On the Prowl in Hays County

 Nature is not a place to visit. It is home.

~ Gary Snyder

Texas Spiny Lizard guarded the caliche road.

The invitation arrived by email - "come hike with us." It was ostensibly a birding trip - the 2018 Birdathon in Hays County - and, while the invite went out to hundreds of folks, I knew DH and I were meant to go.  We are terrible birders (I believe the kinder word is "novices"). However, our skills are improving (I did recognize those Indigo Buntings a week ago*) and we continue to listen and read and hike with experienced birders. So this would be perfect - our first organized birding trip of the spring - and part of it would be at the property of a long-time friend, SJ.** I signed us up.

We knew it was going to be a wonderful day as we drove the winding FM 150 through this section of Hays County. A Cardinal flashed red before us.  A Red-shouldered Hawk surveyed the landscape from its perch on a telephone pole. I was dangerously distracted by the wildflowers already - sage, foxglove, firewheels, and so many others. And the milkweed! It is a very good year for milkweed in this area as plants dot the ditches. I knew I would be dividing my attention between the birds and the plants and hoping the red bugs would leave me alone this trip.

Eleven birders*** met in the parking lot at Charro Ranch Park**** and we headed down and around the trails. This is a treasure of a park! It is beautifully maintained the perfect spot for early morning birding. The Painted Buntings and Summer Tanagers greeted us early on. A Golden-cheeked Warbler flirted with us from the junipers. We later headed to our friend's place where we hiked around the pond and along the creek...and then we feasted...

For DH and me it was a day of firsts - including porcupines! I lost track of the times I said, "I have never seen this before."

Writing about these few hours has been a struggle - how do I describe this experience? We were filled with the sights and sounds of an April morning in the wild and with the companionship of like minded people.

These experienced naturalists shared their love of the wild and their curiosity with us. People of sharp vision (to spot the porcupine hiding high in a tree and the tiny milkweed vine hidden among the spring growth) they dedicate time to the wild in many ways (it was inspiring to hear stories of bird rescue and banding and thoughtful property management). Their ears were attuned to bird calls and questions from the novice. Our experience with them in these few hours was amazing.

So, there you go. For me this is pretty speechless. I will leave you with my bad cell photos in some attempt to share the day. If others contribute photos I'll add them:

Charro Ranch

There were birds, but too far to see here. It's hard not to love a field of wildflowers.

Part of the group. MW is pointing out a bird.

There were binoculars, cameras, and spotting scopes wielded by people who knew how to use them.

"Where did you hear the bird?"

The place could not have been any lovelier or weather better.

The trail signs had peace symbols on them. Now I understand - they were directing us here.

This "Solstice Circle" marks those events. I suppose I know where I'll be for one in the next year.*****

The arm pointing eastward

I was rarely the last one. At least two of us were "working" iNaturalist.

Nature will-out. This "rotten" limestone created a perfect planting pocket.

Yes, porcupines climb trees. This was the first of two. [It makes you wonder how many look down on us as we lumber by.]

Thanks to Mark Wilson for guiding us and sharing this photo of the porcupine (all rights reserved).

Old rock walls leave me with so many questions...

 Jandarosa

My friend's property is a sanctuary of oaks, juniper, madrone, laurel, grasses, wildflowers.... We hiked the edges of  the pond and creek and noted the signs of coyote and deer as well as enjoying the birds keeping us company along the way. Then another porcupine was noticed high in a tree.

Look hard. What a perfect yard - cactus, a variety of native grasses, and milkweed! [Note the protective wooden fencing. There were a number of spots where native plantings were protected from predation - and sometime clumsy visitors.]

Our only Monarch caterpillar (I saw three butterflies - others may have seen more).

Check out this feeder!

The creek.

Ah. This is why we don't notice the porcupines.

Before long it was time for lunch so we gathered on the deck and ate (a feast) and talked. Then someone said, "Golden-cheeked Warbler." We all heard it. It called again and again until someone located it. Our host shared that this was the first GCW he had observed on his property. Another first!

The bird flew and so did we.

Okay. Maybe I was the last hiker a few times.

NOTES:

*Of course there were almost 20 of them and they are this crazy blue that not even I could miss.

** Our mothers were best friends from the first grade onward. In a way we grew up together - visiting frequently when our mothers got together. They are six and we were four. Regular readers here may remember some of these stories from adventures on the Frio River.

***We had Texas Master Naturalists from three local chapters - Hays County, Capital Area, and Good Water. There was history of running in the wild - former Boy and Girl Scouts and one Campfire Girl. They were Audubon members, Native Plant Society folks, and more. And many of these folks own/manage/maintain properties devoted to the wild. Mother had banded birds in the 80s with some of these folks. Kindred spirits all.

