Sue Ann (Suna) Kendall

Hogna Fantasy

March 23, 2024March 22, 2024 Sue Ann (Suna) KendallLeave a comment

by Ann Collins

Long ago and not so far away lived a group who called themselves the “Hogna.” Sounds like a Native American tribe, doesn’t it? But, no, we who are better informed know them as a strain of arachnids, joint-legged arthropods. That’s “wolf spiders” for those of you who need a head’s up.

Anyway, it seems the leaders of the group were interested in genealogy and had heard rumors of some cousins that had disappeared from the family tree. These were the antelucana part of the tribe, and they wanted to reconnect with the cousins. They didn’t even know what to call them; they just knew they were Hognas.

*Hogna antelucana (photo by E. A. Neubauer)*

Fortunately, one day a young man by the name of Eric was discovered in their home territory. Now, Eric was a bit of a mystery to the Hogna, and the Hogna were an equal mystery to Eric. The Hogna were terrified of Eric in the beginning, because he was always running them down and swooping them up in a Tupperware container. Hogna aren’t jumping spiders, and the sides of the plastic containers were too slick to climb out of, so they were trapped. Nobody likes that feeling, do they? It wasn’t too long before they realized that sooner or later Eric would dump them out of the Tupperware, and they could once again go about the business of their daily lives.

Somehow or other those who were abducted by the Tupperware King were able to communicate their interest in their genealogy search. Eric couldn’t promise much since he wasn’t proficient in that kind of search. After all, he was a cross between an engineer and an ice skater! But he said he would look into it for them. Out came the Tupperware and even more of the Hognas got to experience the thrill of the hunt.

One fantastic day, Eric noticed some differences to the antelucana in a wolf spider he had caught. Maybe he was better at this genealogy thing than he had initially thought. He kept finding more of these Hognas with strange markings.

When he needed to see both sides of a spider (wolf spiders being on the larger side) it became a bit of a challenge to Eric as well as to the Hogna. Eric got the engineering part of his brain working on the problem and designed and built a contraption that would allow photographs to be taken without the discomfort of having the Hogna lie motionless on their backs while he took pictures and studied the differences between the cousins. (Some of us think he should apply for a patend for this device! What do you think?)

Well, time moved on, as it has a way of doing, and Eric became convinced that he had truly found the lost Hogna cousins. (He put a talk, with pictures, together and presented it to friends and folks who became staunch supporters of his research. He even presented his research at the Texas Master Naturalist State Conference.) He was becoming something of a celebrity in the world of spiders.

Russell Pfau, who is a professor at a college up in Stephenville, began paying attention to Eric’s research. Russell was able to confirm that our very own Eric had indeed discovered a new species never before documented (again, we are so proud!). Eric even found out what the branch of Hogna wanted to be called. Hogna incognita is the name/title they will be known as from now on. Somewhere in this discovery Eric Neubauer will be forever linked.

We are all so very proud of Eric for his dedication, persistence, and patience in his quest to prove his research was valid.

Way to go, my friend!

Happy Wildscape Surprises

March 22, 2024March 21, 2024 Sue Ann (Suna) KendallLeave a comment

by Catherine Johnson

There were surprises at the Wildscape discovered on a quick trip to assemble a donated shade arbor. The Mexican Plum trees that looked dead for a long time are back, as are thought-dead Blackfoot Daisy and Desert Mallow.

Pink primroses are back, too. They bloom the second year from seed. The grasses Debra cut are already two- to three-feet high. Rough-leaf Dogwood and Arroya Sweetwood are fine, but the tallest Anacacho Orchid suffered major damage.

Some of the beauty you can see at the Wildscape

Gaillardia and Thistles are taking over as all manner of “Belly Botany” wildflowers. Come see the Wildscape before some of it has to go so that we can safely walk the paths!

Symbiosis in Motion

March 21, 2024 Sue Ann (Suna) KendallLeave a comment

by Alan E. Rudd

We have had the typical bumper crop of red berries in the yaupon (Ilex vomitoria) thickets of Burleson County again this year. Last year during the February 2023 cold spell these berries that contain hard seeds were consumed by legions of robins (Turdus migratorius). A mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) that owns our front-yard and half the farm, fought thousands of these rest-breasted raiders trying to protect his winter food supply. He lost the battle, but survived to eat grasshoppers as the spring season warmed toward the heat of summer.

Today is the “Ides of March” 2024 and so far very few robins have ganged-up in the oak thickets of Edwards Ranch. I saw them in the woods along Sandy Creek in February, but they never touched the yaupon berries near the house. A sizable flock of cedar waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum), however, have been staying about and gorging themselves on yaupon fruit for the last three days. These calm, gregarious birds allowed me stand at a distance of six feet and watch them pluck red berries from a 12-foot tall female yaupon. It required me to be completely still and lean into a tree trunk, while doing my best to impersonate shaggy bark. I watched predator eat prey. After eating berries for less than a minute the birds flew up into the height of a nearby bald cypress (Taxodium distichum), only to repeatedly return to the yaupon to continue the feast. The winged berry-predators were dropping seeds processed through their digestive tract to the fertile ground below.

Those waxwings were smiling. The yaupons, too, were smiling. As in every true symbiotic relationship, who is the master and who is the servant?

