock’ Chenault Coralberry
Syringa mayeri ‘Palibin’ Dwarf Korean Lilac #2
Vaccinium angustifolium Lowbush blueberry – left rear of front
Weigela florida ‘'Alexandra' Weigelia ‘wine & roses’ 4-5’ – left on right center

tell me about your trees, please! over 100?? wow!

Hi billyporter - my uncle used to live in Davenport. Did you see the movie "The Straight Story " about a guy who drove his lawn mower 370 miles from Iowa to Wisconsin to visit his sick brother? It was heart-warming and so genuine, and a true story.

Any unusual birds in IA?

Have to hang the darned thing? Pictures!

I don't watch much tv, but I remember the story. Incredible!

Donna, no cardinals?

birmanct, I say the same as billy about the feeder..Picture!! Stainedglass sounds so nice! Though I must add, Not in discouragement, But, I've tried stained glass, ceramic, tin and pottery bird houses before ( Gifts) But birds never used them.
I only have 3 acres here, But, I like having a lot of houses up, I do get ducks and such that nest in the houses too and though not all get used a good majority usually do!

I collect birdhouses. And do have a lot of birdhouses all around the garden. Then there are all the too pretty and not very useful birdhouses that are in my passageway from house to garage. And then there are the ones in my house

Trees now growing outside:
Acer griseum
Acer ginnala tatacicum
Acer japonicum 'Oshi Beni'
Acer negundo Kelly's Gold
Acer negundo 'Flamingo'
Acer palmatum Okushimo
Acer palmatum dissectium, 'Crimson King'
Acer palmatum goshika shidare
Acer platanoides 'Crimson King'
Acer mandshuricum
Acer 'Red Select'

Alnus spaethii, Alder
Amelanchier native to this area
Amelanchier 'Forest Prince'
Betula 'Crimson Frost' purple leafed birch
Betula , Paper Bark Birch
Betula jacquemonti, OR. birch
Betula nigra Heritage Birch
Betula papyrifera, 3 x clump
Betula youngii pendula
Caragana Weeping Walker's Pea Shrub
Cercidiphyllum japonicum, Katsura
Cercidiphyllum magnificum pendula
Cercis canadensis, 'Forest Pansy'
Cladastrrius lutea, Yellowwood
Cornus 'Daybreak'
Cornus 'Eddies White Wonder'
Cornus alternifolia
Cornus alternifolia 'Pagoda'
Cornus florida 'Cherokee Sunset'
Cornus mas 'Golden Glory'
Cornus mas 'Tricolor'
Cornus racemosa 'Grey Dogwood'
Cotinus 'Grace'
Cotinus coggyria purpureus
Crataegus crus galli 'Crusader'
Craataegus mollie 'Downy Hawthorn'
Elaeagnus multiflora
Fagus sylvatica 'Cockleshell'
Fagus sylvatica purpurea pendula
Fraxinus Americana 'Autumn Purple' Ash
Fraxinus augustifolia 'Raywood'
Gledistia Shademaster, Honey Locust
Gymnogladus dioicus Kentucky Coffee Tree
Halesia dipter
Liordendron tulipfera
Magnolia 'Jane'
Magnolia tripetula Umbrella Magnolia
Magnolia Virginiana 'Moon Glow'
Magnolia 'Yellow Bird'
Malus 'Indian Magic' crabapple
Malus 'Weeping Candied Apple'
Malus 'Prairie Fire
Malus transitoria schimidti cutleaf, 'Golden Raindrops'
Morus australus 'Unryu', contorted mulberry
Nyssa sylvatica, black gum, Tupelo
Oxydendron arboretum, Sourwood
Parrotia persica
Phellodendron amarense
Platnus acerfolia., London Plane Tree
Prunus cercifera, Thundercloud'
Prunus Sargent cherry
Prunus nigra 'Canadian Plum'
Prunus serrula 'Birchbark Cherry'
Prunus virginiana 'Red Leafed cherry'
Pterostyrax hispida
Pyrus salicifolia pendula
Quercus concordia 'Golden English Oak'
Quercus macrocarpa 'Burr Oak'
Quercus palustris 'Pin Oak'
Quercus rubur, 'Crimson spire Oak'
Quercus ' Scarlet Oak'
Quercus prinus
Rhamnus frangula 'Tall Hedge Buckthorn, columnaris'
Rhus glabra, Smoot h sumac
Robinia Frisia
Robinia, 'Twisty Baby Dwarf Locust'
Salix integra 'Hakure nishiki'
Sequoiadendron
Salix irrorata
Sorbus alnifolia, Korean Mtn. Ash
Sorbus lutescens
Sorbus microphylla
Sorbus Mtn. Ash 'Shipova'
Taxodium distichum
Tilia petiolarius, Linden
Tilia tomentosa, Silver Linden

Now aren't you sorry you asked.