****http://www.cityofdrippingsprings.com/page/parks_charro

*****I cannot seem to win the drawing for the winter solstice at Bru na Boinne (http://www.worldheritageireland.ie/bru-na-boinne/) so I'll just try this spot so much closer to home.

The Master list at eBird: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S45005406

My post and observations on iNaturalist:  https://www.inaturalist.org/journal/alflinn329/15924-birding-trip-in-hayes-county

Heading home DH and I joked about all the adventures we have had down caliche roads.

FINAL NOTES: Milkweed and bugs (it's a sickness - blame it on biology class bug collections) and blooms. I'm putting these at the end where I can find them and the disinterested can easily skip them. I'll never know.

"Common" flowers and insects are not really so common.

We saw hundreds of Antelope Horns Milkweed plants. Many blooms were open.

Some buds had not opened.

There were many insects present - from Large Milkweed Bug to aphids (and one scary guy that was new to me).

Yellow Flax

A creepy true bug - Apiomerus spissipes -

Convergent Ladybeetle (with aphids all around)

False Dandelion/Texas dandelion (Pyrrhopappus pauciflorus)

Some of these Large Milkweed Bugs are pale and almost blend into the flowers.

Another Milkweed - Narrowleaf Milkweed

Puffball (I thought it was a white basketflower, but no).

Katydid

Last LMB trying to hide amid the buds

I almost forgot. Yes, the bluebonnets were here - going to seed. I'm fond of bluebonnets. They have a place, just not every place. And I do love to see blue and yellow flowers growing together.

Great Blue Shows It's Stuff

And I rose
In a rainy autumn
And walked abroad in shower of all my days
High tide and the heron dived when I took the road
Over the border
And the gates
Of the town closed as the town awoke.

~Dylan Thomas, Poem in October

We are usually in the park as the town is waking. We watch for the heron as we hug the bank of the creek. Some days it is near the footbridge and will spread its wings and glide 30 or 40 feet looking for a better place to fish.

More often it is wading in the shallows with ducks all around. It walks stealthily and gracefully. The strike is sudden and a surprise of splashing water and flailing wings. Then, after a couple of juggles of the fish, a swallow.

On this day the hungry heron seemed to ignore me. But I think it was keeping an eye on me.

It headed down the creek and turned its back on me to watch the fish.

Suddenly it made its move.

These photos were taken from my short video of the catch.

And there you go - a fish.

After eating and shaking its wings a bit, it moved down the creek for a calmer spot.

And slowly started to move out to where the fish were swimming with the current.

Wild Women at Large

You can dress us up.

You can take us out.

We can be appropriate.

But we would rather be

In the wild.

~ Wild Women

Wednesday evening saw me heading south to my sister's. [Be afraid. Be very afraid.] It is a three hour drive that took me almost six. I stopped for dinner. I ran into an old friend/co-worker and we talked in the back of a department store for over an hour.*

Fortunately it started getting dark before I could "turn around" on many wild things.** Just outside of Gonzales I spotted a murmuration of starlings. Well, that's what I think it was anyway. The flock moved, came together, split, moved back again, and streamed across this rolling farmland. I drove about a quarter mile and turned around. They were still moving across the sky. I took some video and then tried (and failed) to take a few stills.

An hour or so earlier I had seen at least 6 groups of migrating Sandhill Cranes outside of Lockhart - well over 100 birds (And, no, I didn't get any photos. I was driving 85 mph on the tollway. By the time I could slow down and find a safe place to stop, they were long gone). Clearly birds were on the move. I wonder how much I've missed over the years, not knowing what I was looking at.

My murmuration.

I didn't stop again except for stoplights and stop signs, reaching the house in time to says "hello" and fall into bed.

On Thursday we headed down to our hometown for scholarship interviews at the high school. "The decision might be easier if we get to know the students a little," we thought. Sure. We spent two hours interviewing such lovely, talented and compassionate young people. It was an emotional and inspiring morning, but the decision won't be any easier.

Then we visited with friends,*** had lunch, fed the birds, photographed flowers, dropped off a check, went to the courthouse,**** and then headed back north to our mother's hometown that my sister now calls home. We were back before dark and, after reviewing our notes, visited with our brother by phone. A decision was made.*****

Friday saw us headed to the park - to the wild. My sister volunteers here and the staff just waives her in the gate.

She gave me a tour - the pollinator garden that she and and 4 other women have worked so hard to get back in shape, the campgrounds, and the nature trail where she has led informal hikes and identified species of plants. She has revamped the trail guide and will oversee new signage - and lead more formal hikes this fall.

We took photos, visited with the photography club members who were preparing for an event, and stopped in awe as 25 to 30 Indigo buntings flew across a clearing. Neither of us had ever seen these beauties in the wild before. They really are bright blue...like big blue crows.

