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Birds Flora and Fauna Shaking of the Trees Post Shaking the Trees

Curious George Settles in for the Day

By Clyde Camp, 2011

Curious George arrives at about 20 seconds into the video link and settles in for the day. He’s verbally accosted by a couple of jays and a squirrel about midway through the video. George is the male of the last breeding season (spring, 2020) – a grey-phase Eastern Screech Owl. His mate then was a red-phase female named Hunter. Their breeding attempt was unsuccessful with two clutches of eggs, neither of which hatched.

They are both visiting the box off and on again and probably staking their claim on it in late fall 2020.

You can read about, with photos and videos, that attempt (as well as the 2018/19 attempt by a different pair) at http://crcamp.com/owls

Flora and Fauna Shaking of the Trees Post Shaking the Trees TPWD Wildlife

Recovering America’s Wildlife Act Update

Written By Richard Heilbrun, TPWD

Richard Heilbrun, who is well known by TMN’s and is Program Leader at Texas Parks & Wildlife Department,has been actively involved with The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act. We recently asked him about its progress since not much comes out of D.C. nowadays that is not related to COVID.

The Wildlife Act made substantial progress in 2020. The standalone bill, HR 3742, passed out of committee with bipartisan support. The text of that bill, slightly altered, was inserted into HR 2, which passed the US House on July 20 and was sent it to the US Senate. Though the Senate declined to consider HR 2, the passage of the language in the House was a huge milestone for the effort and shortens our work dramatically in this Congress.

In this year’s Congress, the House Committee on Natural Resources has told us that Recovering America’s Wildlife Act will not need a hearing and will just be advanced through Committee.

Strategists in DC are pushing for a 2-track approach. First, it will be introduced as stand-alone legislation by Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) and Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE). In March or April, we expect them to circulate a Dear Colleague Letter and a request for initial bill co-sponsors. When that happens, we’d encourage the wildlife community in Texas to contact their members of Congress. Then it will be introduced into the Senate. There are several Senators that have already contacted us offering to introduce the measure there. Once we’ve demonstrated support for the stand-alone measures, our second track will be to ask for it to be inserted into larger legislative packages such as an Infrastructure Package.

We’ll support both tracks, knowing that having 2 possibilities gives us a better chance of final passage. Many people have told us that if we can mobilize conservation-oriented support, Recovering America’s Wildlife Act has a good chance of being passed this year. We just have to keep our foot on the gas.

Sign up for updates at https://www.txwildlifealliance.org/ Learn more about the bill there and viewing the Texas Focus YouTube Video below.

Anyone interested in getting involved can contact me at Richard.Heilbrun@tpwd.texas.gov or Rachel Rommel, state coordinator for the Texas Wildlife Alliance at r.rommel@txwildlifealliance.org

Texas Focus Video

Creative Members Shaking of the Trees Post Shaking the Trees

What a Difference a Week Makes

By Sally Evans, Founder and Emeritus

THEN:

By the time anyone reads this epistle the Backyard Bird Count will be over, the Great Winter Storm will be over, Valentine’s Day will be over, and we will be working on the pandemic to be over! It has been a difficult time for people on so many areas of their lives with survival being uppermost. Actually the GBBC came at a good time because many folks could not do anything else except peep out the draped windows at the birds coming in to find what food they could. Bird feeders came to many of their rescues.

I had the opportunity to listen to a ZOOM talk given by Dr. Drew Lanham who is an author and an ornithologist. He was suggesting that bird watchers get so intent on bird identification and location that they (we) forget to put their binoculars down and view the whole picture. So I did. The birds were coming in close to the window so I could see them well and I had time to sit and observe. I knew that many of the birds I counted at different times were the same birds I had seen before. They live here and come here often for the handouts I give. The male cardinals with their brilliant reds against the snow were spectacular – and they were almost always accompanied or led by a female cardinal who was also very lovely. The red-bellied woodpecker’s red head was exceptionally bright and I could see him clearly on the suet feeder as he went back and forth from the tree to the feeder.

