Educational Material – Page 9 – Nature Along the El Camino Real

It’s Purple Martin Time… Are You Ready?

January 30, 2025 Sue Ann (Suna) Kendall4 Comments

by Donna Lewis

Yes, it is already that time when our Purple Martin friends will start their migration from Brazil back to North America. Yes, the early ones will still face freezing and other harsh weather events.

I wish I could ask them to wait a little longer, but instinct is urging them onward. The scouts (who are not the youngest birds) hope to find the best housing first…

As of today, 1/30/2025, sightings have been called in for San Antonio, Austin, Houston, and a few more Texas sites. Central Texas does not have a certified sighting as yet. I hope that myself or our Landlord in Buckholtz will win that honor. We’ll know soon. I am watching for them all day..

First of all, your houses (gourds, or apartments) should be cleaned, and with added pine-needles if you do that. I also added pine-needles to my Blue-bird houses. The openings should be blocked off so no sparrows, other birds, or insects can get in them. You need to check yourself. Do not open the housing until the first scouts land on the houses. If you are looking for the Martins you will see or hear them. Then open a few of the cavities, not all of them. I usually will pick four to open.

You do not want the non-native birds (House Sparrows or Starlings) to get in the houses. These birds will kill the Martins for the nests. Trust me, it is not a pretty thing to see. I think keeping predators and non-native birds out is the hardest thing landlords have to deal with.

Right now my gourd rack is lowered and ready to open. This coming week I will get the apartment house ready to raise up.

I have had back issues this past year, so I will have to have some help caring for my friends this year.. But I will help them out as long as I can. Their song is so addictive that most Landlords that love and care for these native birds will do it until the end of their life. A gift from Mother Earth. Their songs are like no other.

Here are some photos showing me stuffing the gourds with fresh pine-needles that will help keep the birds warm and give them a start on nest building that will come later.

We can expect to have Martins here with us for about six months, until they leave for their winter home in Brazil. again.

Birds can lift a sad spirit. No matter what the world is going through, every day they go about their business with joy and sing to us. How lovely.

Remember who you want to call to your home, and furnish what they need. They will come.

Transforming My Property into a Modern Prairie

December 22, 2024 Sue Ann (Suna) KendallLeave a comment

by Eric Neubauer

Thanks to google maps updating the satellite view in my neighborhood, I have a recent look at the part of my property that is turning into a three-acre modern prairie with little help from me except for pulling up Johnson Grass.

As you can see, I’ve been wandering all over the place during the last year pulling the damned stuff except for the upper right, where I suspect there was a large rattler about a month ago. I’d also done little in the lower left until recently but have begun expanding and deepening an area prone to flooding. The property is generally flat, and there is a drainage swale running across the northeast corner. The runoff from an eight-acre hay field comes in from the southwest along several terraces.

After a dry spell, about the first 2″ of rain disappears into the Blackland cracks. So, there is little runoff except in winter and early spring, and flooding is rare; it can even skip a year. When they form, vernal ponds last a week to two weeks and make the frogs, toads, and plains crayfish very happy.

I believe the multiple paths have been a plus for wildlife. During the last year I’ve seen the return of jackrabbits, at least three does dropped their fawns in my yard, and at least the pairs of dickcissels have nested. Several other species of birds have brought their fledglings in for foraging. Recently a bobcat has been around at night, although I’ve never gotten a good look at it. Pretty good for a place with no permanent surface water.

Did I mention how many wolf spiders I host?

Wolf Spider Identification Update

November 4, 2024November 4, 2024 Sue Ann (Suna) KendallLeave a comment

by Eric Neubauer

[Note: our most popular article on this site is Wolf Spider Identification. This article provides a brief update, plus links to Eric Neubauer’s recent presentation at the 2024 Texas Master Naturalist Annual Meeting.]

This material serves as an introduction to a new wolf spider species that is quite common in Texas and Oklahoma. It is also known in nine other states as far away as North Carolina. There is sufficient information to identify both juveniles and adults in the field as well as learn something about its life cycle. This is a departure from tradition in that a tremendous amount of information is made available to the public before publication in a scientific journal and formal acceptance of the species name.

Links to slides and explanatory text in lieu of a speaker follow:

Hogna_incognita_slides_103124 Download

Hogna_incognita_text_103124 Download

I hope the average amateur naturalist and even professional arachnologist will find this more user friendly than the typical scientific paper.

I’m now waiting to see if any adult females make it into November. There were some with babies out there just a week ago. They outlasted my last Argiope aurantia. Someone needs to compose an “End of the Season Blues.”

Not to worry, some other wolf spider species are nearing maturity including the other undescribed Hogna west of the Edwards Plateau and another unknown I saw three adult males of last winter. I don’t want to say it’s an undescribed species until I see some adult females and do a thorough search of the possibilities. Exciting times!

Hogna incognita postscript

There’s always more to know about a species. Based on last year’s observations, adult females last though October. As the class of 2024 dwindled, it looked like some might make it into November in parts of Texas and Oklahoma. I held my breath and went out with my headlamp on as soon as the sun set on November 1st. I found one fairly quickly in the stubble of the hay field out back. She was away from her burrow and I caught her easily.

About a third of her family had already dispersed. Another half dozen or so decided to go off on their own while I did the photography. I collected her and the spiderlings that had disembarked and released them on higher ground next to a crack in the soil for cover if they needed it, and just in case of heavy rain.

