Shaking the Trees Newsletter

Edition 39 – Shaking The Trees – May 2023

Edition 38 – Shaking The Trees – April 2023

Edition 37 – Shaking The Trees – February – March 2023

Edition 36 – Shaking The Trees – January/February 2023

Edition 35 – Shaking The Trees – December 2022

Edition 34 – Shaking The Trees – October/ November 2022

Edition 33 – Shaking The Trees – September 2022

Edition 32 – Shaking The Trees – Summer 2022 Edition

Edition 31 – Shaking The Trees – May 5, 2022

Edition 30 – Shaking The Trees – April 5, 2022

Edition 29 – Shaking The Trees – March 7, 2022

Edition 28 – Shaking The Trees – January 18, 2022

Edition 27 – Shaking The Trees – December 13, 2021

Edition 26 – Shaking The Trees – November 2, 2021

Edition 25 – Shaking The Trees – October 3, 2021

Edition 24 – Shaking The Trees – September 1, 2021

Edition 23 – Shaking The Trees – August 2, 2021

Edition 22 – Shaking The Trees – July 2, 2021

Edition 21 – Shaking The Trees – June 10, 2021

Edition 20 – Shaking The Trees – May 10, 2021

Edition 19 – Shaking The Trees – April 12, 2021

Edition 18 – Shaking The Trees – March 1, 2021

Edition 17 – Shaking The Trees – February 1, 2021

Edition 16 – Shaking The Trees – January 11, 2021

Edition 15 – Shaking The Trees – December 1, 2020

Edition 14 – Shaking The Trees – November 1, 2020

Edition 13 – Shaking The Trees – October 15, 2020

Edition 12 – Shaking The Trees – October 1, 2020

Edition 11 – Shaking The Trees – September 1, 2020

Edition 10 – Shaking The Trees – August 15, 2020

Edition 09 – Shaking The Trees – August 1, 2020

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After 6 editions you no longer count them. You just say “Here’s the latest edition!”.

I know many of you are doing something other than staring into the television abyss and going to the grocery store at 6 a.m. Share, please.  

And as always, the BPTMN tribe is here for you.   Send to canterbury.deborah@gmail.com or to outreach@bptmn.org.

Covid 19 – Sally Evans

It has been over two months since Covid 19 put our whole nation in quarantine.

Travel was prohibited; stores were closed: all sorts of rules were quickly imposed.

Stay home we were told in words convincing; and if you go out, practice social distancing.

Only those workers deemed necessary would be the ones with the workload to carry.

Grocery store shelves emptied from folks panic buying; toilet paper became an object of vying!

Schools were closed as were restaurants and bars; no sports, no concerts, no movies, no need for cars.

Don’t visit the elderly – no social get-togethers: the one positive, there was some good weather.

But the parks and the beaches, they were closed too; was it permissible to go to the ‘loo’?

Our politicians spoke, “Be of good cheer!  The end of this virus is almost here.”

But it wasn’t; it isn’t; people are dying.  With all the rules most are complying,

But those without food, those without work, their daily funding they cannot shirk.

There has been one positive blessing in that our pollution is definitely lessening.

There is so much to say about this disease and if one watches television that is all one sees.

Politicians and medics, authorities and plain folk – they all have a view on how we should act and what we should do.

Should we ‘open up’ and go outside or should we stay home and try to hide?

The disease is still here and taking a toll.  We can’t find the tools to keep it under control.

Within ourselves we must decide which way to go, by which rules to abide.

Our lives are short by history’s timetable and I want to do that which I am able.

I want to work with my fellow-man but I also want to work with nature’s plan.

I will bend my knee in thought and prayer and wait for guidance from somewhere. 

In the meantime as I kneel, the pain in my back I can feel.

If you come by please help me rise.  Age and thought must compromise.

And for all you who query about quail.

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The edition V of Shaking the Trees!

Ovenbird – Greg Tonian 5/16/2020

The sound was obvious and sickening. A bird had just flown into the arched picture window over the front door as my wife and I were working at our separate office spaces one recent May morning during the pandemic. Laurie was at the dining room table and close by and she opened the door and, as anticipated, cried out in dismay. As feared, a small bird lay still, on its side, on the front stoop.

I knelt down and picked it up, gently cradling its warm body in my left hand and cupped my right hand over it.

