CONSERVATION PRESERVATION RESTORATION EDUCATION

Texas Native PlantsBy Josephine Keeney

Outreach & Communications Guy

American Beautyberry, Callicarpa americana (Verbena Family)

Hello there fellow Master Naturalist. I hope all is well and you are getting your volunteer hours in. We had the EcoFest in Arlington on 09/19/15 and it was great. Someone from the new class volunteered to help me, but I noticed she had a field trip that day. I informed and thanked her. Man, people sure wanted to help. By the time you read this, all the outreach programs will be done. But, I will inform you as to what they were. On 09/26/15, I will be at Bob Jones Nature Center in Southlake, TX doing a Hummingbird lecture. On 10/03/15 we will be at Chuck Silcox Nature Park, with our booth, for the grand opening. In November (date not set yet) we will be at the old Carswell Air Force Base. Your class will be over now, so be on the look out for the year of 2016. We will have plenty of new Outreach programs coming and I will need you all to help me. Thank you all for all the great work you will be doing.

American Beautyberry is a gorgeous woody shrub that can grow up to fifteen feet tall in favorable moisture conditions, but usually averages five to ten feet and just as wide. This shrub likes part shade and rich, moist soils and works very well as an understory plant. It can be propagated by seeds or tip cuttings. The long arching branches have large leaves in pairs spaced along the branch. It blooms in the Spring with small pink flowers clustered at the base of the leaves. During Summer the flowers turn into large clusters of berries which remain green until Fall when the leaves turn a lovely yellow-green and the berries a beautiful rose or burgundy pink, transforming the shrub into a delight for the eyes. The birds also love the berries and feast on them all Fall and Winter for as long as they last.

By George McBride

EcoMan

George McBride

Kimberly Salinas & Jane Oosterhuis

CONSERVATION PRESERVATION RESTORATION EDUCATION

Mark Klym, TPWD Wildlife Diversity Programs, recently asked for TPWD’s Whooper Watchers to begin watching for migrating whooping cranes in the coming weeks.

The Aransas-Wood Buffalo population, the only natural wild flock still numbering ~300, migrates through North Central Texas, so sightings in our area have happened and are possible. Migration poses significant hazards for these federally protected and endangered birds, so watchful eyes and ears are needed along their route.

Please report migrating whooping crane sightings using this info from TPWD’s website:How you can help:Whooping cranes migrate throughout the central portion of the state from the eastern panhandle to the DFW area and south through the Austin area to the central coast during October-November and again in April. If you sight a whooping crane during migration or away from the coast during the winter, then please contact the Wildlife Diversity Program at 1-800-792-1112 x4644 or mark.klym@tpwd.state.tx.us.

USFWS information on the behavior and natural history of whooping cranes, Grus americana:http://www.fws.gov/refuge/Aransas/wildlife/whooping_cranes.html

And, to be sure it’s a whooping crane, some ID tips: http://friendsofthewildwhoopers.org/whooper-indentification/

UPDATE : The first fall 2015 sighting (1 bird) was reported on eBird, Sept. 20 in Aransas Bay, Texas.

Watching for Whoopers Submitted by Jan Miller

CONGRATULATIONSCLASS OF 2015!!

October 20th is the FINAL class for the students of the Cross Timbers Master Naturalist class of 2015! Congratulations to you all! We know you enjoyed all the learning and the field trip adventures you experienced. We welcome you to our chapter and hope you will volunteer in a number of different opportunities! It is fun to try the varied groups and projects to find what you love best!We hope you come to the monthly meetings on the 3rd Monday of the month. Introduce yourself, we are happy to meet you!!

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MEMBER

SPOTLIGHT

In an effort for us to get to know each other better and on a more personal level, we will feature a different Master Naturalist in our Cross Timbers chapter in each edition of our newsletter.

They say that dynamite comes in small packages. She is proof.

