• Mike Forman •
• Originally published January 14, 2009 at 5:42 p.m., updated January 14, 2009 at 5:42 p.m.

In the most recent batch of letters sent to the Victoria Advocate, but addressed to me, were two informing me that jays are far more common and widespread than I suggested in a recent Nature Note.

Readers tell me that sightings during the last couple months have occurred at several additional locations in Goliad and DeWitt counties. One Goliad reader informed me that she sees green jays year-round. She also mentions that she had seen a magpie, a long-tailed black and white bird of the western United States. A very rare sighting indeed.

A Victoria reader asked if I had any recommendations on what could be done about blue jays that were "knocking my fledgling purple martins out of their nests. much to the distress of their parents." Except for purchasing nest guards to place on the martin house, not much. Blue jays, as well as a few other birds, such as red-shouldered hawks that have taken purple martins from the martin house in my yard, are natural predators that will feed on whatever small birds are available. "Owl guards" can be purchased through The Purple Martin Conservation Association: 814-833-7656 or www.purplemartin.org.

A very recent letter from a rancher near Berclair told me he was fascinated by finding a scissor-tailed flycatcher on Dec. 30, a very late date for a bird that normally winters much further south. Although this late inland record is unusual, a few scissor-tails occasionally are found in winter along the coast. With global warming, we more and more are finding Neotropical species wintering further north than they had earlier. The excellent "Handbook of Texas Birds" (Texas A&M Press), by Mark Lockwood and Brush Freeman, contains all the Texas birds with information about their range and status. It is well with the price, as it is an excellent reference book.

Another Victoria resident asked what can be done to control bees that swarm hummingbird feeders. I wish I had an answer, but I don't. Some hummingbird feeders are worse than others because the sweet liquid is situated closer to the feeding holes. It seems to me that the smaller Poteet feeders possess fewer bees than the larger feeders. But that is not the answer. Flying insects are always difficult to control, and it means that the feeders will require cleaning and refilling more often. When flying insects are a problem, it is best to limit the amount of liquid utilize each time.

I also received a little package containing a dead cone-nosed bug. The lady sending me the bug asked that I write a nature note about these bugs. I eventually will do that as I had a personal, not pleasant, experience with these bugs years ago while doing bird studies on the King Ranch. The specimen I received in the mail was one of the blood-sucking assassin bugs known as a kissing bug, or a Triatoma species, according to the illustration in the "Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America" (pg. 117). But I found a more detailed discussion of kissing bugs on page 79 in Malcom Beck and John Howard Garrett's "Texas Bug Book" (Univ. Texas Press). They point out that these bugs are often found in poultry houses and horse stalls. I found that they often live in wood rat houses. But the bad news about this species is they can carry deadly Chagas disease; more about that at a later date.

Ro Wauer writes about nature for the Victoria Advocate. Contact him in care of Victoria Advocate, P.O. Box 1518, Victoria, TX 77902.

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