Nature Along the El Camino Real
Blog of the El Camino Real Chapter, Texas Master Naturalists, Milam County, Texas
by Catherine Johnson
We recently enjoyed a cool day at Milam Wildscape Project.
Many native plants are blooming and huge numbers of pollinators cover them, especially Monarch butterflies (the photos are of Queen butterflies).
We had fun seeing the farm animals as we walked to the peaceful Bird Sanctuary to view new benches.
Come visit the Wildscape to see fall color and winged visitors.
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:
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!
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.
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!
by Donna Lewis
Yesterday ( 10-23-2024) , I went outside to be with nature and take a few photos. It’s so hot I thought it was a summer’s day.
I took photos of some Goldenrod, a favorite of some butterflies, including the Monarch.
Next was an Armadillo, which should have been laid up somewhere in the shade.
Then there was a Black Water Snake near a bird feeder. They are non-venomous.
And last one of my bird baths with lots of native honey bees getting water for their family.
I also saw, but was not fast enough to take photos of, an American Kestrel, A Ruby-throated Hummingbird, and a single Monarch butterfly.
All in a one hour period in the morning here in Central Texas. We are so lucky to see these things.
Let us hope that all of us humans keep them safe for the next generation to enjoy.
By Sue Ann Kendall
The Common Mestra (Mestra amymone) is a butterfly I’ve been seeing very often this autumn. I went on and on about it the first time I saw one. Since …
Why Is Common Mestra So Common This Year?
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.
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.
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.**
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.
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.
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.
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.
Nature Along the El Camino Real 