It was a warbler-sized bird with a distinct look: a greenish tan back, two rusty crown stripes and a speckled white breast. I held him close to my chest and went inside and grabbed my “Sibley” (bird guide). As I had guessed, it was an Ovenbird, indeed a woodland warbler. It was as if the artist had held the same creature in his own hand and had painted it with his other.

The bird’s heart was beating strongly and it was gasping for breath as if it had gotten the wind knocked out of all its air sacs. But its neck was not bent and its eyes seemed clear and it almost seemed as if it wanted to flit away, but just was too stunned to do so as a result of its unexpected impact with the unseen plate of glass. I held it close to my chest and kissed its soft feathers.

Nearby, at the base of a tree, I found a small niche in a clump of grass. I carefully placed it there, so that if it did recover, perhaps it could fly off and continue its rudely interrupted journey from whence it came to either a familiar place or an unknown destination. I hoped for the best, that the spot would be empty, but feared that I would find it still and lifeless upon my return.

I went upstairs to my loft office and worked for few minutes, obviously distracted with worry. I checked the spot about 5 minutes later and the bird was still there, but seemed alert and showing signs of recovery.

I went back inside. After another anxious few minutes, I ventured out the front door, hopeful. The grassy nest was empty! The bird was nowhere to be found.

Two creatures met one fine morning in May. They shared a moment of crisis. Comfort was offered and there was a brief connection. May you live a full life little Ovenbird. You enriched mine.

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The edition IV of Shaking the Trees!

Several of our tribe submitted photos and anecdotes.

We will help you out as needed and send up special prayers for special needs.
Many have said they will pick up, deliver, or help any way they can.

Feel free to join in by sending us a wave and general info, links that we all just can’t live without, or how we may be of service.

The tribe has your back. Send to canterbury.deborah@gmail.com or to outreach@bptmn.org. Slight editing will protect your privacy.

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Terry Comingore – Proud Grandpa of Heron Chicks pics
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Jim Dulian – Herons are thriving in his back yard.
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Greg Hayden – Now a New Mexico Naturalist
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Robins and Dark-Eyed Juncos, which we enjoyed in profusion seem to have moved on … the House Finch still graces us with his/her presence though, I believe in fewer numbers … I see the Lesser Goldfinch, the Yellow-Rumped Warbler, the Spotted Towhee more often and the White-Crowned Sparrow is now the dominant species at our feeder … the two species of Dove (Mourning & Eurasian Collared) visit the feeder and splash in the fountain too … the Black-Chinned Hummingbirds bathe each morning in our fountain and then make their way to the HB feeder … Ah, the Wonder of it!
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Clyde Camp Wildlife Blog – 5/10/2020
Nothing much going on but I’ve gotten behind in posts and video upgrades. The last one was May 1 and it’s visible in the post from the 6th.
There seem to be fewer feedings by George this time around and Hunter seems to be taking longer breaks throughout the night, maybe feeding outside the box.
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[column size=”1/2″ center=”no” class=””]Video #1 – 5/1/20 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4JdW-aS_Ss
Hunter departs for her first nightly potty break at 6 minutes and less than a minute later George arrives briefly to check out the situation. He beats a full retreat less than a minute later in time for Hunter to return at 7:45. This was the first time that we’d seen all three eggs. [youtube url=”.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4JdW-aS_Ss&fbclid=IwAR0HgEvoer_hAXCZirlL54fjt_2YGGDg7oYTTKKg7g-BN37dIZL-msMVQW4″ width=”600″ height=”400″ responsive=”yes” autoplay=”no” mute=”yes” title=”Clyde Camp’s YouTube”][/column]
[column size=”1/2″ center=”no” class=””]Video #2 – 5/2/20 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Osd-BC_d9E0
A short video was taken during the day with some vocalizations we’d not heard before.
I’ll get the 8 or so 8-hour videos taken over the last week or so processed and uploaded this coming week.[youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Osd-BC_d9E0&fbclid=IwAR3iYXSDxmbpNHk2I0micBKjlPdhk_NEggt38m-kMrSJTuJD4W6OWd4ZanE” width=”600″ height=”400″ responsive=”yes” autoplay=”no” mute=”yes” title=”Clyde Camp’s YouTube”]
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All of the videos from this 2nd batch of eggs, including these two, are in the playlist at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNXPc51nqtRa5qKjZD9Kxkg2tm7SawQw&fbclid=IwAR0Wgu2NclqIktqmSylO8DW9uVBNB4howG_wdq5iwcknxGHwipv6O-RVlFI
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You have reached 3 entries. If this is an error, please reach out to the BPTMN webmaster.