More on Eric’s Research

The November 2024 isue of Texas Coop Power magazine features an article on Eric and “his” spider: A Wolf Spider Misidentified for 120 Years Gets Its Due, by Sheryl Smith-Rodgers. Check it out!

A New Toy Wizard

October 15, 2024 Sue Ann (Suna) Kendall1 Comment

by Ann Collins

I have a new toy! And my life has changed forever! Not sure if it’s for the better, but it lets me be totally lazy. My phone is my window on the world. Living on a downward slope almost to a deep gully, service here is sketchy, often not available at all. Anyway, my new toy is the Merlin phone app, which identifies birds by sound and records a list for me. I’m excited to see what the Wizard has found and I question frequently his ability.

*Is it Merlin the Magician or a Merlin bird, or both? (Thanks, AI)*

For instance, it has always been a bit of undeserved pride that I’ve never seen a house sparrow on my property. I still haven’t, but Merlin hears them every day or so. House sparrows can be a major pain if they camp out in large enough numbers. They really are considered invasive. They were brought over by some well-meaning moron who thought they would be a nice addition to our native birds. Ironically, in their native England they are becoming quite rare while they have become a real pest here. It’s never a good idea to introduce a plant or an animal you think is cool. Example: the Burmese pythons in the Everglades.

*I can’t believe Ann doesn’t want me pooping all over her birding area. Photo by Miriam Fischer on Pexels.com*

As I sit inside my cozy sunroom drinking hot, spicy tea on this deliciously cool early autumn morning,* Merlin is busily making a nice list for me. I take my phone out to the deck and conjure up the Wizard and he eagerly gets to work. I’m glad for that, because with encroaching old age many things don’t work like they did in my youth! For istance the high-pitched frequency of many bird sounds simply don’t register in my increasingly deaf ears. Merlin is a relatively new app, so his hearing hasn’t failed him yet – probably just a matter of time.**

*Example of Merlin’s observations (Walkers Creek, Texas, October 15, 2024)*

I wonder what Merlin’s range is? Are the birds he hears actually in my yard or can he hear the ones a mile away? Just up the driveway? Does that depend on my service or just how he’s programmed? Who knows? Guess I could ask him.

*Don’t ask me. I’m Merlin the Bird. Photo by Sethulakshmi Sajeev on Pexels.com*

It’s kind of hard for me to trust technology. I didn’t grow up with it like so many of the younger folks. When Merlin IDs a Blue Jay and the next bird is a Red-shouldered Hawk, my skeptical nature questions, was it really a hawl? Some of the calls of these two birds really sound alike. Blue Jays are pletiful here at Chimney Hill and I do have Red-shouldered Hawks regularly. The hawks might even breed here or at least close by.

*Blue Jay. Photo by Robert Jakubowski on Pexels.com*

House sparrows? Never seen one here. I can thank my lucky stars for that. They can be a real nuiscance. How about a Blue Grosbeak or a Dickcissel or an Indigo Bunting? I did have a number of them a few years back but haven’t seen them in quite a while. I don’t doubt the Merlin reports of Red-winged Blackbirds or the grackles (Common and Great-tailed). Large flocks are not uncommon, so the Red-winged Blackbirds could be traveling with them.

*Who knows what kind of birds are in this flock. Photo by Mehmet Suat Gunerli on Pexels.com*

In spite of my skepticism and questions I still love my new toy. It really gives a new dimension to my census and wildlife evaluation. I love it!

Thanks to my buddy Suna for programming the app for me!

*This was written during the September cool spell.

**Suna points out that Merlin often has trouble with low sounds like owls and doves.

Chasing Butterflies

October 1, 2024 Sue Ann (Suna) KendallLeave a comment

by Carolyn Henderson

At just after noon on Saturday, I was standing on my patio when a Monarch butterfly flew by very close to me. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a camera to get a photo of it, but I probably wouldn’t have gotten it anyway. It flew straight by into my neighbor’s back yard. It did, however, inspire me to go chasing them.

I go to the Little River Basin Texas Master Gardeners Triangle Garden seasonally to take pictures of pollinators, and I usually see Monarchs, and many other types of butterflies, there. So I took my camera to see what I could see.

I found huge Giant Swallowtails eating from abundant Zinnias. The Fritillarys, both Gulf and Variegated, also were fond of the flowers. So was a Bold Jumping Spider that seemed to be after the Variegated Fritillary. I also found Gulf Fritillary on Tropical Sage. I am unsure if the Giant Swallowtails are Eastern or Western variety. iNaturalist thinks they are Western, but Eastern are more common here.

One of my favorite butterflies is Queens. They were abundant on Gregg’s Mist. I can always find them on this plant. They also were mating. I’ve seen more of them there, but it may be early in the migration. Bordered Patch and Fiery Skippers also were enjoying the Gregg’s Mist.
What is not there, at least yet, are Monarchs nor Pipevine Swallowtails. The Flame Acanthas and Tropical Sage and Gregg’s Mist are ready for them. So is the cat in residence (see photo).

I also found a few others at my house. My yard is inundated with Hackberry Emperors, and some Clouded Skippers are hanging out there. So are Carolina (or Arizona?) Praying Mantis and Spinybacked Orbweavers with an elaborate web, and grasshoppers that were abundant at the triangle garden, too. I also had a hummingbird that was interested in the Texas Purple Sage at my house.

The iNaturalist fall project to submit as many pollinators as you can find is coming up in October. If you are participating, you might want to try the El Camino Real Wildscape which is usually full of butterflies in October – including Monarchs. Or, you also can try the Triangle Garden.