
Field Notes
exerts from From Garland Online
http://www.garlandonline.com/news.cfm?article=4177
2005 Archives
Fire at Spring Creek Preserve (12/31/05)
Firefighters spent over three hours
extinguishing a grass fire in the Spring Creek Preserve. The Park is located
just off
Correction: Not a Sharp-shinned but a Coopers Hawk from Barbara Keeler based on thinner dark streaks on breast and belly versus the more coarse brown streaks characteristic of the Sharp-Shinned. Thanks Derek!
Post Christmas BIrd Count:
December 19:
Thanks to all of you who volunteered your efforts for the National Audubon Society's Christmas Bird Count at Lake Ray Hubbard yesterday. Although it is not yet official, we had 124 species of birds on Count Day! This is another record!
Lake Ray Hubbard Count List (pdf format)
How little most people know about beetles and the people who collect and classify them. Anyone want to volunteer to start a beetle list for Spring Creek Forest?
Date:Mon, 12 Dec
2005 15:39:23 -0600
> From: Mike Quinn <Mike.Quinn@TPWD.STATE.TX.US>
> Subject: [TX-BUTTERFLY] ...quite possibly the most skilled beetle collector of
modern times....
> To:
TX-BUTTERFLY@LISTSERV.UH.EDU
>
> There's a *most* remarkable obituary in the current volume of The
Coleopterists Bulletin. I can only transcribe a small portion of it here...
>
> -----------------------------------------------
>
> Carlton, C.E, D.S. Chandler, R.A.B. Leschen, E.G. Riley, & P.E. Skelley.
> 2005. Obituary and Dedication. Karl Heinz Stephan
> 1931-2005. The Coleopterists Society, 59(3): 277-283.
>
> This issue is dedicated to the memory of Karl Heinz
> Stephan, from the small town of Red Oak in Latimer County, Oklahoma,
> who passed away in June 2005 of an apparent heart attack.
>
> He was quite possibly the most skilled beetle collector of modern times.
>
> ... his true talent was knowing exactly where and how to collect
> specimens of reputedly rare species. He had an uncanny ability to
> capture some of the rarest and most obscure beetle species in North
> America by doing nothing more than waling into his front yard and
> rustling a patch of moldy hay into a pan or flipping frocks during just
> the right conditions. He would explain that the [2] new species of rove
> and ground beetlesfrom a particular hillside could only be taken
> beneath large rocks during or just following a torrential downpour. To
> this day he is probably the only parson who has collected specimens of
> those species, and how he figured these things out in the first place is
> simply remarkable.
>
> His 30 years in rural Latimer County were spent collecting, which has
> made this county one of the most thoroughly documented pieces of real
> estate in the U.S. for beetle diversity. At last count, he had recorded
> 3,516 species based on ~52,500 specimens that comprised one of
the last
> donation to the Texas A&M Insect Collection.
>
> -----------------------------------------------
> Yahoo! map marking Red Oak, OK in eastern OK:
>
http://tinyurl.com/be8mm
>
> Note, the 3,516 species of beetles that Stephan
> documented from one county in Oklahoma is almost exactly two times the
> number of butterfliesdocumented from all of Mexico.
December 16:
Barbara Keeler mailed us an interesting story observation from Plano... the "Rat Snack":
We've had rats in the neighborhood lately and people are trying all sorts of techniques to get rid of them. Here's mine, a sharp shinned hawk. He was actually picking apart a rat on my fence yesterday! (she finally saw the tail and rat feet as he lifted his prey after these photos were taken)
Thanks, Barbara!
Work Day Dec 3 - Thanks to all for participating in our work day of marking a new trail (1,100 feet), maintaining trails, and meeting with Tom Frey about potential scenic overlook restoration. Interesting flora and fauna encountered this morning were ruby-crowned kinglet, Chinese photinia (an escape), and a Wahoo or Strawberry bush (Eunymus atropurpurea). Work day crew below enjoyed a mild sunny morning at 1770 Holford Road.


Scenic Overlook discussion with Tom Frey, City of Garland.
Wahoo or Burning Bush and showy seed capsules. Many native plants were once used and to a small degree today for herbal remedies. This species was even used as a heart medicine.
Late 1920's car body used for erosion control a gully near Spring Creek
can be seen by one of the trails.
Added Red Flag warning map since fire danger is high and we have reports of vandals making small fire pits in several locations on the Forest.
