Nature Observations – Page 7 – Nature Along the El Camino Real

You Know They’re Here, but They Are Hard to See

July 21, 2025 Sue Ann (Suna) Kendall3 Comments

By Sue Ann Kendall

Those of us in and around Milam County, Texas know there are more native mammals out in our area besides deer, cottontails, raccoons, opossums, and armadillos. But many aren’t easy to spot. I’ve never seen a porcupine, for example, but I know they’re out there. Occasionally we will spot coyotes, bobcats, or (very rarely) mountain lions. The most fun mammals we look for, though, are beavers and river otters.

A likely sighting site, Walker’s Creek bridge on County Road 140, featuring: flood debris.

This morning I was doing my daily walk to the bridge and back, dreading the inevitable scattering of annoyed vultures (today both Black and Turkey) who have been patiently working on what appeared to be a deceased Holstein steer, which must have come a long way, since we have no Holstein cattle nearby.

Cow mercifully not shown. Zoom in. There are many vultures.

Sure enough, I scared the giant birds off. Then I noticed a head larger than that of a turtle or snake in the creek. Ooh! A mammal! I was instantly ready to snap a photo, figuring it would see me and exit.

Sure enough, something brown and wet was exiting. Was it a beaver or an otter? I was ready to verify by checking its tail.

Yay! It was a river otter! How fortunate I was to see this water mammal! I’ve seen two swimming together here a few years ago, and one crossing our field after a big rain. That was very cute.

I didn’t take too many more photos, because I was enjoying the moment. But I was very happy to finally document one on iNaturalist!

River otters are also called common otters (Lontra canadensis). As their scientific name suggests, they are found all over North America, except for a swath of territory in the center of the country.

They love to eat fish, crayfish, and turtles, but will also eat other small animals. They aren’t a danger unless you own a fish farm, which would lead to happy otters. River otters also love to play, which makes them very popular in zoos.

I’m glad we still have some otters here in Milam County, because they’re a sign of healthy waterways. I guess Walker’s Creek is pretty good other than pooping and dying cattle.

I’m still looking for a beaver, though I’ve seen evidence at a fellow Master Naturalist’s property nearby.

Bonus observations:

I saw a Northern Cardinal eating away at the berries of a nettle-leaf noseburn vine. more fell to the ground than went in.
Yesterday I was swimming when I saw a small bird bathing in the shallow “beach” end of our pool. I figure it was a House Sparrow, but her breast was yellowish. Then she shook her wings. She was a Painted Bunting! I’d never seen one at the pool before!
Also yesterday I heard a Summer Tanager, and something chirped back. It was the female, for once not hiding. I’m always impressed with myself if I can ID a female bird of a species with drab females.

Nettleleaf noseburn *Tragia urticifolia –* photo by Sue Ann Kendall

The spider show that didn’t happen and came back as blog fodder

July 10, 2025July 10, 2025 Sue Ann (Suna) Kendall1 Comment

by Eric Neubauer

I noticed I hadn’t taken a wolf spider photo at all in June. It wasn’t as if I didn’t have spiders on the brain. We were working on a species group that’s prevalent in South Texas. Still, I thought I’d like to do something with live spiders, and I thought it would be nice to find several big ones and bring them in to the El Camino Real Texas Master Naturalist booth on the 4th of July for show and tell.

Before the sun was up, I was out looking and found two out of the three I hoped for. By early afternoon those of us at the west end of the county could see the impending storm looming over us but we had no way of knowing it was about to stall. So I decided not to drive into Cameron.

As the day ended, I photographed the two spiders and then released them. The first was a mellow and self assured adult male Rabidosa rabida with black forelegs. His leg span was nearly 3″, and he required special treatment, because he easily climbed out of containers that work for most wolf spiders.

The second was a cautious adult female Hogna antelucana who gave me no trouble at all except for fidgeting during her face shots.

Anole Argument

June 27, 2025June 27, 2025 Sue Ann (Suna) KendallLeave a comment

by Donna Lewis

So, this week, I was out in my garden filling up all the water sources and I came face to face with two male Anoles having what I guess was a territorial fight.

I was about 10 inches from them when I saw this! Boy was I surprised. And if you knew me, you would know, I am not very tech savvy. I was fumbling with my phone trying to remember where the camera button was. It took me a few minutes to open the camera. I was afraid I would miss all the action. I just cracked up over this display.

I also forgot that my voice is on the video, so I am just as funny.

This was great!! I have never seen the Anoles fight before. Usually they are going after the ladies or catching an insect. No animals were harmed during the filming of this video!!

About Anoles

There are more than 250 species of Anoles: Family Polychride, the largest genus of lizards in the world. Only the Green Anole is native to the continental United States.

