Michelle Connally, Class of 2018 – While we explore, the Sun will be undergoing an annular solar eclipse. Because we are outside the central eclipse band, it’ll only be a partial eclipse from our perspective and won’t have the shadow darkening effect of more precise eclipses. But it will be interesting for us to see what changes in sunlight we detect and if it seems to affect wildlife. Bring eclipse glasses for the full impact.
Current News
Roadrunner Diet
Balaji Devarajanm, Class of 2022 – I enjoyed watching the Roadrunner parents hunt and bring food to feed the three chicks in the nest at Erwin Park, McKinney. Their buffet spread is huge with snakes, cicadas, caterpillars, grasshoppers, lizards, and others. I hope you like these photos!
Mary Lou Cole, Class of 2004 – A Legacy of Love
Deborah Canterbury, Class of 2014 – Emeritus and chapter co-founder Sally Evans reports that one of our chapter founders, Mary Lou Cole recently passed away.
Protecting Our Water through Stream Team Monitoring
Vicki Sanders, Class of 2022 – Tom Heath is a great example of how we show our love of water by conducting regular testing. He has been a member of Texas Stream Team since 2005. He started out as an advocate for clean water as a member of For The Love of the Lake with White Rock Lake since 2003 and jumped on the opportunity to become more engaged by taking the Standard Core Testing Training offered by Texas Stream Team by the City of Dallas.
Texans … USGS scientists want your dead butterflies, moths
Article Submission by Leah Justice, Class of 2021 – Check out this article about USGS Scientists want your dead butterflies, moths.
Observations of a Yellow-crowned Night-Heron Colony
John W. Garbutt, Class of 2019 – March was winding down. The morning was cool, which made for a lovely morning to make another attempt at locating the Cooper’s Hawks’ nest in the riparian area of the park. I finally found it on the 26th. It turned out that the Hawks were renovating the previous year’s construction. Excited with the discovery, I decided to head down the path to scout where the Yellow-crowned Night-Heron pair nested the previous year near the creek.
2nd Annual BPTMN Mothing Event at Connemara Preserve – July 22, 2023
Michelle Connally, 2018 – The Connemara meadow provided a serene backdrop as the sun set on our annual Summer event. Bob Mione, the Connemara Restoration Manager, talked with guests about the meadow. Five mothing setups were presented by Rick and Lisa Travis, Jean and Michael Suplick, Melanie Schuchart, and Patrick Pilarski.
When Bison Roamed the Blackland
Paul Napper, 2015 – Hiking at Oak Point in Plano is something Cindy and I enjoy. In March this year we were hiking part of the trail that gets close to the bank of Rowlett Creek. I noticed a place where we could climb down the bank and explore a small gravel bar. As we slowly walked through the gravel looking for interesting rocks or arrowheads I noticed a tooth and picked it up.
2nd Annual Blackland Prairie Chapter Mothing Event with Kimberlie Sasan at Connemara Preserve
Michelle Connally, 2018 – Bring the entire family and neighborhood to our 2nd Annual Mothing event with Kimberlie Sasan at the Connemara Meadow Preserve.
Crosstimbers Master Naturalist Kimberlie Sasan will help us identify the Lepidoptera family and report our sightings to iNaturalist.
Don’t forget to download the iNaturalist app for adults and Seek for Kids.
Hope to see you there when the sun goes down at approximately 8:30 PM.
Hummingbird vs. Hummingbird Moth
Balaji Devarajan, 2022 – This doesn’t happen everyday! So here I am sharing my firsthand witness of this rare interaction between a Hummingbird and the Hummingbird Moth (White-lined Sphinx Moth). I was birding at the Oak Point Park and Nature Preserve with my camera to take pictures of the Dickcissel. While I got one shot of the Dickcissel, the photo highlights from that day were the Copperhead snake, Gulf Fritillary butterfly, and the Hummingbird Moth. This small post narrates the few minutes faceoff between a Hummingbird and a Hummingbird Moth.