Black-throated Blue and Chesnut-sided Warblers reported in metroplex
images by Brian Gibbons:
Added Debbie Deese's new Life on the Creek Blog
.
Nov. 26, 2005
Morning images of Spring Creek cloudy and drizzle. Although the severe drought continues (less than 20 inches of precipitation for the year), localized fall colors can be found!
left to right: bur oak, chinkapin oak, shummard's oak, Buckley oak, unusual white withered leaves of a boxelder with shummard's oak seedling in foreground.
Nov. 6, 2005
Images from Spring Creek Nature Area (Richardson, TX)
Nov. 5, 2005
The Connemara Conservancy held a bird walk today at the Spring Creek Park Preserve (1787 Holford Road) as Society members did Ligustrum sinense (Chinese Privet) control of on the Forest at 1770 Holford Road. Thanks to all for their efforts...Gayland, Mike, Barbara and our Society, and Derek !!!
Derek compiled the following list:
Double-crested
Cormorant - 4 flyovers
Great Blue Heron - 1 in creek
Turkey Vulture - 2
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 2
Cooper's Hawk - 2
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 3
Rock Dove
Mourning Dove
White-winged Dove - 25 flyovers
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 3
Downy Woodpecker - 1
Northern Flicker - 3
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher - 1 flyover
Blue Jay
American Crow
Carolina Chickadee
Carolina Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet - 5
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 3
Hermit Thrush - 1
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
Brown Thrasher
American Pipit - 2 flyovers
European Starling
Orange-crowned Warbler - 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 5
Northern Cardinal
Spotted Towhee - 1
probable Spotted X Eastern Towhee hybrid - 1
Field Sparrow - 2
Vesper Sparrow - 1
Song/Lincoln's Sparrow - 1
White-throated Sparrow - 15
Dark-eyed Junco - 1
Great-tailed Grackle
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
?? Pine Sisken - 1 flyover
American Goldfinch - 2
House Finch - 10
Nov. 2, 2005
Added fall photos of Duck Creek in Garland - refer to Image page.
Derek forwards this report:
Oct. 31, 2005
Phorid Flies Found in North Texas
Writer: Janet Gregg, (972)
952-9232,j-gregg@ag.tamu.edu
Contact: Kim Engler, (972)
952-9221,k-engler@tamu.edu
DALLAS - Entomologists have achieved another milestone in the war against the
red imported fire ant. This month phorid flies, a natural enemy of
fire ants, were found on the county line between Denton and Wise counties.
The first population of the fire ant's natural enemy in North Texas, this colony
is also the northernmost establishment of a phorid fly population in Texas to
date. The same phorid fly species, P. curvatis, was found in Oklahoma after a
release and has since crossed the Texas/Oklahoma state line.
This milestone didn't occur naturally or by accident. In the fall of 2004, Texas
Cooperative Extension entomologists Kim Engler and Dr. Bart Drees, with help
from local Master Gardeners and Master Naturalists,spent three weeks collecting
fire ants.
The ants were then shipped to Gainesville, Fla., for one week. The USDA's Animal
and Plant Health Inspection Service deposited the ants into chambers that also
contained
phorid flies. Over the course of that week, the female flies laid their eggs
inside the thoracic region of the fire ants. The ants were then flown back to
North Texas and re-released into the colonies from which they were originally
collected.
"This parasitic fly lays its eggs inside a fire ant worker," Engler said. "The
larvae eats its way into the head capsule and eventually decapitates the ant. It
then completes its development in the fire ant's head and emerges from there
fully grown. If it's a female, it will mate then start the whole process over
again. The entire
process takes about one month."
full text:
http://agnews.tamu.edu/dailynews/stories/ENTO/Oct3105b.htm
Week of Oct. 30
Oct. 30 Drought continues at Spring Creek and north central Texas, the dryest since 1956 with less than 20 inches of precipitation. In spite of these conditions fall colors are developing!
Oct. 12
Monarch butterflies are migrating through on their way to overwinter in Mexico! A few dozen were seen flying over Spring Creek Preserve late this afternoon as well as in Richardson. For more information about the migration refer to the Dallas County Lepidopterists' Society website at: http://www.dallasbutterflies.com/
Marvin French found this lily species on the lower banks of Spring Creek . Its the non-native Red Spider Lily, Lycoris radiata and is most likely an escape from someone's yard or nursery upstream.
