Welcome to Our Blog

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Hello, friends. This blog is where the El Camino Real Chapter, Texas Master Naturalists shares news, articles, and reflections. You’ll find our posts right under this introduction. We encourage your comments and likes, and of course, shares!

Texas Parks & Wildlife
AgriLife Extension

The Texas Master Naturalist program is sponsored by Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension.

Our chapter meets monthly on the second Thursday of the month in the fellowship hall at All Saints Episcopal Church, 200 North Travis Avenue, Cameron, Texas. Presentations begin at 6 pm, after a potluck meal. All are welcome to attend.

Our Mission: To develop a corps of well-informed volunteers to provide education, outreach, and service dedicated to the beneficial management of natural resources and natural areas within their communities for the State of Texas.

Master Naturalists Appreciate This Mother

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By Linda Burgess

It was a peaceful Sunday morning and I’m watering my plants to beat the summer heat when something unusual caught my eye.  I wasn’t sure what it was from a distance….just a brown mass on some weeds. But on careful inspection, I got a couple of close up pictures and discovered it was a Rabid Wolf Spider, with her newly hatched babies covering her back! 

Contrary to the name, the Rabid Wolf Spider does not have rabies and it is not dangerous to humans …..  as Eric Neubauer, our member and Wolf Spider expert, has already educated our Chapter.  It is famous for exceptional maternal care.  The photos I captured show hundreds of newly hatched babies (spiderlings) that the mother is carrying and protecting. They ride there for a few weeks until they are ready to live on their on.

I sent my picture to a few friends. One said, “OMGOODNESS!  Do not send that picture to people who don’t like spiders.  That’s like a nightmare!”  But you, my Master Naturalist friends, are not terrified and I’m sure you’ll find this observance quite interesting.

So enjoy!

If you want to visit the wildscape…

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By Catherine Johnson

If you want to visit the wildscape, if you do not go before 6am or after 6pm, be prepared to faint at the Wildscape.  We made a quick trip there recently to help Terri B dig up natives to be transplanted at Wild Wings Bird Sanctuary. Gary Johnson volunteered help. 

The hard-to-find chocolate daisies are blooming and smell – like chocolate.  

Terri and Gary at work
Chocolate daisies
Abundant plants
Pollinators! Our goal.

Independence Day Success

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By Linda Burgess

Our Master Naturalist table had a many visitors on the 4th of July in downtown Cameron. We had lots of interest in the classes that will start in January. We also gave away lots of native wildflower seeds and promoted our Milam Seed Library at the Cameron Public Library.

My granddaughter and Alan even had some fun with waterguns!🤣It was a great event and thanks to all who manned our table…. a big team effort on a very hot day!

Water gun action

Special moments

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by Eric Neubauer

Sometimes I get to see interesting behaviors while photographing wolf spiders. Most often this involves catching prey, because the light of my photography rig attracts all kinds of flying things out of the dark. In the blink of an eye, a spider leaps on its prey, usually a moth, and subdues it. Sometimes a spider misses, ends up on its back and then quickly flips itself right side up.

Once I saw a spider remain on its back after the moth escaped, hoping the moth would come back within reach. Behavior like this almost always happens too quickly to photograph.

Tuesday night I was photographing a large adult male Tigrosa which ended up on hold back holding onto his dinner with 4 of his legs. He didn’t immediately flip himself upright. I guess he was taking time to securely grab the moth by its neck with his jaws, so I got a picture! Then he flipped himself over without letting go of the moth and I got a second picture. It pays to have 8 legs.