Far be it from me to speak of perceived superiority in others when tonight here I was, cutting down cattail stands in my neighborhood pond. The Cooper's Hawks complained as I worked, and a Yellow Warbler called out in protest. I knew my argument for the better good wouldn't sit with the grackles especially, who's empty nests still lay in a couple stands (not active).. As I cut my last stalk and pulled, a branch sticking out of the water sliced a paper cut into my finger as punishment, but my thoughts did a much better job.
You see I have an arrangement that allows me to trim our cattails yearly to avoid a more drastic measure which took place before, which was a spraying of chemicals over a large area. Ironically, this was often performed just before the first frost, which would have had the same effect on the reeds anyway, without the poison or cost. I know this current agreement is fragile, but I save our community close to a thousand dollars, and get to keep this beautiful habitat intact. So hopefully this compromise will last, or our entire neighborhood will gain an appreciation of our beautiful reeds.
But for tonight I cut away a small stand after a neighbor's comment, probably to improve their view, while thinking that I would love the view of cattails from my yard! I collected some seed heads for our yard, wishful thinking on cattail garden perhaps (once we recycle our water). or just as a resource for our hummingbirds to make future nests. When I got home I realized I could have brought the bunch home for mulch, or for a winter micro habitat, but it may be too late now. If the bunch is there tomorrow I may need to grab them.
I returned home where Scout gave me a plaintive meow for attention, sensing my inner tribulation. Pickle came over as well, then Hadley, and even shy Lilly came by to sniff my fingers. Kino stayed close, and is even staying up with me at this late hour. It's good to know our companion animals love us so much even when we doubt ourselves.
Below is the letter I wrote, slightly edited, for my friend;
The last time we spoke we discussed the benefits of cattails. I'm attaching a file of cattail birds by my memory. They are arranged first by the ones who rely on the cattails the most, say for nesting, etc. Then are the birds which are drawn to the habitat, but usually with other factors, like nearby riparian vegetation. I also included a column for ones I know have been seen at our cattail pond or at Agua Calienter. The Agua Caliente column is not all inclusive.
Many birds use the cattails as protection while drinking, and it can also create a migrant trap. Our cattail pond, in conjunction with the nearby vegetation of cottonwood, Goodings Willow, and understory plants have attracted a lot of birds over the years including White-eyed Vireo, Hutton's Vireo, Cassin's Vireo, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, Tricolored Heron, Willow Flycatcher, Mexican Jay, Black-bellied Whistling Duck,and American Redstart.
Some benefits of cattails is that they;
1. Provide valuable habitat for wildlife, and a safe place to drink.
2. Act as a purifying filter for the water source, taking out many contaminents.
3. Neutral net effect between evaporation and the water used by plants. They use about as much water as they save from evaporation by creating shade.
4. Birds use seedpods for nests (especially hummingbirds), and cattails provide great protected nesting sites as well. Stalks used to build nests as well.
5. Create a rich food source for birds.
6. Easily maintained with trimming-no need for chemicals.
7. Used as protective nursury (egg laying) by frogs, toads and salamanders, and fish as well.
8. Helps create migrant trap for rare birds due to the rich food source.
9. Especially great habitat for wintering birds such as Marsh Wren, Common Yellowthroat, Sora, Virginia Rail, and Swamp Sparrow.
10. Edible! It seems almost every part of the plant is edible, and the stalks can also be used for weaving.
| Species | Our | Agua | Does Habitat draw bird in |
| Cattail Pond | Caliente | ||
| American Coot | Y | Y | |
| Black-bellied Whistling-Duck | Y | Y | |
| Common Yellowthroat | Y | Y | |
| Least Bittern | Y | Y | Y |
| Lincoln's Sparrow | Y | Y | |
| Marsh Wren | Y | Y | |
| Northern Waterthrush | Y | Y | |
| Pied-billed Grebe | Y | Y | |
| Prothonotary Warbler | Y | Y | |
| Red-winged Blackbird | Y | Y | |
| Solitary Sandpiper | Y | Y | |
| Song Sparrow | Y | Y | |
| Sora | Y | Y | |
| Swamp Sparrow | Y | Y | |
| Virginia Rail | Y | Y | |
| Wood Duck | Y | Y | Y |
| American Bittern | Y | Y | |
| Chestnut-sided Warbler | Y | Y | |
| Common Moorhen | Y | Y | |
| Least Sandpiper | Y | ||
| Nelson's Sparrow | Y | ||
| Sedge Wren | Y | ||
| Abert's Towhee | Y | ||
| American Redstart | Y | ||
| Belted Kingfisher | |||
| Black Phoebe | Y | ||
| Black-and-white Warbler | |||
| Black-crowned Night-Heron | Y | ||
| Brewer's Blackbird | Y | ||
| Eastern Phoebe | Y | ||
| Gadwall | Y | ||
| Gray Catbird | Y | ||
| Great Egret | Y | ||
| Greater Yellowlegs | Y | ||
| Great-tailed Grackle | Y | ||
| Hermit Thrush | Y | ||
| Hutton's Vireo | Y | ||
| Least Grebe | |||
| Lesser Nighthawk | Y | ||
| Lesser Yellowlegs | |||
| Long-billed Curlew | |||
| Long-billed Dowitcher | |||
| MacGillivray's Warbler | Y | ||
| Mallard | Y | ||
| Nashville Warbler | Y | ||
| Northern Rough-winged Swallow | Y | ||
| Orange-crowned Warbler | Y | ||
| Painted Bunting | |||
| Purple Martin | Y | ||
| Red Phalarope | |||
| Redhead | Y | ||
| Ring-necked Duck | Y | ||
| Ruby-crowned Kinglet | Y | ||
| Ruddy Duck | Y | ||
| Rufous-crowned Sparrow | Y | ||
| Semipalmated Plover | |||
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | Y | ||
| Short-billed Dowitcher | |||
| Snowy Egret | Y | ||
| Tricolored Heron | Y | ||
| Verdin | Y | ||
| Western Sandpiper | |||
| Western Screech-Owl | Y | ||
| Western Wood-Pewee | Y | ||
| White-throated Sparrow | Y | ||
| Willow Flycatcher | Y | ||
| Wilson's Snipe | |||
| Yellow-billed Cuckoo | Y | ||
| Yellow-breasted Chat | Y | ||
| Yellow-headed Blackbird | Y | ||
| Yellow-rumped Warbler Audubon's race | Y | ||
| Yellow-rumped Warbler Myrtle race | Y |
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