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.
Current News
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.
Preservation of Remnant Smiley-Woodfin Prairie
Rick Travis, 2018 – The article tells the story of how the remnant Smiley-Woodfin Prairie will be preserved versus being eliminated by the construction of a solar power farm. The company, Orsted developing the solar farm and the Nature Conservancy recently reached an agreement that will preserve about 1000 acres of the prairie.
Canyon Creek Wetland and Wildscape
Julia Koch, 2020 NTMN – I have to give another shout out to one of your members that is volunteering at the Canyon Creek Wetland and Wildscape project in NW Richardson. Brenda Clark is not only helping us to remove invasive species and is caring for hundreds of plants in her greenhouse that will be planted this spring at the site but she is an exceptional photographer.
2022 BPTMN Holiday Party
Michelle Connally, 2018 – The SRC building at the Heard Museum was decorated for Holiday cheer and buzzing this past Tuesday night with Jolly Master Naturalists. The Holiday party event committee did an outstanding job creating an inviting place to share stories and visit with each other. Thank you to Elly Tittle, Jean Suplick, Michelle Norris and Charlise Hill-Larson for your planning and hard work hosting the event. Enjoy the photos below from the party and our Chapter meeting certifications & recertification awards.
BPTMNs Attend TMN Annual Meeting in Houston Texas
Linda Nixon, 2018 – Just prior to the start of the TMN 2022 Annual Meeting (Meeting) in Houston Texas, we decided to ask attendees, both those in person and those online, to write about their experiences so we could share them with BPTMN members who did not attend this event. We hope you will enjoy their musings and that what you read will inspire you to participate in a future Annual Meeting.
Texas Master Naturalists, Blackland Prairie Chapter
Rick Travis, 2018 –
2022 was an eventful year for the Blackland Prairie Master Naturalist Chapter! The Covid scourge FINALLY began to loosen its grip on us, and as the year progressed, we began transitioning back to in-person chapter meetings, classes, and volunteer activities. Online meetings helped keep us stitched together in 2020 and 2021, but (in my humble opinion) there’s no substitute for in-the-flesh gatherings.