Let's get to know

Josephine KeeneyCan you tell us a little about your background? I was born and raised in Spain. The only daughter of older parents, born in 1938 during the Spanish Civil War, my mother was a refugee in the town of Lorca, Murcia. My father had been drafted and was fighting in the war, when he came back and they went to their home town they found that everything had been stolen. After the war was over food was very scarce and we could only buy food with coupons, you could only get as much food as what you were allowed with the coupons, but you had to pay for it. After a while my father found a job with a bridge building company, that meant that we moved around a lot, sometimes every six months and sometimes a year or two, usually this was in little out of the way towns, some of them had no schools, no church, no running water. Consequently my schooling was very limited until we were sent to a larger town with regular schools where I finished my primary. After I came to the U.S. I did get my High School diploma and took some college courses. I came to America in 1961 after I married my first husband. He was stationed in Rota, Spain and I met him through mutual friends. I studied English in Spain from a private tutor, and was able to read and write fluently, but of course conversing was a different story. By the time I translated and composed a sentence, the group had moved to a different topic. It finally became easier and when I started to dream in English I knew I had it down. We lived in Chicago at first and we moved to Texas in 1968 and I have lived at the same address since then, so I can say that my moving days are over. We had a daughter and a son. We were divorced in 1976 and I was single for five years, then I met Frank and we got married in 1984, 31 years and counting, hoping we make it to our 50th. Frank has three children, one girl and two boys. When we got married we all lived together but it didn't last long, the older ones got places of their own and the younger boys are gone now as well. We have two granddaughters. In 1985 I got together with two lady friends and opened a wedding apparel shop called “ Affairs of the Heart”. It was a successful business and I closed it when it was time to retire in 2005. When did you first realize you were interested in nature/native plants? My love of plants, animals and Nature began in Spain after I went to live with my mother's sister up in the mountains. She lived on a farm there and I was sent to live with her in order to recuperate from a very serious encounter with typhoid fever which almost did me in. I was twelve at the time and lived with her for a year learning a lot of useful things, such as how to grow food and flowers, milk goats, make cheese, pickle olives, harvest honey and a lot more. I heard about Texas native plants in 1996 after I read an article in the paper about a lady who had a certified native habitat by the Texas Parks and Wildlife. I went to talk to her and saw her yard and fell in love with the idea of helping the environment through the use and conservation of native plants. Frank and I worked very hard and got our yard certified in 1998 so I have been working with native plants for quite a while. After I retired in 2005 I decided that I wanted to dedicate my time to native plant cultivation and conservation, so I went to the Molly Hollar Wildscape and asked her if I could work with her, she said yes, and I have been there ever since.

You were in the Master Naturalist class of the Cross Timbers chapter in 2006, and have logged well over 5,000 hours of dedicated Volunteer Service. What/Where do you do all that volunteering? I work at the Molly Hollar wildscape on Wednesdays and the last Saturday of each month. I manage the greenhouse on Tuesdays with the Greenhouse team, where we propagate the plants for the Wildscape restoration. We put together one plant sale in the Fall, to spread the word about native plants and to raise income for the Wildscape. On Mondays I work at the Fielder House Butterfly garden with Jane Oosterhuis who has been helping me since 2007. Rosalie Rogers and Marylee Thomason also worked with me at the beginning. This used to be a vegetable garden that had fallen into disrepair and we took it over and transformed it into an all native plant butterfly garden in the fall of 2006. On second Saturday I work at OS Gray natural area where we have planted another butterfly garden and tend wildflower areas. I am also a member of the Native Plant Society Fort Worth Chapter, and help them organize 2 plants sales a year.

As Master Naturalists what should we know about the importance of Native Plants? Native Plants are crucial to butterflies, to all our pollinators and to us as well, because no pollinators, no food!! Also we must preserve our native plants so as not to lose our heritage. We need to show that our native plants can be just asbeautiful as the exotics. Plus they also save us labor and water if used properly. What is not to love about Native Plants?

CONSERVATION PRESERVATION RESTORATION EDUCATION

It's time for all grasshoppers to make a decision. Depending on what stage they are in, decides their fate for the upcoming Winter. Orthopterans, which includes grasshoppers, undergo a body change from egg to adult which is known as simple. Once the egg hatches, the nymph gradually changes to adult without a drastic change in appearance. This is in contrast to a butterfly for example which goes from egg to caterpillar to pupa to adult (complete metamorphosis). Adult female grasshoppers deposit their eggs in groups in the soil in most cases. The eggs are held together in a frothy secretion which then hardens into a rigid covering. The eggs and covering are together known as an egg pod. This pod may contain from 4 to 100 depending on the species. Now is the time for fully mature females to lay their eggs. Most will die, however a few may overwinter. Most nymphs will find a dry place and overwinter. The prime habitat for grasshoppers is semi-desert Southwest and the prairies ofthe Great Plains. Rarely they will be found in forests unless some breaks in the canopy are found. One such example is the Post Oak Grasshopper (seen here on a Post Oak tree). Generally Post Oak Grasshoppers hatch (from the ground) in late-March/early-April, and become very noticeable in late April and are more abundant since 2003. In general, tree feeding among grasshoppers is very rare, and the large majority of the closest relatives to Post Oak Grasshoppers tend to be generalist feeders that eat a mixture of grasses and broad leaf plants. When the egg hatches, they dig their way to the surface and are fully capable of walking, hopping and eating. The active stage between hatching and a fully grown adult is known as a nymph. The nymphs shed their skin as they grow since the skin is not elastic. As they grow the wings begin to develop and are not fully formed until the last molt. So, if you see a grasshopper flying, it is an adult and as large as it is going to be. Most grasshoppers have wings that extend to the end of the abdomen but a few do not. In the case of short-winged grasshoppers, look at the sexual organs (ovipositors for females, and cerci for males) to see if they are fully developed.