And the little upstart that took over the feeders and tried to chase everyone else away even though most were bigger than it was. It was a butter butt – a yellow rumped warbler – and every day it would go from feeder to suet to bush to feeder to suet, etc. except when it would chase another bird away. Just one! But according to the bird count I probably saw four or five!

For the very first time I had pine siskins. There were about a half a dozen that came to the thistle feeder and they chased away the few goldfinches that came to the thistle feeder. But the finches were clever and would just wait around and when the siskins flew away they moved in. I saw this because I put my binoculars down and just watched the birds and the trees and the snow. The doves would sit for long periods of time in the trees, fat fluffed bumps on the limbs. Then one must have said ,”GO!” because they would all fly off somewhere or inundate the feeders and throw seed all over.

I know there were rabbits at night because I found tracks everywhere. They would have had a hard time finding food as the snow was about three inches deep. My toes would have been frozen! Why weren’t their feet too cold to hop around?!

I also had time to contemplate. How fortunate I was to have a home, food, electricity, family and friends who were checking on us, a warm blanket and a pair of binoculars to watch the panorama in my own back yard. So like the robin who has been sitting on the banister in the morning sun, I will look at my surroundings and wait for better times.

NOW:

Spring is coming!

Spring is coming, I can tell!
The elm tree buds are beginning to swell;
The willows by the creek have a reddish hue;
And the peach and pear trees have tiny buds too.
The incessant tapping of a woodpecker on a pole or tree
Announces he is establishing his territory.
A Carolina wren begins to build a nest
In a hanging basket – this one is just a test.
Patches of dandelions bloom in some places,
Their tiny ray flowers like sunshine faces;
And their puffy seed heads bow to a breeze;
They all lasted through the snow and the freeze.
I know spring is coming! I can tell!
The young green onions have their onion ‘smell’.
And in my garden which looked all dead,
Two tiny daffodils lifted their heads.
The March calendar announces SPRING IS HERE!
But I already knew that is was near.

Sally Evans 2/25/21

Frisco Shaking of the Trees Post Shaking the Trees

Frisco Natural Area Restoration Opportunities

By Rick Travis, 2018

Hurray!!! Blackland Prairie Texas Master Naturalist Chapter and the Frisco Parks and Recreation Department have reached an agreement that allows our chapter members to provide VH eligible restoration and maintenance efforts within the natural areas located in various Frisco parks, such as Frisco Commons, Cottonwood Creek, Northwest Community parks, and the Stewart Creek Wetlands Preserve.

The Stewart Creek Wetlands Preserve

Both weekend and weekday work sessions in the Frisco park natural areas will begin mid-March and can be found on the BPTMN calendar. Initial work will focus on the prairie restoration site at Frisco Commons Park. Periodic emails communicating updates to the schedules and other details will also be sent to members that live in the Frisco area, and/or are interested in earning VH hours working in these areas. If you wish to be added to the Frisco VH Opportunities email distribution list, please drop me an email at Travisfam2@yahoo.com.

Northwest Community Park and Nature Area

Here are examples of the kinds of work we’ll be doing in these Frisco parks natural areas:

Assist with removal and management of unwanted and invasive tree species encroaching into prairie and meadow sites. We’ll remove smaller trees and gather into brush piles for city removal, and the Parks folks will bring the chainsaws and work on the larger trees.
Remove and manage invasive herbaceous species, such as Bastard Cabbage, Nodding Thistle, etc.
In the summer and fall, we’ll harvest native plant seeds at some of the larger areas, for re-distribution into other natural areas within Frisco.
Members will also conduct trash/litter cleanup, as needed.

The Parks and Recreation Department will add signing at Frisco Commons stating the work being done is a “Joint project between Blackland Prairie Chapter / Texas Master Naturalists and the City of Frisco, Texas.”

In addition, Frisco will periodically conduct prescribed burns within these prairie restoration sites.