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Edition III of Shaking the Trees!

Several of our tribe submitted photos and anecdotes.

We will help you out as needed and send up special prayers for special needs. Many have said they will pick up, deliver, or help any way they can.

Feel free to join in by sending us a wave and general info, links that we all just can’t live without, or how we may be of service.

The tribe has your back. Send to canterbury.deborah@gmail.com or to outreach@bptmn.org. Slight editing will protect your privacy.

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Laurie Sheppard – Rare skipper at Hagerman NWR

Last week I found a Dotted Roadside-skipper at Hagerman NWR. Although it is reportedly increasing its range, this species is normally found in southwest Texas and parts of New Mexico and Arizona. This sighting is the first time the butterfly has been identified in Grayson County.
It’s nice that my naturalist friends are posting plants and other things – birds and butterflies have to be my contribution, but I’m learning from all of you! Here is photo of a very vain osprey and the skipper.
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Dave Powell – Walking and healing his wing.

I am walking at the Heard on Tuesday and Thursday at 1:30 usually about 2 hours. Some photos of what I am seeing included. I thought I knew these pretty well but having to use iNat to correctly identify.
I do know Eastern Gamagrass, Wild Blue Indigo, Foxglove.
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[quote style=”default”]Clyde Camp – Owl Blog Surprise coming through in the clutch
Owl Blog 2 – 4/23-27

I may have spoken too soon. It looks like we may be starting over. After three days of seeing neither of them, Hunter popped into the box last night at about 10 pm and sat in the entrance for half an hour barking and trilling before leaving. Hunter blasted in 10-15 minutes later, checked the box out, called twice and left. Both were gone the rest of the night.

But she was in the box at 9 am this morning and slept there throughout the day until 6:30 pm tonight at which point she was -all- over the box for 45 minutes, rooting around in the mulch, pecking at the walls, whining, exhibiting nesting behavior and clearing a space down to the floor just like in late February before she started laying the first clutch.
Then she sat in the entrance for over an hour, whinnying every now and occasionally trilling before flying off at 8:15. Then we heard trilling, first far away then closer and George crashed into the box a few minutes later looked around and left.

Hunter was back in the nestbox this morning. I was gone from about 9 am to 1:30 pm and she was still there when I got home. Kathi said she let out a long loud trill once, maybe twice during that time. Until then, she was quiet until just after 8 pm when she started preening. At 8:15 she stretched for the entrance hole, hopped up, and was off for the nightly hunt. And behind her, as she left was … an EGG!

Clutch two is underway!!
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John Garbutt – Woodpecker wonders

Really enjoying these since we all can’t get together. I’ve been out birding and doing some iNat observations. A couple of note: I’ve been monitoring a Downy woodpecker nest cavity and Cooper’s Hawk nest since late March. Both in Frisco.

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• • March 27th for the downy excavating.

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• • April 11th for one sticking its head out.

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• • Cooper Hawk photos from April 7th.

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I’m thinking the downy eggs should have hatched last week. If not, this week for sure. I need to go check and listen for any noise in the snag.
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Dick Zartler – Fire on the prairie is success

Thought I would share photos of before and five weeks after the burn at the Raptor Center. (Cannot wait to see more results)

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Deborah Canterbury – Insect “didja-knows” taken away from wandering through bug blogs

Pandemics happen to insects, especially ants. Ants are extremely social creatures. Viruses that spread socially love ants, and they can quickly wipe out portions of a colony as the ants have no ability to prevent the spread of viruses & diseases.
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Paul Napper – East Texas Live

Late April provided an opportunity to make a trip to East Texas to retrieve two deer stands and a camera that were in the woods for months. I hunt game trails and keep three cameras going all season.
Today I’m sharing a few pictures from the over 2000 pictures taken on this one camera. And. By the way, Paul did not meet the deer in person. “Enjoy”.

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Terry Comingore – Blue Heron update

I finally caught a feeding period. You could easily tell the dominant nestling but the feeding parent made sure to share the food. Great fun to watch them try to grab food from each other.

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Mikel Salsgiver: Once a Teacher…

I really enjoyed the second edition – only now able to lift my head out of my fog to look around.
I have been teaching freshman biology from home.
Which has a lot of ‘shaking the trees’ in itself!
My students and I are in the midst of our Plant unit, however!

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• One assignment was to submit a favorite plant – but somehow I got a lot of pictures of student’s dogs and cats instead. hmmm
• My workstation is placed so I can enjoy all the green outside along with all the critters – birds, snakes, toads and insects in the lot.