Using Merlin Bird ID – What I’ve Learned

March 14, 2024 Sue Ann (Suna) Kendall1 Comment

by Sue Ann Kendall

I’ve been using Merlin Bird ID since last summer to identify birds I hear. I’d used it before to identify birds I saw, but once I started the listening exercise, I was hooked. It’s such fun knowing what I hear around me, and it’s great training for birding without the app. My ability to identify birds by song is hugely improved. Plus, knowing what’s out there helps you know what to look for if you want to see birds.

Cornell Labs has done an amazing job developing this app, which you can download from the App Store in whatever kind of phone you have. I can’t imagine how much work it has taken to train the listening app on the sounds of all the birds around the world (you can get Bird Packs for wherever you happen to be).

*I got Europe because I keep getting those weird IDs and wanted to read about those birds. Mexico is because I go to South Texas sometimes.*

I’ve learned a few interesting things about Merlin that those of you who use it or are interested in giving it a try may benefit from.

1. Merlin will not identify domestic birds. My chickens can walk right in front of the phone and nothing registers. It also completely ignores my horse trainer’s guinea fowl, and didn’t pick up the turkeys at Bird and Bee Farm. However, it has identified wild turkeys, so I think the turkey thing was a fluke.

2. The app has trouble with birds who make sounds that are low in pitch. For example, it needs most doves to be really close in order for it to register them. Collared doves make a higher sound that it identifies more easily. And you have to be on top of an owl for it to be picked up. In the past week, I’ve heard entire owl conversations that didn’t get “heard,” both of barred owls and great horned owls. That’s why it pays to also be able to identify birds with your own ears!

3. Crazy things can happen after a recording is interrupted. Two things that happen to me often will interrupt a recording: the phone ringing or me accidentally starting a video rather than taking a photo while the app is running. You can usually save the recordings, though I have lost a couple.

However, I’ve found that if I start the listening function again after an interruption occurs, Merlin’s decides I am not only in North America, but I’m also in Eurasia. I will be informed that I hear a great tit or a European robin, which is highly unlikely!

So, if you suddenly get an identification of a bird you’ve never heard of, be sure to click on the map for that bird, to be sure it has actually been seen in your area. Sure, occasionally birds are blown off course when migrating or after a storm, but most European birds stay in Europe (other than our biddies the house sparrows and starlings, of course!).

My husband’s haiku: Porch sparrow drama –
fussing, fighting – very loud
What are they saying?

4. Moving around is hard on Merlin. The app works best if you are standing still (or the phone is sitting on something) and the environment is not noisy. It’s amazing how loud you are walking on a trail or around your property. I live in the country, yet I realize now that it’s loud here. Loud farm vehicles and trucks, single-engine planes practicing their takeoffs and landings at the nearby tiny airport, our six dogs, the pool pump and waterfall, and air conditioning units all contribute. When camping, screeching children on trails and boats are hazards. So are waves, believe it or not. But if you stay still, Merlin’s does a pretty good on anyway.

When I’m out walking, I usually pause if I hear an interesting bird, so the app can pinpoint what it is. My exercise app on my watch hates that.

Merlin Hints

Save fairly often. I try to go no more than 20 minutes or so before saving a recording unless there’s some great bird action going on. That minimizes your losses if the app crashes, which does happen occasionally.
Remember to report interesting birds you hear or see to Cornell Labs. It goes to e-Bird and provides useful research data. I don’t report every sighting. I doubt they are interested in the fact that I see vultures and house sparrows every single day. You can also upload photos. Occasionally I get one good enough to share.
Have some fun with the app and do your own research. I’m tracking what birds I hear at my house each month. It’s letting me know which birds are winter birds, which migrate, which show up in summer, and of course, what’s here all the time (vultures, house sparrows, cardinals, chickadees). Be sure to report each new bird you hear, so your life list on Merlin can grow. I have 192 birds since last September. Majestic that 193. A marsh wren showed up today. That includes birds I’ve seen while traveling, too.

Conserve your phone battery. To make my battery last longer when on long hikes, I don’t keep my camera open at the tame time Merlin is running unless I’m actively taking pictures (remember, I also obsessively record plants and other life for iNaturalist). If I were planning to go out for a long time, I’d take a spare battery. I tend to run out of juice after around three hours.
Don’t become annoying. I have developed the habit of shushing people who talk when I’m “listening” through Merlin. I’m sure it irritates my spouse. People are important! I also don’t even TRY to use the app when on a group hike unless I hear something really cool and go hide to try to capture it. I was hilarious at the National Butterfly Center last October, as I lagged behind the Master Naturalists trying to hear exotic Mexican birds. I also find myself trying to be extra quiet any time I’m outdoors,because it’s become a habit. I whisper answers to questions and such. I am working on fixing that before my family stope talking to me.

I hope you get something helpful out of these hints. If I’m wrong about anything, let me know. Also, if you have additional insights or hints, tell me and I can add them to this blog post. I’m still learning!

*Flowers attract insects that attract birds.*

By the way, I’m not claiming Master Naturalist VT hours for any of this, since it’s on my own property most of the time, and that doesn’t count. I did count my time during the Great Backyard Bird Count, since that’s approved. I don’t claim hours when I’m camping or traveling, since I’m also usually making iNaturalist observations at the same time and don’t want to “double dip.”

[this is a revised version of a personal blog post]