The last 2 dry years have been unusual in the fact that I have found the 2-Stripe Grasshopper eating the blooms of the purple-pink Texas Thistle (grasshopper candy?). They are found over most of the U.S. except for the very Southernmost region.

One of the most important attributes of grasshoppers is in recycling plant material. These herbivores hasten degradation of standing plant material by clipping, allowing fungi and bacteria to release the chemical nutrients. Otherwise the nutrients would be locked up in standing dead grasses. Generally grasshoppers are herbivorous, but some do eat other dead insects, fungi, lichens, and animal fecalmatter such as the 3-banded Range Grasshopper seen here (widely found in the Plains from Mexico to Canada).

Early in the Spring most nymphs are green to blend with the green vegetation. However in the Fall they turn brown or mottled to blend with the dry vegetation. An exception to this are grasshoppers that the color blends with the habitat they inhabit. 20 points to the person who can identify this hidden (in plain sight) grasshopper. Have fun with this.

Grasshoppers are one of the largest, if not the largest, source of animal biomass on the prairie. It is not uncommon to find coyote scat packed with grasshopper legs and undigestible parts. Check it out the next time you are on the trail and discover some dry coyote scat.Did I mention that I love grasshoppers?

October Decision Time. Live or Die?By Troy Mullens

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PicturePerfect

YOURPhotoHere!

Unidentified Mushroom @ Texas Discovery Gardens in Fair Park By Kevin Pajack

Downy Woodpecker By Susan Marchbanks

Praying Mantis eating a Dragonfly @ Fort Worth Nature Center By Kevin Pajak

CONSERVATION PRESERVATION RESTORATION EDUCATION

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Cross Timbers Master Naturalist Project & Donna Piercy Wins Top Texas Bluebird Society Award

When the CTMN Class of 2014 visited Tierra Verde Golf Course in the fall of 2014, Donna Piercy had an idea.

The golf course was the first municipal facility in the world to receive an Audubon Signature Course designation.

It seemed fitting that Tierra Verde should have an active program to attract the most beloved North American bird species- Sialia sialis. Their numbers had

rebounded since conservation efforts the last couple decades and Tierra Verde seemed a perfect spot to keep the momentum going. Donna struck up a conversation with TV Superintendent, Mark Claburn. An instant alliance

developed. Donna contacted the Texas Bluebird Society who proved to be both supportive and invaluable. This led to a local contact, Jim Marshall. Jim started the highly successful Trinity Trails Bluebird Trail and is generous with hands-on help and materials. Cornell’s Nestwatch.org serves as the Citizen Science data collection point and requires much commitment to navigate and report nest box observations. Donna then presented the written TV contract to the CTMN Board and received Special Project Status. A call for CTMN bluebird trail volunteers for help with nest monitoring brought almost a dozen responses from membership. Using GPS maps and consulting with both Mark and Jim, twelve nest boxes were installed around half of Tierra Verde’s course. Despite the rapid plan implementation, the first nest box check was March 5th, after a late snow storm passed through. Bluebirds normally stake out nest selections early. January. Was March too late? Then north Texas received record rain falls for weeks. How would that effect occupancy of the boxes? At the end of this brand new trail’s late start nesting season; an amazing 14 fledges. http://www.texasbluebirdsociety.org/newsletterArchive/newsletterV14I3.pdf Along with monitoring, volunteers also had to learn golf course etiquette while maneuvering their golf carts to inspect nest boxes. Establishing goodwill with the golfers was of prime importance. A highly visible project sign placed on the windshield of the lead volunteer cart identifies the activity. Curious golfers stop by to ask questions and give a thumbs up. “Birdie” and “eagle” jokes abound. The TV Project has proven to be a good outreach opportunity also. Congratulations to Donna on a well deserved award. We look forward to hearing her results for the 2016 season fledges, with nest boxes now established for that all important month of January. New volunteers are welcomed to join. Maybe you’ll be inspired to start your own Bluebird Trail!

Donna Piercy

By Anne Alderfer