Donna

Sorbus alnifolia,
h

Rutholive, hope you don't mind- here is a link to one of your threads that shows a little of how beautiful you have made a part of this planet
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/551551/

Here is the list of my trees
1 Dwarf Catalpa - in the front yard & talk of the town, city hall actually called once to ask what kind it is! attracts all kinds of birds to roost at night, what a racket :) Very dense foilage, can't see much
1 Desert Willow- planted last year and small but doing nicely with lots of buds right now
1 thornless mesquite- my favorite - setting to many of my bird pictures - not too dense can see most birds within the branches, starting to bloom now and smells so wonderful.
1 Apricot- young tree, gave 11 apricots last year. The quail have made a feast out of it this year and I can only find one apricot!
4 baby palms - bought this year - small shrub size

see you all tonight!

Angele, thanks, I don't know how to creat links We do grow different kinds of things don't we.

Donna

rutholive - amazing list. I see lots of overlap of genuses (geni??), less so of exact species, re what would be found in CT.

re bird house - yeah, stained glass and copper... only a bird that wears eye-liner would use it ;) I wish people who know my interests wouldn't buy me what they think I'd like. I appreciate the thought, especially in this case because it was my son's gift, but I almost never find the gift useful. I play percussion, and you should hear some of the instruments [now just sitting on my shelves] that people have bought for me.

AHH, angele's link to "Donna's before and after" finally opened - GORGEOUS. thank you!

I like to watch whatever birds are in the yard, but do have favorites:

Carolina chickadees because they play with each other
Tufted titmice for the same reason
Eastern bluebirds, especially when bathing
Lincoln sparrows, also bathing
Barn swallows, especially mobbing the red-shouldered hawk and following my DH as he shreds the pasture and insects fly up
Red-shouldered hawks following DH on the tractor with an eye out for snakes and mice, and I especially like to see them catch snakes
Yellow-rumped warblers are so sassy and sometimes make a noise like they are giving me the raspberry.
Roadrunners are just neat altogether and sneak up on small birds and lizards.
Yellow-billed cuckoos are hard to spot because they are so still, but it's fun to watch them going after webworms.
Painted bunting males are so gaudy, but shy. I only spot them once or twice a summer, usually on the fence singing. The females are bolder and bring the babies up to the birdseed I spread on the ground near the gate.
Carolina wrens are bold and come close to inspect me.
A phoebe sits on the fence and just eyeballs me curiously.
I threw out some freezer-burned meat after it unthawed, and the results were interesting. First a pair of red-shouldered hawks came up and ate. Then the buzzards, both turkey and black, descended, and had tugs-of-war, trying to get the meat. The American crows were darting in and out after tidbits.
The American crows pester the squirrels, mostly over pecans from the trees.
Goldfinches abound here in the winter, like in the hundreds (okay, the most I ever counted at once was a little over 200). It's fun to watch them as they lightly glide to the ground, knock each other off the feeders, etc.
With the goldfinches comes a kestrel, who has grabbed one out of the tree right over my head. I also saw him get a house sparrow. When he misses, it's fun to watch him flap and try to catch his balance.
Sharp-shinned and Cooper's hawks occasionally try for, and get, birds at the feeders. What a flutter that is!
Ruby-throated hummers are amazing, in battle, hovering over flowers, or at rest on the feeders. I also have had a rufous and a broadbill, during fall migration, and a black-chinned during spring migration.
Most unusual sighting in the yard - mallard ducks floating in standing water during the winter in the year we had 50" of rain, and water stood for most of the winter.
Best all time yard sighting - a male cardinal, male goldfinch, and male eastern bluebird on the birdbath at the same time.

I have also landscaped my yard for birds, and have found out that that can attract unusual species to the yard. For instance, summer tanagers sometimes come to the yard during the summer when I water the grass, but most often after the American beautyberries ripen. Yellow-rumped warblers and ruby-crowned kinglets have overwintered since the wax myrtle got large enough to have berries. I can't claim the that I planted the six large (over 2 feet in diameter) native pecans, but they bring in many migrants, over 20 types of warblers and 3 types of orioles spotted way up there eating around the pecan blossoms, as well as good-sized flocks of cedar waxwings. Mockingbirds are currently nesting in my New Dawn rose, and cardinals are nesting in a Sam Houston rose, about a foot off the ground. When hawks sharp-shinned and Cooper's hawks and kestrels are after the birds, they head for cover in the wax myrtles, in the Mermaid roses, in the Lady Banks rose, in the yaupons, and some in the dewberries.

bullnettle, It's great how you wrote what you liked about each bird, There sure do all have there own special charictoristics (sp)
Those painted buntings are so pretty, I wish we had them here!
Having the Cardinal, Goldfinch, And Bluebird on the birdbath at the same time is surely quite a treat, What a exceptional sight that must have been!! Sounds like you get quite a variety of birds to your yard, Landscaping for the birds really does help huh?!

