Nature Along the El Camino Real
Blog of the El Camino Real Chapter, Texas Master Naturalists, Milam County, Texas
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.
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!
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.
by Catherine Johnson
The heat and weeds are a challenge at the Wildscape now.
Patricia and Rosie accomplished some chores as have the Reks.
When it is cool, more natives will be planted and next year will see a lot of blooms. Birds are enjoying the Wildscape and have been raising their young in mailboxes, bee hotels and native trees. Kim and I recently spent a windy afternoon moving sprinklers and relaxing with sweet drinks, cake and Fritos!
by Sue Ann Kendall
Today was a happy day for this blog. We have a new member of the blogging crew. Let’s welcome Terri Brickey to the team! She’s an experienced blogger who just needed a refresher course in how WordPress has changed since she last worked on her own blog. Now when I’m unavailable, we have a helper! And she’s going to contribute more blogs of her own nature observations. We had a fun afternoon looking at the nature where I live and planning future activities.
In nature news, I saw a spider today. It was one of the largest bold jumping spiders (Phidippus audax) I ever saw! Look at those charming green eyes!
These spiders are often kept as pets, but I enjoy them in the wild. They have nested in our mailbox many times. They’re solitary and carnivorous. Their ability to move quickly and see extremely well makes them quite successful native species. They have iridescent chelicerae, which is one reason I enjoy them so much.
Nature Along the El Camino Real 