Cynthia Alexander-Coday – reprint from Shaking of the Trees Newsletter First Edition dated April 12, 2020. Down in Dallas, east of the tollway but still in Collin County, there is a historic church & cemetery that were part of the Frankford settlement in the mid-late 1800s.
Flora and Fauna
Clyde Camp’s Screech Owl (Megascops asio) Cam Footage
Clyde Camp, 2010 – reprint from Shaking of the Trees Newsletter First Edition dated April 12, 2020.
Clyde Camp has a nest cam of his screech owl inhabitants
A Summer Mystery
Leah Justice, 2021 – The sun was just setting, and I was going out for an evening walk in the neighborhood. But wait, what was that unusual noise I heard emanating from the bushes? It was a strange chirping, twittering sound.
BPTMN’s 1st Annual Mothing Event
Charlise Hill Larson, 2019 and 2021-2022 Vice President – o celebrate National Moth Week, July 23-31, the Blackland Prairie Chapter of Texas Master Naturalists is hosting its 1st Annual Mothing Event. We’ll meet on the evening of July 30 from 8-11p in the Pecan Grove at The Connemara Meadow. Jean Suplick, Lisa Travis and Rick Travis will be setting up their mothing equipment so that you can a fun and educational evening in the meadow.
My New Best Friend: Merlin Sound ID
Jean Suplick, 2018 and 2020-2021 New Class Director –
Have you ever stepped outside on a fine morning, closed your eyes for a few moments, and taken in the soundscape? No doubt you will hear some human-generated sounds like tires on pavement, jets droning by overhead or maybe playing children. But wait. Hold on. Was that a bird you just heard?
April 14th Deep Dive with Lisa and Rick Travis and Carol Clark
Charlise Hill-Larson, 2019 and 2021-2022 Vice President What do a couple of Master Naturalists do when, in very early spring, they find a multitude of Monarch caterpillars on a single… Read More →
Long Time, No Hear
Clyde Camp, 2011 Possibly a very frustrated male. Or Female. The same bird (I think) has been arriving around 11pm and sitting in the door trilling until around 3am. Sometimes leaving and returning several times. Sometimes taking a nap inside. Sometimes trilling from inside. And several times spending the day sleeping before taking off at dusk. sitting in the door trilling until around 3am. Sometimes leaving and returning several times. Sometimes taking a nap inside. Sometimes trilling from inside. And several times spending the day sleeping before taking off at dusk.
Reflections on Sara Dykman’s Bicycling with Butterflies Book
Greg Tonian, 2017 –
Ideas are like Fireflies,
Brief flashes in the dark,
blinking.
Talk is cheap,
Life’s opportunities fleeting.
Dreams evaporate.
Yet Sara put mettle to pedal,
She set out on her quest,
Before it was too late.
Her goal was simple yet mad.
It would require lots of planning,
Lots of charts,
Though she wanted to be spontaneous,
A journey of this type,
Had many moving parts.
Courage and persistence she did not lack
She simply bicycled with the Monarchs,
From Mexico to Canada and back.
10,201 miles, 232 days,
Travelling countless byways.
Loggerhead Shrike
Meet the Loggerhead Shrike, photo by Blackland Prairie Master Naturalist Lorrie Mathers, captured at Hagerman National Wildlife Preserve.
These predatory songbirds are found here in all seasons, and their population is declining. Their winter diet focuses on vertebrate prey. These include lizards, snakes, frogs, turtles, sparrows, goldfinches, ground squirrels, voles, mice, and shrews, to name just a few.
2022 January – Virginia Rose | Birdability
Virginia fell off a horse at the age of 14 and a wheelchair user ever since, she began birding 17 years ago and discovered her best self in nature.