Commons Ford Prairie in 2014

We have some great news to report - Austin Parks Foundation has once again stepped up and awarded us a grant for 2014.  This grant will allow us to continue our efforts to push back the remaining invasives in the tract.  The grant will also allow us to plant a significant amount of new native wildflower and grass seeds in the prairie in 2014.  We will be discussing the new seed mix (which may include some of the more unique natives) in the next few weeks.  

We engaged Native American Seed Company to conduct a spot herbicide treatment recently to combat some of the invasive species that have persisted despite previous efforts.  We will continue to monitor the impact of that treatment as well as other aspects of the project and we will make an assessment shortly after the first of the year regarding next steps and timing.

 In another week or so, we will be scheduling our winter prairie bird surveys.  These survey results should be very interesting given that we are only a few months out from the burn.  We will be looking for volunteers - if you are interested in assisting us with these important surveys please contact us at commonsfordpro@gmail.com.

Given the burn and the decent rains over the past few months, the prairie looks like it is setting up very well for a vibrant spring growth.  Late-spring should be a great time to visit the park for both birds and wildflowers!

September Bird Walk at Commons Ford

On August 25, the monthly Commons Ford Prairie bird walk was led by Sheila Hargis and Laurie Foss of the Travis Audubon Society. The walk occurred just 6 days after the prescribed burn (which occurred on August 19, 2013). Walk attendees and leaders were anxious to see what effect the burn had on the bird community.

August is not typically a very exciting month in the birding world. It is too soon for migrants, and many summer breeders have already started making their way south. So it was much to the birders delight to find that the Commons Ford Prairie was still rich in bird species diversity. Laurie and Sheila recorded 34 species, including a Green Kingfisher, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers (a population which was found in the actual prairie and not in surrounding trees, as is more typical of the species), and Scissor-tailed Flycatchers.

Bird enthusiast and blogger Sherry Singson documented the walk on her blog. Check out her amazing photos here.

Here is a complete list of species seen during the walk:

Wood Duck 4
Great Blue Heron 1
Black Vulture 2
Turkey Vulture 3
Cooper's Hawk 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
White-winged Dove 20
Mourning Dove 4
Chimney Swift 17
Ruby-throated/Black-chinned Hummingbird 5
Green Kingfisher 1
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 2
Downy Woodpecker 2
Least Flycatcher 1
Eastern Phoebe 10
Western Kingbird 1
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 10
White-eyed Vireo 6
Blue Jay 1
Purple Martin 1
Barn Swallow 5
Cliff/Cave Swallow 4
Carolina Chickadee 4
Tufted x Black-crested Titmouse (hybrid) 9
Bewick's Wren 1
Carolina Wren 3
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 10
Northern Mockingbird 14
Black-and-white Warbler 4
Nashville Warbler 1 In a feeding flock with BAWWs, white eye ring, grayish head, yellow body, top of sycamore tree
Lark Sparrow 6
Summer Tanager 3
Northern Cardinal 8
Dickcissel 2
Great-tailed Grackle 16
Orchard Oriole 1
Lesser Goldfinch 15

Commons Ford Prairie Prescribed Burn August 2013

For two years, the Common’s Ford Prairie Organization has been working on scheduling a prescribed burn for the prairie. Due to unusually hot and dry weather conditions during the summers of 2011 and 2012, it was not possible to schedule a burn. However, the much cooler and wetter (comparatively) weather conditions of August 2013 made it the ideal time to conduct a prescribed burn.

Fire has always played an important role in the health of maintenance of prairie ecology. Prairie grasses have evolved with fire, and thus fire plays an important role in their life cycle. Fire also keeps woody species at bay. Most of the biomass of grass lies underground, so they are not killed by fire. Woody and deciduous species, such as mesquite and juniper, are more vulnerable to fire. Thus, fire suppresses woody species allowing grasses to flourish.

A summer burn was planned due to recent research that has indicated that native species benefit more compared to exotic species by being burned in summer versus winter. Native species have been shown to regenerate faster during a summer burn compared to exotic species. A summer burn allows natives to regenerate quickly, giving them the opportunity to out compete exotic species.

On Friday August 9, 2013, a group of fire fighters from various local precincts gathered to conduct the prescribed burn on the 40 acre restored prairie at Common’s Ford. The day was hot with a slight breeze, perfect weather for a controlled burn. Once the burn was started, it spread quickly and was over in just after two hours.

Just hours after the burn, native bird species were already flocking back to the prairie to look for food (which they apparently found in abundance!) One week after the burn, native grasses were already shooting up. Over the next year, volunteer biologists will continue to monitor the growth of the prairie’s growth. Future burns will continue to be scheduled as they will be necessary in order to maintain the health and diversity of the prairie. 

Commons Ford Prairie June 2013 Vegetation Survey

On the morning of Saturday, June 22, a small group of volunteers met out on the Commons Ford Prairie to conduct the annual vegetation survey.  The morning was bright and sunny and a nice cool breeze was blowing, making the survey a joy to conduct.

The prairie was in full bloom. An amazing, colorful array of native grasses and forbs have sprouted this year. While a few invasives were sighted - mainly KR bluestem, Johnson grass and Bermuda grass - the overwhelming majoprity of species were the natives that were planted a year and a half ago. Grass species included big, little and silver bluestem, eastern gamagrass, sideoats gramma, Canada and Virgina Rye. Native forb species included standing cypress, Illinois bundleflower and Maximillian sunflower.

Annual summer vegetation surveys will contniue to be conducted in the years to come as they are essential to monitoring the health of the prairie and for keeping the invasives at bay.

Photo Credit: Chris Coxwell

As you can see, the prairie is looking good in all her fine, summer splendor! Visitors this month are rewarded with a sea of vibrant colors! Plenty of birds are also enjoying the summer prairie. Pollinating insects are attracted to the flowers, and so are the flycatchers that eat them! Thistle loving orioles have also been abundant.

Here are some pictures of the prairie taken earlier this week by Ed Fair.

Black Chinned Hummingbird

Eastern Phoebe

Feeding Hummingbird

Hummingbird dining on Standing Cypress nectar