Nature Along the El Camino Real
Blog of the El Camino Real Chapter, Texas Master Naturalists, Milam County, Texas
By Pamela Neeley
On February 2, 2025, I was working in my studio with the doors open when I heard chattering coming from the sky.
The Common Grackles were flying over.
I witnessed three waves of hundreds of birds soaring overhead from east to west, around 5:30 pm. Some stopped briefly in the treetops, while others kept going.
Each group flew over slightly south of the previous group.
by Eric Neubauer
Yesterday I saw a flock of maybe 100+ snow geese fly over. They were heading west toward Granger Lake, but I suspect they were looking for former corn fields rather than water.
This was the first time I saw any since moving to Texas, but I used to see them in Pennsylvania this time of year and recognized them easily. There they came in waves, 500 to 1,000 at a time.
The percentage of blue phase individuals was a few percent, same as in Pennsylvania.
(PS: Sue Ann reports that she saw and heard some last week as well, which was a welcome surprise.)
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.
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?
by Eric Neubauer
There’s an unnamed wolf spider species in the remote areas of TX, NM,AZ, and probably northern Mexico, which people have infrequently observed for years.
In early October, I stopped at the Eaton Hill Nature Center and Preserve high on a limestone hill in Sonora, TX. I did some spotlighting for spiders (of course I did) and found the unnamed spider was present in significant numbers although all were still juveniles.
Fast forward to November 24. The weather forecast was good and I took a chance and drove out to Sonora. Some nature center board members and some 4-H kids with parents arrived to help as the sun set. I could argue they were essential to my success, since they found all the best spiders. On the other hand they distracted me from finding much myself. All’s well that ends well.
Years ago, I found that studying wolf spiders as populations in their habitat was the best way to figure out what kind they were. We found juveniles to young to sex, female and male subadults, and female and male adults.
The adult male was a real shock. Initially I thought it was another unknown species. When I got a better look later, I realized it was simply a male of the unnamed species, though quite different from the juveniles and females.
This species is informally known as the Big-eyed Hogna in arachnologist circles, for obvious reasons. Until now no one had connected the adult males with this species. Now any unidentified male observations on the internet have increased value because we know what they are. I already found two from New Mexico.
Nature Along the El Camino Real 