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Beverly Carpenter – It’s baby season!

I just thought I would share this information in case you are interested in checking out the Rehab and specifically the NICU. If you aren’t familiar with where to get this information I included the directions which may not be necessary.

Go to bpraptorcenter.org
Click on the heading Raptor Rescue Questions then go to Rescue
Next click on RaptorMed
That will bring up a list of all the patients in Rehab
Left-hand column is patient # which is what you Click to see all info.
Here are some suggested patients to look at that will show you the variety of bird babies we currently have.
We use abbreviations to identify species.
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• BLVU= Black Vulture
• EASO. = Eastern Screech Owl
• GHOW = Great Horned Owl
• RTHA= Red Tail Hawk

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Click on # 20-0053 GHOW click on each photo to see the progression of growth
( to get back to patient list just click on arrow in top left corner of screen )
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• # 20-0065 GHOW
• # 20-0067-71 EASO ( 5 BABIES came in at same time)
• # 20-0084 GHOW
• # 20-0087 BLVU
• # 20-0101 RTHA
• # 20-0102 EASO

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Other interesting things to note is the additional 20 EASO’s and 4 GHOW’s which all arrived on Monday. Erich was super busy just do the in-take for these not to mention the feeding for the entire Rehab population.
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[heading style=”default” size=”20″ align=”center” margin=”30″ id=”Edition 02 – Shaking The Trees – April 19, 2020″]Edition 02 – Shaking The Trees – April 19, 2020[/heading]

Edition ll of Shaking the Trees!

Several of our tribe submitted photos and anecdotes. Request by bobcat rescue in Terrell included.

We will help you out as needed and send up special prayers for special needs. Many have said they will pick up, deliver or help any way they can.

Feel free to join in by sending us a wave and general info, links that we all just can’t live without, or how we may be of service.

The tribe has your back. Send to canterbury.deborah@gmail.com or to outreach@bptmn.org. Slight editing will protect your privacy.

Diamondback Water Snake with Turtles at the Heard by Lu Anne Ray

[row][quote style=”default”]Rick Travis: Shaking the ground too

Lisa and I have been doing A LOT of walking/hiking and “iNaturalisting” (I don’t think that’s really a word).

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Terry Comingore: Keeping an eye on big blue nest

The Blue Heron left her nest last Thursday. Sure she’s exhausted after hunting all Monday (from street level and from 60X). Sunday I saw her feeding the nestlings but didn’t have the scope.

The nests (there are 2 but one is hard to view) are in the wetlands where Maxwell Creek crosses Woodbridge Parkway.[/quote][/column][/row] [row][column size=”1/2″ center=”no” class=””][quote style=”default”]

Jean Suplick: Bewick’s Wren family counselors

Michael and I are all kinds of nervous over watching our nesting Bewick’s Wrens.

It’s amazing how those little creatures know just what to do. Our pair, affectionately called Lady and Sir, laid one egg per night for seven nights, starting about March 18th. After the seventh egg was laid, incubation began.

It’s been non-stop feeding for Lady and Sir. So exhausting to watch! Every few minutes a new insect arrives. Sir is funny. He won’t go into the nest. He just clutches to the opening and stretches in to feed the chicks. Lady, on the other hand, shoots right through that opening and like she owns the place. And of course, she does!

They were about 1.5 g at hatch and will fledge at about 10.5. We expect them to fledge Friday, April 24. I don’t know if my nerves can take it. Thank the stars that we have lots of native biodiversity, at least in our yard.

In the photo for the eggs, you can see blue plastic on the right.  Bewick’s Wrens, according to Cornell, are documented lining their nests with snakeskin or cellophane.  We watched Lady, on her first day of incubation, retrieve dove feathers from a couple Cooper’s hawk kills in the yard.[/quote][/column]
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Tom Shackelford: Nature Story in Popular Mechanics

I would never have thought there would be a story about soil. [/quote][/column] [column size=”3/4″ center=”no” class=””]

Despite being hard to place, there is a clear source for that unmistakable springtime smell: geosmin, an organic compound commonly found in soil. Scientists in the U.K. and Sweden discovered the smell has passed the test of time due to a symbiotic relationship between the soil bacteria Streptomyces and six-legged creatures known as springtails.

