As usual, I was walking around the outside of the house checking flower bed for upcoming Spring cleaning, and I was wearing capris, flip-flops and no gloves. My friend pulled me back while saying, “Snake!”
Big, fat, black water Moccasin was right in front of me, but heading away from us. (Solid color usually indicates mature snake. Patterns refer to young or juveniles. ID can be confusing because of the patterns.)
A cottonmouth adult
It’s been awhile since I’d spotted a viper. I used my single-shot shotgun and missed at less than 6 feet (?) and I couldn’t remember how to release the safety on the other. So, I called my neighbor, who was at home, and asked him to dispatch this cottonmouth.
One shot from his pistol. He says he keeps snake shot handy just for me! I believe this.
I hung it on the fence, to alert other snakes. Legend has it that snakes will continue moving until sundown.I don’t know. It wasn’t on the fence when I looked. I didn’t go search for a moving, dead snake, either.
Cautionary tale: It is Spring and suddenly moist. The frogs are back. Cottonmouths, or water moccasins, are very nasty-tempered poisonous vipers. It will stand its ground, and possibly move toward you if you disturb it. They will try to stare you down, and possibly chase you – not a myth. Both on land and in the water.
The frogs have returned and are a favorite food. Flowerbeds often have mulch. Texas is famous for drought. The cement slab houses have to be kept moist around the base, about 18″ from base of house, and create a perfect environment for meal-seeking snakes.
Wear protective clothing. Review use of firearms. Although poisonous, infection is common because their mouths are nasty and full of exotic bacteria, etc.
There is a viper antivenom, CroFabantivenom (Wikipedia). I do not know if local medical facilities have this in stock.
A few weeks ago I had the few Monarchs that I was able to see on our property here in Central Texas. I have only counted about one dozen in all. That is a sad number considering there used to be hundreds crossing our pastures. I have been counting them for years and reporting this information to Journey North and several other organizations.
This serious decline is happening to most butterfly species. The Monarch is just an iconic species that we all recognize.
There needs to be more citizens who try to help them. Probably all who read our Master Naturalists blog will do something. But most people will not. This could be that they don’t know what to do, or they think their small actions won’t matter. Everything matters. Remember that.
So, action means leaving natural area’s unmowed till after all the milkweed has gone to seed. It means learning about all of our pollinators and planting appropriate native plants for where you live. There are lists online about these plants. Yes, these plants can be hard to find. It means looking to volunteer groups like Texas Master Naturalists for advice.
These are the things we love and work hard to educate ourselves about them.
As humans we like to neaten up our yards and pastures. That is not what butterflies, birds and mammals like. A mower means death to them. So just taking a little more time to be aware of what is living near you. If you loved moving to the country, then do not change it.
The Beatles have a song by John Lennon that talks about this. The song is, “Let it be, let it be, speaking words of wisdom, let it be…”
Remember what something beautiful means to you…and work to save it.
As you are aware if you live in Central Texas, the weather has been cold and very windy as of late.
My Purple Martin Colony has had to deal with a number of very difficult weather events. Windy conditions mean that flying insects are not flying. Many are grounded until the winds die down. No insects mean no food for Martins.
Last night, I watched my Gourd Houses as my Martins returned to their homes just as dusk appeared. The little bit of the sun setting was enough for me to see them.
As I turned to go back in my house, I heard them chirping very softly to each other. That was not normal as they are generally quiet when they come in for the night.
An hour later it was completely dark and I went out on my porch again to check on them. They were still softly singing. Every gourd had music for all to hear. What a heartwarming moment. It made me sad and glad at the same time.
All living things are important to this world. They may even care for each other more than we are aware of. We must remember to protect this earth, not just for them, but for us too.
A sweet event I was fortunate to witness. Remember our fellow earthly creatures…
To the outside world it may seem like I’ve been in hibernation but that isn’t so. One current project is making face shots part of my wolf spider observation routine. It’s a lot harder than the dorsal and ventral views I’ve been doing for a long time. A spider needs to be encouraged to stretch up the side of a container for best results and then stay there for more than a second. It’s especially difficult with spiders small enough to balance on the head of a pin. I’m making progress but it till takes multiple attempts and a lot of prodding.
This is a typical Hogna incognita. His/her body is just over 1 mm wide and just over 3 mm long. It most likely left its mother in late October or early November and has been hanging out ever since. They have grown little over the intervening months and regardless of whether they are in captivity or wild, the only notable different is the ones in captivity are fat and the ones in the wild are skinny. In a month or two they will start to grow rapidly and most will mature in July. Sex can only be determined a little before maturity.
I rarely bother to look when it’s cold, but I did this time and found this one still moderately active at 43 degrees. By the way, Dr. Russell Pfau has started the scientific paper for this new species in earnest. I just reviewed a draft yesterday. We’ll be chasing down a several other loose ends in the same genus later this spring, but that will be another story.