This lizard has the ability to change its color as a result of the movement of pigment granules within the cells of the skin. This can happen in response to stimuli such as temperature, humidity, emotion and activity. The colors can be gray, brown or green.

The Green Anole is arboreal, prefering to be up on a fence, tree, plant or higher than ground level. I see them among vines especially. Their diet is insects and spiders.

So, as I always say, you need to look around at nature. There is always something really new and exciting to see. But you need to look.

And always remember who you are gardening for.

Also give our expert Blog Master an “atta girl” for knowing how to transfer this video to the computer for me.

(Thanks, Donna)

Rain: All Creatures Need It

June 12, 2025 Sue Ann (Suna) KendallLeave a comment

by Donna Lewis

Yes, it has been raining lately. And yes, it has been HOT! So let’s talk about our wild friends during the hot summer.

*At Sue Ann’s house, they got 8.11′ of rain last night. Frogs are very happy.* *Photo by Sue Ann Kendall.*

We love to put out bird seed, and other goodies for our friends, but the most important thing is water. Sometimes the closest water can be a great distance for the animals to travel. This means that providing a close water source is immelsely helpful. Keeping fresh water nearby could save the life of a baby bird, a baby bunny, and all of the wild things.

*A good example of water with a place to perch. Photo by Janice Carriger on Pexels.com*

Another thing to remember is that birds need a perch to light on. An especially important thing in wildscaping is to provide an arbor, a fence, or even a cattle panel propped up. I have been quite successful in bringing birds to our place, so I know what they like, which is water, a perch, food, and some shelter near all of these items. Shelter can be an evergreen bush or small tree. Safety from cats should also be considered.

*Be creative, like we have at the Milam Wildscape! Photo by C. Johnson.*

A sprinkler put out is heaven for my little hummers. I place the sprinkler near a fence lined with vines and they go crazy.

So don’t forget our friends; we need them.

*Maybe we don’t need as much rain as some of us got last night, but it is ALL appreciated. This is Walker’s Creek at County Road 140, now more like a river. Photo by Sue Ann Kendall.*

Finding Hidden Treasures of the Plant Kind

June 11, 2025 Sue Ann (Suna) KendallLeave a comment

By Sue Ann Kendall

A week ago, two members of the El Camino Real Chapter, Texas Master Naturalist were invited to scope out the property of a third member to see if there were any interesting plants, birds, or other organisms there. Ann Collins and I made many discoveries at Carolyn Muller’s Burleson County property.

Ann and I experiencing species overload.

It’s always a privilege when private landowners allow you to catalog what’s on their land, so we’re very grateful to AD and Carolyn for their hospitality. We enjoyed finding out what thrives in this sandy soil with a nice mix of hardwood forest and untouched prairie-like fields.

A stand of Lemon Beebalm leads to the woods.

While Ann and Carolyn worked on bird observations from a guest cabin porch, I ran off and checked out the woods and open area under electric lines. There are often great flowers in those areas.

I then found a nice wide path through the woods with many Halloween decorations on it. While they weren’t great for iNaturalist, I’m sure little kids love it. And I found my first interesting milkweed, Tayalote (Cynanchum unifarium).

After I got back and we practiced entering sightings into iNaturalist, Carolyn took us on a ride around all the impressive paths that wind around to various outbuildings and such. There we found interesting mosses and fungi.

Pale Cow-hair Moss (*Ditrichum pallidum) was interesting*

The highlight of the visit was the magical wildflower patch. It grows in a strip where a neighbor had erected a tall wildlife fence about ten feet behind regular cattle fencing. This strip doesn’t get mowed or grazed. It was spectacular.

This area also contained plants neither Ann nor I were familiar with. Upon investigating, I found some of these natives have very few sightings in Milam or Burleson Counties. In fact, this Slimspike Prairie clover was the first observation in Burleson County. There are only 4 observations in Milam, all but one by a chapter member!

Other interesting rare plants were these. Maybe they’re not spectacular, but they’re not observed often.

Ann and I were pretty hyped up about all these new plants, and Carolyn was thrilled to find out her property had plants we got excited about. As we looked around the property more, we also found yellow passionflower and the beautiful propeller flower, purple pleatleaf or Alophia drummondii. I stuck in some scenery so you can see the big picture!

Yellow passionflower, a favorite of mine (*Passiflora lutea)*

After another fun ride through the paths, we headed out, but I had my brain full of new-to-me plants, and Ann enjoyed hearing and seeing Swainson’s Warblers, Summer Tanagers, and two vireos (white-eyed and yellow-throated).

We’d all love to return, and we plan to arrange friend trips. The presence of air conditioned rest facilities with refrigerators and water will make this a great place for our chapter’s naturalists to explore and learn about the amazing variety of ecosystems in this part of Texas.

Ann and Carolyn basking in wildflower glory.