Bullnettle, you are the master bird watcher. You've seen things I've never seen. I would have loved to see the birdbath trio. Thanks for the insight!

bullnettle, I also loved your list and the way you wrote it, you have a very engaging style :)

Yes, bullnettle, great list and very interesting writing. Since I live so much further north than you do, not all the birds you see get up this way. Haven't seen any orioles yet this year. I really don't understand what is happening with the birds in the last couple of years. Before i always had lots of tree swallows competing with the bluebirds for the nest boxes. Last year only saw one swallow, this year last week there were several looking over a couple of nestboxes near the house but are gone now.

Other years there have been at least two pair of wrens nesting in the yard, last year none. I did see a wren our in backyard a couple of days ago, but haven't seen or heard any since.
And I mentioned before that I am sure the sharpshinned hawk got both of my beloved chickadees. Have lots of robins!!!!!!!!!

Donna

Thanks for the compliments. I am retired, and spend a lot of my time gardening and watching birds. I've put in a lot of natives to attract the birds, and try to notice if things change as the natives mature. About 3 years ago, I put an elderberry in a low place that holds water, to see what effect it would have. It just started blooming, lightly, last year. I can't wait to see what happens when it gets lots of berries on it. My Mexican plums have bloomed, but not fruited heavily yet, and the thicketing plums I dug up off my sister's place bloomed for the first time this year, as did the rusty blackhaw viburnum I dug up from a thicket there. (I didn't know they thicketed, but, after further reading, found that in the right circumstances they can.) Patience is the watchword when gardening for birds, I've decided. Also, getting lots of roots when you dig them up, and putting them in a pot for a year so the roots are really strong when you put them out, at least if you have clay soil.

One of my projects is to make a hedgerow from the creek that borders our place, about a city block away) along the cross fence to the house. I quit cutting hackberries, mesquite, and pecans out of the fence, and intend to dig up some of my suckers from the rough-leafed dogwood in the fall, let them root well, and put them along the fence as well. I'll add other suckerers as they mature, like the plums. I'm hoping that will encourage some of the birds from the creek to come up to the house more often. The hard part will be to keep the stuff I put in watered, since I'll have to haul water to them. It will be a little at a time project.

You are a hard worker, but it will be paradise for you AND the birds.

rutholive, Don't know whats going on, But, It seems there 'are' less and less birds each year.

Bullnettle, The elderberry is 'Highly' attractive to a lot of birds! I think you are going to be pleasently surprised on how the birds tend to stay and eat everday when the berries are ripe ( Sometimes even before there ripe!)
Your right when you say patience is the key when gardening for birds, Doesn't tkae long to notice new additions though for almost each new plant/shub/tree thats put in.
Lot of hard work you have planed ahead, but I'm sure it will lead to a great payoff in birds! Do you have a stream or large pond nearby?

bullnettle are you taking before and after pictures and do you have pictures to share. Love to what others are doing. My area is strictly desert, I have to irrigate from April to Nov. I do havae 6 or 7 differest varieties of elderberries, the birds love them all. Some put on a better bloom display than others. The native elderberry which spreads too rapidly from underground runners, is the one the birds fight over.

Donna

Elderberry on my list now! :)

One of my favorite migrants arrived today! The glorious Evening Grosbeak, a beautiful male. They are very late this year, most likely due to the crazy weather we've had on the coast. I just love them. Yesterday the first Black Headed Grosbeak arrived too! My more frequent visitors to the feeders are chestnut backed chickadees, nuthatches, goldfinches, house finches, juncos, crossbills, downy woodpeckers, flickers.... I feel like I'm forgetting someone.... oh yeah, the dreaded pigeons and the squirrels!!!

And some chickadees have taken possession of the bird house!

Sanna

IRIS: We have 6 acres, and a creek runs along the the west and north sides. The west side is about a city block from the house, and the north side is farther. Back in the 50's, and earlier, this area was a 60 acre truck farm, then it was used for cattle, so most of our pasture is cleared and has coastal bermuda on it. We do shred it twice a year, because mesquites would take it over in a short time if we did not. There is a small wooded area on the northwest corner, maybe the size of a city lot. There are native turk's caps there, as well as a lot of cat briar, most of which I've cleared, and poison ivy, which I'm fighting. We are on the high side of the creek, with banks from 15 to 25 feet high, a relief when we get downpours. I constantly battle non-native invasives, too, like Japanese honeysuckle and chinaberry trees.