Sept. 11 Hal's mantid friend appeared at our work day as we pulled up Johnson Grass in the parking oval at 1770 Holford Road. After trying to figure out what it was...and initially he thought it was a walking stick...it was identified as a Brunner's Mantid (Brunneria borealis), and it is a female. Males are unknown for this species. Hopefully other photos of this interesting insect will be submitted to Bugguide, etc.. to add a new genus and species for their site and to help other folks ID their own finds. Thanks Steven for identifying this specimen!
Brian Gibbon's photo of a rare Worm-Eating Warbler banded at Heard Museum is posted on Derek's Birding Texas site
James Rusk sent us recent images from Spring Creek. Thanks James!
Added Images of Beck's Branch Creek, a tributary to Rowlett Creek north of Spring Creek. This is perhaps the most scenic stream in the area. Thanks Debbie D. for showing me the place!! See images. Debbie Deese's images can be found at http://www.hotwiredwebs.com/Gallery%20Menu/default.html
Fall Migrants:
Sept 5
Derek & Jack Hill
Arapaho Park Blue-winged , Yellow, Black-and-White, Mourning Warblers, and Bell's Vireo
Prairie Creek Park Black-and-White, Wilson's, Yellow, Mourning, Great-Crested Flycatcher, Pewee
Late August-early Sept:
Brian Gibbons reported that fall warblers and other migrants are coming through Arapaho and Prairie Creek Parks in Richardson. Among species spotted were Canada, Mourning, Parula Warblers, Restart, and Olive-Sided Flycatcher.
Bird and Wildflower Walk:
|
September 21 (6:00 pm) Bird and
Wildflower Walk led by MN Jim Varnum
Join Texas Master Naturalist Jim Varnum on a 90-minute walk through the Spring Creek Park Preserve prairie to look for fall migrating birds and fall wildflowers. Jim can not only identify the birds and wildflowers, but he has lots of stories to connect these them to the natural world. Attendees should see the newly-discovered Liatris glandulosa. SCPP is located at 1787 Holford Rd in Garland. Holford runs from Arapahoe Rd. to Pres. George Bush Tpke. Coming from Arapahoe, it’s on the left side. |
August:
Derek Hill reports
Texbirders,
This morning Ross Rassmussen, Brian Gibbons, and I birded Hagerman NWR in
Grayson County. It was an exciting day, with 21 species of shorebirds and a
couple goodies, the best being an immature BROWN PELICAN. First seen flying with
a couple hundred White Pelicans, then later was swimming alone and feeding in
the pond off O Pad. MARBLED GODWIT and OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER were also notable
migrants. With the recent rains, lake level has risen and flooded out the good
shoreline, but there were two good ponds full of birds around O and P pads.
Highlights from today:
Brown Pelican - 1 immature swimming in pond at O pad White-faced Ibis - 9,
scarce this season Blue-winged Teal ~20+ recently arrived Broad-winged Hawk - 1
off I-75 north of McKinney, probably a migrant
Shorebirds:
Black-bellied Plover – 1
Semipalmated Plover – 6+
Killdeer – plenty
Black-necked Stilt – 3
Am Avocet – 7
G Yellowlegs – 1, scarce this season
L Yellowlegs – 30
Willet – 7, high count for a typically uncommon migrant Spotted Sandpiper – 2-3
Upland – 10-15 Marbled Godwit – 1, rare migrant Semip Sandpiper – 200, mostly
juv Western Sandpiper – 25-30+, all juv Least Sandpiper – 125, good mix of ad/juv
Baird’s Sandpiper – 30-40, mix of ad/juv Pectoral – 20+ Stilt Sand – 50
Buff-breasted Sand – 2 ad LB Dowitcher – 5+ SB Dowitcher – 1 juv Wilson’s
Phalarope – 75
Forster's Tern - 1
Black Tern - 30+
Least Tern - 30+
White-winged Dove - 200, large number for this area Olive-sided Flycatcher - 1,
FOS Bank Swallow - 1 Yellow Warbler - 15
Good birding,
Derek Hill
Richardson, TX
Eric Hansen has sent us photos of fossils which he found in spring creek and needs help identifying them.. refer to bookmark on fossil page.
Jim Varnum reports:
D Magazine lists White Rock Lake, Village Creek Drying Beds, Spring Creek Park Preserve, and Prairie Creek Park as best places to bird in the metroplex.
Texbirders,
We've had a decent weekend for shorebird migrants through North Central TX.
Total shorebird count for the weekend, including a Marbled Godwit at Village
Creek on Friday (Greg Cook) and Keith Lockhart's Sanderling at Lewisville,
totaled around 23 species.
