Month: September 2008

Texas Offers Grazing Workshops

Grazing workshops come to Texas 

Livestock and wildlife producers, land managers and others interested in learning more about managing and optimizing their grazing lands will have an opportunity at one of five workshops being held throughout Texas from Sept. 3 to Oct. 1, 2008. “My Piece of Texas” grazing schools will teach attendees how to estimate forage production, determine grazeable acres and set proper stocking rates as well as learn valuable grazing management principles.

The $25 registration fee will include lunch and a copy of the soon-to-be published handbook, “Managing My Piece of Texas.” The how-to guide was peer reviewed by ranchers throughout Texas after being developed by grazing specialists from the Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative (GLCI), Texas AgriLife Extension Service, and the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Continue reading Texas Offers Grazing Workshops

Bluebird Boxes Made of Wood Are Best

Baby Bluebirds

Managed nest-box programs can significantly increase local populations of Eastern Bluebirds and other cavity-nesting species. Poorly designed boxes, however, may become population sinks rather than source centers. Internal box temperature is an important determinant of box success. Bluebird eggs and nestlings, for example, cannot survive temperatures exceeding 107′ F (41′ C).

Several researchers have investigated construction materials and nest box temperatures. Lawrence Zeleny in 1968 and Robert M. Patterson in 1980 studied wood, metal, and plastic bluebird boxes. Wood Duck boxes also have been studied. J. A. L. Mertens in 1977 developed a model predicting box temperature for any material and ambient temperature, but its complexity discourages amateur use.

The goal of this project was to examine the effects of construction material on nest box temperature and to develop a graphed model of the relationship.