Geosmin, is the soil-based compound responsible for those hard-to-describe olfactory sensations. Our noses are so finely attuned to the organic compound, in fact, that we can detect it better than sharks can recognize blood. Want to know more? [/column][/row] [row][column size=”1/2″ center=”no” class=””][/column]
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Nancy Taylor wanted to keep her seasonal greetings board going so attached are photos of her yard natives.

American Beautyberry (Left)
Texas Mountain Laurel (Below).[/quote]

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Jim Dulian: Night heron update
I haven’t seen any activity since Friday now.
There is one barely visible from the ground gray mass on top of the nest that may or may not be a bird sitting very still, but if that’s what it is, it hasn’t moved in three days.
I took a picture of the droppings under the nest this morning so that I can see if more are showing up the next few days.
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[column size=”2/3″ center=”no” class=””]Wylie Field of Bluebonnets by Elly Tittle[custom_gallery source=”media: 8156″ limit=”1″ link=”image” target=”blank” width=”600″ height=”400″ title=”hover”][/column][/row] [row][column size=”1/2″ center=”no” class=””]Fairy Flowers on Bluesteam Trail at the Heard by Lu Anne Ray[/column]
[column size=”1/2″ center=”no” class=””]Turtles at the Heard by Lu Anne Ray[/column][/row] [heading style=”default” size=”20″ align=”center” margin=”30″ id=”Edition 01 – Shaking The Trees – April 12, 2020″]Edition 01 – Shaking The Trees – April 12, 2020[/heading]

Welcome to Shaking the Trees – COVID-19 Member Outreach!

We will help you out as needed and send up special prayers for special needs.
Many have said they will pick up, deliver or help any way they can.
Feel free to join in by sending us a wave and general info, links, or how we may be of service.
The tribe has your back.
Send to canterbury.deborah@gmail.com or to outreach@bptmn.org.
Slight editing will protect your privacy.

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Butterflies in Azaleas by Beverly Carpenter

[row][column size=”1/2″ center=”no” class=””][quote style=”default”]Jim: Night heron central
Day 15 from first sighting and they are still working on the nest. I thought that they were finished a couple of times, but I saw them still at it early this morning. I guess they do most of it at night, being like, you know, NIGHT herons and all. Right now there is one sitting near the nest pruning him-or-herself. The other one is probably on the nest, but it’s less porous than it was, so I can’t be sure. Got to hand it to them, though, they are working from home!
[/quote][/column] [column size=”1/2″ center=”no” class=””][row][column size=”1/2″ center=”no” class=””][quote style=”default”]Laura and the Heard:
Speaking of having been a little overwhelmed, the Heard (outdoors only) is still open. People can get admission or membership online and announce themselves at the door to minimize contact. There are SO many scientists working fast-paced on ideas and innovations. It’s really encouraging to see people stepping up and being creative and turning to their energies to the benefit of all.
[/quote][/column][/row] [row][column size=”1/2″ center=”no” class=””][quote style=”default”]Tasha is celebrating:
I wanted to let you know we got our wildlife management approval today and I’m so excited. It’s quite a relief and now we will be putting our rabbit habitats – ie, pallets with brush over them.
It really does seem too good to be true.
Hope all is well with you.
I’m really missing classes right now.
[/quote][/column] [column size=”1/2″ center=”no” class=””][quote style=”default”]Ed’s take:
Well, I tried the leaves (for TP) and it turned out they were poison ivy so I’m itching to get back to my tribe where I might pay more attention to the botany sessions next time around.
(he and his spouse) so far we have found each other to be rather compatible while in solitary confinement and it is amazing how much we get caught up with the fascinating endless list of chores long ignored.
I’m trying to find my copy of Albert Camus “The Plague” to see if any of this really makes sense.
As the ancient Chinese curse goes “May you live in interesting times.”
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[row][column size=”1/2″ center=”no” class=””] [box title=”*** Homemade Cloth Masks Request ***” style=”bubbles” box_color=”#e11111″ title_color=”#fcf8f8″ radius=”13″]Susan: Keeping watch
I’m making face masks if anyone needs one. Homemade and not nearly as protective as an N95 but better than nothing.
Other than that, I’m weeding the garden and observing all the little critters living in it: a baby rabbit (trying to shoo him out because of the dog), a toad, lots of baby and adult anole lizards, bees in my bee houses. The June bugs are coming out in droves and kept flying into my hair while walking the dog last night under the full Pink moon.
(If you would like a mask let me know and I will give you Susan’s email.)
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Edition 1 – Shaking The Trees – April 12, 2020