Saturday 8/6 while birding with Thomas Riecke, Greg Cook, Ross Rassmussen, and
Brian Gibbons, we had 19 species of shorebirds at Hagerman NWR. There was one
really good pond with mudflats that had 200-300 birds on it. Not huge numbers
but good diversity:
Franklin's Gull - 1 early juv./1st winter
Black-bellied Plover – 1 breeding pl. male Semip Plover ~ 10+ Killdeer
Black-necked Stilt <5 American Avocet – 1 full breeding pl.
G Yellowlegs – 2-3+
L Yellowlegs – 10-20
Solitary Sandpiper - 2+
Willet - 2
Spotted Sandpiper – 2-3+
Upland – 5-10 overhead
Semip. Sand - 10's
Western - handful
Least - 10's
Baird’s – 5-10
Pectoral - 10
Stilt Sand. – 10+ inc ~2 juv
Buff-breasted – 4-5
LB Dowitcher – 3+
Passerine migrants:
"Traill's" Flycatcher - 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatchers - 5+ tough to tell if these are migrants Bell's Vireo - 1
Yellow Warbler - 1
Then today 8/7 Brian and I birded around Lake Tawakoni where we ran into Ron
Baltzegar. Not many shorebirds on the lake shore, but Ron spotted a very cool
Piping Plover on the mudflats out from the SRA HQ. Today's list from Tawakoni
includes:
PIPING PLOVER - 1 unbanded juv.
Killdeer
L Yellowlegs - 1-2
Solitary Sandpiper ~ 20
Willet - 3-5
Spotted Sandpiper ~ 20
Upland - 1 flyover
Least - 10's
Pectoral - 10+
Stilt Sand. - 3-5
LB Dowitcher - 2
Wilson's Phalarope - 1
Other migrants found today:
Ring-billed Gull - a handful including a sharp-looking scaly juvenile with all
black bill, a recent arrival Least Tern - 1+ Black Tern ~ 10 "Traill's"
Flycatcher - 3-5 in addition to a couple Acadians that have been around all
summer Northern Parula - 2 1st year birds, possibly migrants Yellow-throated
Warbler - 1 prob. not a migrant Swainson's Warbler - 1 not a migrant but one of
the breeding birds Yellow Warbler - 6+ Summer Tanager - 2-3 prob. migrants
Dickcissel - 1 calling overhead Orchard Oriole - 1 HO
Good birding,
Derek Hill
Richardson, TX
http://nctexasbirding.com
Week of July 10:
Texas Rat Snake seen on trail Thursday, July 14th
Week of June 26:
Added section on gilgai on Blackland Prairie page
Google Earth is released, a downloadable program that "...puts a planet's worth of imagery and other geographic information right on your desktop" The Society doesn't officially endorse companies or software, but this image program is noteworthy and free! Below is an image of the 3/4 mile concrete trail at Spring Creek Forest (Lee F. Jackson Spring Creek Forest Preserve), with the parking lot in the top edge of the image......
left to right: Bushy Skullcap (Scutellaria wrightii), Texas Plume(Ipomopsis rubra), American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) , Buffalo-Bur (Solanum rostratum)
Week of June 19:
Added land and water associations to link page (Organizations)
Jim Varnum observed the following species in bloom at Spring Creek during his June visits:
Thanks Jim!
Dicliptera brachiata False mint
Cirsium undulatum Wavy-leaf thistle
Helianthus hirsutus Rough-leaf sunflower
Silphium radula Rough-stem rosinweed
Vernonia baldwinii Western ironweed
Silene stellata Whorled silene
Stillingia texana Queen’s delight
Dalea compacta var. pubescens Showy prairie clover
Dalea multiflora White prairie clover
Desmodium tweedyi Tweedy’s tick trefoil
Hedeoma reverchonii var. reverchonii Rock hedeoma (lemon scented)
Verbena sp. (Don’t know, working on it)
Week of June 5:
Plant list updated
Added Yarrow (Achillea millefolium )
Inadvertently left off Box-elder (Acer negundo)
Week of May 8:
Prairie Creek
Reported yesterday (Saturday May 14) at Prairie Creek....I saw no less than 14 birders yesterday at Prairie Creek Park. Yellow, Tennessee, Magnolia, Blackburnian, Canada, Hooded, Redstart, Ovenbird, Black and White, Chestnut-sided, Black throated Green, Blackpoll, and Mourning Warblers. Activity seemed to pick up around 10:30am for a few hours. Also sighted...Orchard Oriole (pair), Nighthawk (roosting), Philadelphia Vireo, Warbling Vireo, several species of flycatchers.
