Urban wildlife habitats are also hurting after the recent ice storm, but a lot can be salvaged through proper care. Please see Texas A&M; Forest Service’s “After the Storm” resource under the Homeowners tab for tree care: Urban and Community Forestry | After the Storm (tamu.edu). The Natural Gardener prepared an excellent resource after Winter Storm Uri for landscape plants in general: https://tngaustin.com/freeze-maintenance/
February is a good time to support wildlife that will be migrating or having young soon. Because cavity-nesting native birds are losing nesting sites to development and tree removal, providing a nesting box in your yard can really help local wildlife. The National Wildlife Federation recommends placing nesting boxes out by the end of the month in our area, and they have helpful guidance about selection, placement and care: https://www.nwf.org/en/Garden-for-Wildlife/Young/Nesting-Box. Purple Martins, who provide valuable mosquito control, are already on the move. They rely entirely on humans for their nesting cavities, but becoming a “landlord” for these graceful birds requires attention to their specific requirements: https://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_bk_w7000_0254.pdf
These are desperate times for the migratory Monarch Butterfly. Your kindness in providing milkweed plants for returning butterflies to lay their eggs here starting next month makes a real difference in the survival of this species. The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation cautions home gardeners, however, that “nurseries—even those producing pollinator plants—may have treated their plants with pesticide,” so they offer a “Buying Bee-Safe Plants” guide: https://xerces.org/pesticides/bee-safe-nursery-plants. Although milkweed seeds are best planted in the fall like other wildflowers, Monarch Watch’s “Milkweed Market” for native milkweed plugs opens this month: https://shop.milkweedmarket.org/
Finally, for those still seeking to plant a tree during this most advantageous time of year, the TreeFolks NeighborWoods program is offering two free tree adoption events this month: https://www.treefolks.org/neighborwoods/
North Loop Neighborhood Association 