One of my favorite pastimes is seeing how many birds I can identify in new places. I’ve found that taking along my favorite electronic helper, Merlin Bird ID is very helpful and also allows me to contribute to the eBird database. This may even get me some volunteer hours as a Master Naturalist, though I admit I do it for fun even when I’m on my property or out of state. Want to join me? Here are some hints.
Before You Start
Before you head out, be sure to download Merlin Bird ID onto your phone and get your account set up. It’s free! Charge your phone up, too. Then get your hat, notebook, binoculars, spare batteries, and water. You may spend longer with the birds than you expect to. It’s hard to stop!
You will probably see a Cardinal if you are in Milam County.
You can go anywhere you want, but I prefer county roads with little traffic and a variety of habitats. Going past water may get you some herons, ducks, or a kingfisher. Fields and prairies are good for sparrows, meadowlarks, starlings, and hungry raptors. Woodlands have woodpeckers, owls, songbirds and more. I find the best birding in places with open space that are near cover (brush or woods). I often park at a friend’s house and take off from there.
Caracara eating pizza off the road – the middle of the road is a good place to find scavengers.
Once I get to the area where I’ll be birding, I do an important thing in Merlin – I set the location for bird recommendations to where I am. That’s important, because Merlin suggests birds likely to be where you are. That may not matter if you’re just a mile or two from your house, but if you’re in another part of Texas or even farther away, you’ll want to know what’s likely to be there. You can use the list of birds found under the “Explore” option in Merlin to check what’s likely to show up so you’ll know what to look for (for example, does your locale have Ravens or only Crows? Does your area have Tufted Titmice or Black-crested?).* In the example below, I was making sure there are still Sandhill Cranes around this time of year at my house.
Another important preparation is to tell your phone to send your calls to voicemail. Every time you get a call, it stops the Merlin recording. I usually use an iPhone setting that lets important calls through, but not spam. Just save the recording if a call interrupts.
Bird Walking
Now you can start your bird walk. Start Merlin on Sound ID as soon as you hear a bird. It’s a good idea to stand still while listening, so your footsteps don’t interfere and so the app can identify sounds more easily. Be ready to photograph any birds you see, because Merlin can identify birds from photos as well as sound. Remember that not every bird is going to make sounds, so be on the lookout for those vultures (Black have white wing tips and Turkey have the “thunderbird” shape on the underside of their wings).
This is a Black Vulture, which was easier to ID in person.
You may also hear birds that Merlin doesn’t register – for example, I just heard Sandhill Cranes flying overhead, but they were very high in the sky, so they didn’t get picked up by the phone microphone. I did get a photo of them, but even if I hadn’t, I could count them since I know what they sound like. Owls are also notoriously hard for Merlin to identify.
These Sandhill Cranes were flying high.
What I do on these walks is stop whenever I hear a bird or birds and let Merlin record them. You may not get very far if the birding is good, but move on when you’ve heard everything in the area. It’s so much fun watching birds show up on the app! I also look around to see if I can see or photograph the bird. Soon you will know what birds are around you by their calls and songs with Merlin’s helpful training. I love this in the summer when the trees are leafed out. I finally got to see Painted Buntings last year thanks to Merlin. And I’ll never forget the sound of passing Eastern Bluebirds and Lesser Yellowlegs as they go overhead out of sight.
I usually listen for 20-30 minutes, then save the recording. Those files aren’t too big and I can review them later to record them. You can select a bird Merlin identifies and click “this is my bird” to save it in eBird. Give the location a good name, so you can later figure out where you were. Good examples are the name of a trail, road name, landmark, state park name, etc. Record them as you see them, because if you try to add them later, you’ll not have the right location and you’ll have to find where you were manually. You can make an eBird checklist when you get home, if you like, though.
It’s a bullMaybe it’s a bullYou can enjoy the animals on your walk, too, of course. I like to look for bulls among the cows on my road.
On a long walk you might end up with two or three recordings, and a bunch of photos, which you can put on Merlin or in iNaturalist, too. You might get a surprising number of species if you’re patient. Use Merlin to read more about birds that are new to you. It will describe the bird and show you its range, which can be surprising.
The more you walk around with Merlin open and listening, the more you’ll learn about the birds wherever you are. I’ve learned all about the birds where I travel, and conveniently use Merlin to add them to a life list Merlin tracks. If you’ve got a few minutes to spare, take a walk down a country road with Merlin!
Barn Swallows
Just for your information, here’s what I usually do. At home I only put new birds or birds seen at an unusual time in eBird, since I’ve recorded them many times. I have a notebook where I write down the birds I see and hear on Merlin every day and I track sightings monthly on a spreadsheet, which then goes in my blog. It’s fun to see which birds show up in different seasons. I’m a little obsessed, but everyone needs a hobby, right?
A page from my notebook listing birds I saw on one day. I do use abbreviations, but I know what they are!
*Be sure to set your location back to your home base when you return. I realized this morning that Merlin was looking for birds at Inks Lake, not Milam County.
Nature Along the El Camino Real 