Thu. May 12
I birded Prairie Creek Park with my dad this afternoon 12:30-3:30pm. Prairie
Creek is in Richardson, on the border of Dallas and Collin Counties. We managed
to find 14 warbler species, the best being a female CERULEAN WARBLER. She
was seen from the east trail, south of the footbridge, a bit north of the old
well, in some willows over the creek that were full of vines (grape, VA creeper,
poison ivy). She was in the company of Magnolia, Tennessee, Nashville, and
Magnolia Warblers and a Blue-headed Vireo. Here's the list of today's migrants:
E. Wood-Pewee - 1
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher - 1, FOS
Blue-headed Vireo - 2
Swainson's Thrush - 1
Tennessee Warbler - 1
Nashville - 1
Yellow - 4
Chestnut-sided - 1
Magnolia - 4+
Black-throated Green - 2
Blackpoll - 1 female
Blackburnian - 1
CERULEAN - 1 female
Am. Redstart - 4
Ovenbird - 2+
Com. Yellowthroat - 1
Wilson's Warbler - 1-2
Canada Warbler - 1
Yesterday in addition to many of the warblers seen today we had:
Olive-sided Flycatcher - 1
Gray-cheeked Thrush - 2
Yellow-breasted Chat - 1
Mourning Warbler - 3
Black-and-white Warbler - 4
N. Waterthrush - 2
Good birding,
Derek
----------------
Derek Hill
Richardson, TX
http://nctexasbirding.com
Thanks to Phil May for sharing his recent field experience with a Bobcat!!....
...was walking the Spring Creek Forest Trail
Sunday afternoon the 8th at about 3:45 when I spotted what I believe to be
bobcat. I had started from the parking lot (west of Holford Rd) heading north
to the trail. I went past the park bench and followed the trail north for about
50 - 75 yards. I was walking slowly and quietly so as not to flush birds
around the twists and bends on the trail ahead. My encounter probably lasted
about 3-4 seconds. When I first spotted him he was moving along the side of the
trail around a bend and was heading my way. At first, I only saw patches of
brown and black through the leaves about 25 feet away. As we approached each
other I could see more of it and I thought it might be a medium to small size
dog coming my way, but it wasn't moving like a dog. At that point the cat
stopped and crouched, and I could see the top half of its body but not its head.
It was mostly light to medium brown. I was continuing to move slowly forward
when it jumped off of the trail and into the woods. As it leaped I got a good
look at its head and body. It was clearly a feline head, and larger than any
house cat I've ever seen. It had a brown body with black markings, especially
around the head and ears. By the time I had realized that this is something I
might want to take a picture of, it had vanished.
My second encounter that afternoon, was with a
small rat snake by the side of one of the creek view inlets off of the main
trail. This time I got a picture. He was about 16-20 inches long and seemed
quite happy to sit still and have his portrait made.
Spring Field Reports for Birds
Week of May 1:
Prairie Creek Park, Richardson
Neotropical migrants are good viewing this week!
Date: Fri, 6
May 2005 12:45:05 -0500 (CDT)
> From: Peter F Assmann
> Subject: Prairie Creek
Blackburnian Warbler 2
Blackpoll Warbler 2
Bay-breasted Warbler 1-2
Ovenbird 1
Northern Waterthrush 1
Tennessee Warbler 5+
Nashville Warbler 8+
Yellow Warbler 3+
Philadelphia Vireo 1
Red-eyed Vireo 1
Blue-headed Vireo 1
Summer Tanager 1
Least Flycatcher 1
Baltimore Oriole 1
Swainson's Thrush 5+
Gray-cheeked Thrush 1
Wood Duck 3ad + 8y
Green Heron 1
Texbirders,
After last night's rain there were several birders checking Prairie Creek Park
today. Most evident was a big influx of Tennessee and Nashville Warblers. Here's
today's list of migrants from Prairie Creek Park in Richardson, Dallas/Collin
Counties (may have missed
some):
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 1, chasing a warbler E. Wood-Pewee - 2 Least
Flycatcher - 1 Great Crested Flycatcher - several House Wren - 1 Gray-cheeked
Thrush - 1 Swainson's Thrush - 8+ Red-eyed Vireo - 1 Blue-headed Vireo - 1
Warbling Vireo - 4 Philadelphia Vireo - 1 Tennessee Warbler - 50+ Nashville
Warbler - 40+ Northern Parula - 1-2 Yellow Warbler - 10 Myrtle Warbler - 3
Black-throated Green Warbler - 2 seen by other observers Bay-breasted Warbler -
1 reported by Mike Moore Blackpoll Warbler - 1 at 9am by Peter Assmann
Black-and-white Warbler - 10 American Redstart - 1 Ovenbird - 3 N. Waterthrush -
2 Mourning Warbler - 1 Common Yellowthroat - 3 Canada Warbler - 1 seen by other
observers Summer Tanager - 1 Indigo Bunting - 1 Painted Bunting - 2 Clay-colored
Sparrow - 1 Lincoln's Sparrow - 1 White-throated Sparrow - 1 Baltimore Oriole -
1
Good birding,
Derek
Dale Clark corrected our listing of purple milkweed in the Newsletter. This was an error and has been corrected to Two-flower Milkvine. Thanks Dale.