I gathered a few False Dandelion seeds for a wildflower grower, slipped them into a small plastic bag, and pocketed them.****** And we finished the hike with plans for future exploration of this property.

The park is a spot where there is a confluence of Post Oak Savannah and Gulf Coast Prairie and South Texas Plains. Here are a few of the sights from our few days together:

It's Slim Milkweed - a new variety for me. I would like to say I am a milkweed expert and spied this from the car. In reality - I was taking photos of a coreopsis and saw the tiny blooms. I'm trying to be mindful of the " little guys" - tiny wildflowers that are ignored - so I stopped to take their photo. That little voice in my head had an argument - I think this is a milkweed! Really? But it is so tiny! Look at it.  It it almost a teeny-tiny antelope horns. It IS a milkweed.

My sister with her garden at the park. You cannot imagine what this looked like before.

We call this briar rose - AKA Macartney's Rose just outside of Woodsboro. I have wanted to stop for a photo for a while now. We took the time.

I can see this would be a problem in the pasture. This is another "I don't remember this from my childhood - because I would have fallen in it."

If you look closely you can tell this is a egret/heron/whatever rookery. We will need to take a boat to see a little closer. Don't worry. We know not to bother the nesting birds.

Someone built a small twig structure in the woods. I guess it's a kind of fairy house.

Woolly bear...from some kind of moth.

If I lived here there would be mulberry pie...

...and wild grape jelly...

...and dewberry preserves...

...and bitter orange marmalade. So I guess it is a good think I don't live here. I'd be working too hard. It's best to just see them and move along.

There were loads of bouquets left unpicked, but enjoyed in the field.

The usual suspects showed themselves so I could feel some confidence - here the bushy bluestem pointed out a damp spot in the meadow.

I do envy my sister this park...but I can come down for a visit and share it...any time I like.

I'll be back to bird watch in the blinds.

I'll be back to discover unfamiliar wildflower.

I'll be back to try to keep up with my sister...

...and enjoy an informal guided hike or two.

But I ain't weeding no garden.

We took our time on Saturday morning. We would be meeting DH, our brother, and his family back in our hometown for lunch and then our nephew's wedding reception. We did not all arrive at the same time so some of us ate and headed back to walk along the field where we found milkweed two days before.  I needed to count the plants and wanted to see if I could obtain a specimen (but only if there were a number of plants).

I had to zoom a bit so that the lovely little flowers showed on this milkweed.

There were 6 Slim Milkweed plants. I also found insects here so I need to edit my observations.

As we watched for the small (really tiny) milkweed plants we spied ladybugs. We had been challenged last October to report observations of ladybugs from San Patricio County. And here they were - all along the edge of the field - mostly on the sunflower plants. We took photos and laughed as we raced to post these observations. Were we the first? Maybe. But it doesn't really matter. We were happy enough to respond to the challenge - together.

A ladybug...in San Patricio County.

This is kinda posed, but whatever.

Another ladybug.

Yet another ladybug. I think we know how to find them.

I think we were ready to get in the car (there were a number of big, mean-looking, barking dogs). I mostly took this photo so I would know where we found the milkweed - so we would know where to come look next year.

The rest of the day was spent visiting and celebrating with family and friends.

And then we were done - until the next time.

After a busy day, it's time for a burger and shake.

NOTES:

* It's a "Moosie" thing - I inherited this talent from him. Certainly I have shared how Daddy always ran into someone he knew. A trip to the post office could take hours...and don't stop at the road-side park. He will have a friend there as well.

**I stop for egrets and herons, among other things.

*** We ran into one couple at breakfast AND at lunch. I shook my finger at them when they walked into the restaurant at noon and accused them of stalking us. But it's a small town and not hard to do.

****We stopped to see one friend who wasn't there (we left her a message - "Tag, you're it!"). We thought we would stop and see one of the judges who is also a friend and once our mother's neighbor. She was on the bench, but finishing up so we got to spend a little time with her. Then we talked about where things had been when we were children - the public library was in the basement and we played in the halls. A name on an office stopped us. Didn't we know that kid? Wasn't he "little DW" who was in our brother's grade? Well, we left a message for him too and his clerk took our photo. And it was obviously time to reign in the wild women for the day.

*****I want to win the lottery so we can award more scholarships. It is just painful to have to choose only one.

****** As I sat posting observations to iNaturalist I noticed I had a few bug bites. Then I noticed a few more and the itch that can only mean RED BUGS. A hot bath took care of me and a hot wash took care of my clothes. But the washer also took care of papers in my wallet and the seeds in my pocket. I had been in such a hurry to deal with the critters that I forgot to empty my pocket of more than my phone and keys.

A FINAL NOTE:

There had to be an amphibian. You knew that.

Gulf Coast Toad

It was a medium sized toad.

How could you not love that face?

I've been reading that the males have a yellow throat. So this would be a female.