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Cross Timbers Conservancy Preserving one of the least disturbed ecosystems in Texas
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Fauna of the Cross Timbers
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Birds
The Cross Timbers region is home to an abundant variety of birds. An important compilation and photo gallery can be found at http://www.birdsofoklahoma.net.
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Rio Grande Turkey (Meleagris gallapavo), with a high rate of natural reproduction and favorable habitat, have made an astonishing recovery following restocking efforts by the State of Texas. The Cross Timbers are now home to one of the highest populations in the United States. Favorable habitat includes tall trees for roosting, abundant grasses and ground vegetation for nesting, and plentifull supplies of food, water, and cover. Bobwhite Quail (Colinus virginianus) are found throughout the area, but suffer from destruction of woody escape cover. Livestock grazing and improved pasture management have eliminated large areas of traditional bobwhite habitat, by displacing perennial grasses and forbs that provide vital nesting cover and seeds. Migratory ducks, geese, and cranes utilize the natural lakes and man-made reservoirs that dot the area. Hundreds of flood-control reservoirs, built in the 1960's by the USDA Soil Conservation Service, provide resting and feeding areas. Duck species include Blue-winged teal (Anas discors), Green-winged teal (A. crecca), Cinnamon teal (A. cyanoptera), Wood duck (Axis sponsa), Mallard (Anas platyrhunchos), Northern pintail (A. acuta), Gadwall (A, strepera), American widgeon (A. americana), Ring-neck duck (A. collaris), Northern shoveler (A. clypeata), and others. Geese species include Canada (Branta canadensis), Snow (Chen caerulescens), and White-fronted (Anser albifrons). Sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) and the endangered Whooping crane (Grus americana) migrate through the area each fall and spring. Red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis), a meat-eating raptor, is the largest hawk, weighing between 2 and 4 pounds. With eyesight eight times more powerful than a human's, it feeds primarily on mice, gophers, and other small rodents. Owls are present throughout the region, including the Barn owl (Tyto alba), Eastern screech-owl (Megascops (Otus) asio), Great horned owl (Bubo virginianus ), and Barred owl (Strix varia). Their diet is primarily rodents, but also includes birds, domestic fowl, squirrels, rabbits, reptiles, frogs, and insects. Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura), a very important and ever-present scavenger that is protected by both state and federal laws. While long considered a bird of prey, recent research has resulted in its reclassification to the stork family. A solitary vulture takes a rest in the photo at top, in late afternoon, along a tributary of Clear Creek in eastern Montague County. Snowy egret (Egretta thula), a spring and summer resident of our lakes and ponds that winters on the Texas coast. Mourning dove (Zenaida macroura), the most abundant dove in the U.S., with a plaintive call heard throughout the Cross Timbers. Purple Martins (Progne subis), a favorite breeding bird of our region, whose arrival is eagerly awaited in the spring, and whose departure is regretted in the summer. Other breeding birds include the Northern cardinal, Blue-gray gnatcatcher, Yellow-billed cuckoo, Red-bellied woodpecker, Red-headed woodpecker, Downy/hairy woodpecker, Great crested flycatcher, Eastern phoebe, Blue Jay, Carolina chickadee, Tufted titmouse, Bewick’s wren, Eastern bluebird, Black-and-white warbler, Louisiana waterthrush, Summer tanager, Indigo bunting, Painted bunting, and Field sparrow.
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Mammals
Numerous and varied species of animals inhabit the Cross Timbers. Complete descriptions can be found at The Mammals of Texas - On-line Edition, http://www.nsrl.ttu.edu/tmot1.
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White tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are very numerous in the Cross Timbers. They are most active just prior to sundown and shortly after day-break, feeding on browse and forbes, and acorns in the winter. During the middle of the night they generally rest. During the day they bed down in thickets or in brushy areas on higher slopes. American Beaver (Castor canadensis) are found on all the active streams in the Cross Timbers, especially below our man-made ponds and flood-control reservoirs. Amazing engineers, they construct their own dams to regulate water flow, burrow into stream banks, and breed prodigiously. They feed on a variety of vegetation, but prefer the inner bark of willows and cottonwoods. Bobcat (Lynx rufus), a highly adaptable, mid-sized cat, prefers thickets of oak understory and rocky outcrops. Primarily nocturnal, they will frequently leave cover well before sundown to begin hunting. They feed generally on small mammals and birds. Coyote (Canis latrans), dog-like carnivores, are widespread and numerous. They are opportunistic feeders, preferring rabbits, rodents and carrion, but also frogs, snakes, insects, fruits, and melons. Mountain Lion (Felis concolor), once common in the region, now occurs only infrequently in the Cross Timbers. White-tailed deer are their principal food. Feral Hogs (family Suidae) are old-world species of domestic breeds released into the wild. Large groups of hogs range up and down the creeks, rooting pastures in summer, and in winter feeding on wheat baled for cattle, and foraging the bottom land for nuts and acorns. Raccoon (Procyon lotor) have an ideal habitat in the oak woodlands of the Cross Timbers, especially near ponds and reservoirs. They are nocturnal carnivores, but also eat fruits, nuts, and insects. They have as many as seven young in a litter, and are very numerous. Striped Skunk (Mephitis mephitis) and Western and Eastern Spotted Skunk (Spilogate gracilis and S. putorius). Another largely nocturnal carnivore, they feed on a variety of insects, spiders, small mammals, small birds, and vegetation. Nine-banded Armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus), spread into the Cross Timbers from southern Texas during the 1920's and 30's, and are now found into northern Oklahoma. Eastern Cottontail Rabbit (Sylvilagus floridanus) clings to the brushy understory of the woodlands, venturing out into pastures and meadows at twilight and in the dark. They prefer a variety of forbs and grasses, but will also eat twigs and bark of small shrubs and trees. They provide a food source for hawks, barn owls, coyotes, bobcats, and many others. Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger) are at home in our oak woodlands. They are a large squirrel that spends a lot of time on the ground. They feed primarily on acorns, but also eat fruits, insects, and bird's eggs. Plains Pocket Gopher (Geomys bursarius) inhabits the sandy soils of the Cross Timbers, living mostly underground. They discard soil from tunneling on the surface. They feed primarily on roots encountered while tunneling, and are destructive of young or newly planted trees. They are relatively safe in their burrows, but are food for hawks, owls, coyotes, skunks, snakes and others when they venture out on the surface.
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Cross Timbers Conservancy P.O. Box 246 · Forestburg, TX 76239
© 2006, all rights reserved |
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