February 2020 Prescribed burn at “Freedom Meadow” in the Warren Sports Complex, Frisco

I anticipate our opportunities within Frisco will continue to expand in the coming years, as the city has hundreds of acres of undeveloped park land and are making plans to add a Nature Learning Center at one of the natural areas. There’s lots to be excited about!

Note: BPTMN members will need to complete the City Volunteer Waiver before beginning any maintenance activities. Contact Rick Travis at Travisfam2@yahoo.com for an electronic copy of the volunteer form. We’ll also bring some hard copies to our work sessions.

Shaking of the Trees Post Shaking the Trees

Chip and Dale Still Entertain

By Deborah Canterbury, 2014

As I have nothing better to do than stare out my window into the back yard, I have been highly entertained by the two squirrels who frequent my bird feeders and scoff at my futile attempts to deter them. So I did some fact finding to assure me that I am smarter than a squirrel and that I still know how to read and research.

Fact #1: They Were Brought into U.S. Parks Intentionally

Squirrels can be pests around your property, but did you know that they were introduced to American nature parks intentionally?
After the Industrial Revolution, squirrels were mostly absent from cities. In order to liven up city parks (like Manhattan’s Central Park), the city reintroduced squirrels to the area.
It was believed that a bit of nature in the city was crucial to maintaining people’s well-being. Additionally, feeding the squirrels became a leisurely activity for children and adults alike. So the presence of squirrels in parks actually benefited the human population mentally, but it also had the unfortunate effect of contributing to infestations later down the line.

Fact #2: Squirrels Have an Expert Sense of Smell

You know they love to bury acorns (and my pecans not filched by crows) for winter foraging. Squirrels will typically bury their nuts around a memorable location, like next to a large oak tree. To protect their stash from birds, they bury them under only ¼ inch of soil. They are able to use their keen sense of smell to detect the nuts they buried, even if they have been covered in a foot of snow.

Fact #3: Squirrels Mislead their Scavengers

Not only are squirrels adept at tracking the nuts they buried, but they use misdirection to trick the scavengers who want to steal their nuts.
Squirrels have been known to tamper with soil and cover it with leaves, even when they haven’t buried a nut there. They make it look like they buried a nut there, in order to trick scavengers.

Fact #4: Squirrels Are Experts At Finding Mates

When mating season arrives, female squirrels in heat begin emitting a scent that male squirrels can smell from up to a mile away. During this time I hear numerous males hot-footing it across my roof. It’s worth noting that squirrels do not mate for life. Rather, a female squirrel will go to great lengths to avoid mating with the same male twice.This allows the squirrel population to stay genetically diverse, minimizing the risk of mutations and makes female squirrels very self sufficient.

Okay, four “Did-ja-knows” are enough. I need to stop and let the dogs out to pursue for the umpteenth time today their futile attempt to chase the long-tailed rodent currently draped around my newly filled feeder onto the roof where it can mock and tease them.

Blackland Prairie Raptor Center Plants Shaking of the Trees Post Shaking the Trees

Shoring up the Shoreline at Raptor Center

By Dick Zartler, 2007

During the first week in March a group of Blackland Prairie Master Naturalists, led by Rick Travis and Lorelei Stierlen and joined by Lisa Travis, Susan Abernethy and Dick Zartler, planted over 300 cuttings to help stabilize the BPRC’s eastern shoreline on Lavon lake.

The eastern shoreline, on the open lake, steep and consisting of unconsolidated clays, has been eroded over almost 70 years by a combination of “wave wash” from passing boats and periodic changes in water levels. The cuttings were about 18” to 24” long and consisted of black willows and buttonbushes, both water-loving local natives. Holes for the cuttings were made with simple probes and averaged 6-10 inches deep.

Additional plantings of up to 200-300 cuttings are planned in the next few weeks, Contact Lorelei (Lorstierlen@gmail.com) if you want to help.

Periodic updates on the success of this stabilization are planned.