We found a small strip of native prairie plants along N. Collins Blvd. near the Collins Water
Tower in Richardson on May 2:
Left to right: Indian Blanket with Antelope Horns, Yellow Flax and Skullcaps, Purple Coneflower, Goatsbeard, Queen Anne's Lace,
Sundrops, Missouri Primrose
Green Dragon (colony at Prairie Cr. Park)
Giant Leopard Moth (Prairie Cr. Park)
Week of April 24th:
Today's
migrants April 30, 2005
w/ GCook, JHill, DHill
Arapaho Park
-------
Least Flycatcher - 2-3
Orange-crowned Warbler - 1-2
Nashville Warbler
Yellow Warbler - 1, FOS
Myrtle Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler - 1
Northern Waterthrush - 1, FOS
Lincoln's Sparrow - 1
Am. Goldfinch - 5
Pine Sisken - 1, gettin late
Dickcissel - 2 HO, FOS
Prairie Creek
-------
Cooper's Hawk - 1 hunting along creek
Swainson's Thrush - 1-2
VEERY - 1, possibly of darker western race
Tennessee Warbler - 1, FOS
Nashville Warbler - 15
Yellow Warbler - 2
Myrtle Warbler
Ovenbird - 1-2
Dickcissel - 1 singing from pecan tree
Chipping Sparrow - 2-3
White-throated Sparrow - 2
Good birding,
Derek
Birding report from White Rock Lake, located south of Spring Creek but part of the same Trinity River system....
Heeding Gibbons'
advice to check the mulberries at the
north end of White Rock Lake, I went out there this
afternoon after the storms to see what was around.
Birds seemed to be pretty active during the overcast
and light drizzle, but after the sun came out it was
quiet. TONS of fruiting mulberry out there, so it
will be good to check this spring for thrushes,
tanagers, grosbeaks, etc. Migrants from this afternoon
include:
Broad-winged Hawk - 1
Franklin's Gull - 50
Great Crested Flycatcher - 2
W. Kingbird - 8
E. Kingbird - 40+
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher - 10
House Wren - 2-3
Swainson's Thrush - 10
Gray Catbird - 1
Cedar Waxwing - 100+ eating mulberry
Warbling Vireo - 2-3
Orange-crowned Warbler - 4
Myrtle Warbler - 5
Summer Tanager - 1
Indigo Bunting - 1
Chipping Sparrow - 6
Lark Sparrow - 1
Savannah Sparrow - 2
LeConte's Sparrow - 1
Lincoln's Sparrow - 25+
White-throated Sparrow - 3
Orchard Oriole - 2
Baltimore Oriole - 5+
Good birding all,
Derek
Week of April 17th:
At the end of our bird walk today, we all looked into the eastern sky and witnessed this beautiful rainbow Mare's Tail....formed when ice crystals in the cirrus cloud reflect sunlight like a prism....the sun angle has to be just right !!!
James Rusk sends us this photo of a Wild Hyacinth...thanks James! Another
common name further east is Eastern Cammas and Atlantic Cammas. The plants
grow in quite dense clusters, and it is not known what mechanism initiates a new
colony. Individual plants usually live longer than twenty years, and colonies are
made up of plants of mixed ages. The starchy bulbs are edible and were likely
used as a source of food by native people and early European settlers. (Source:http://www.speciesatrisk.gc.ca )

Week of April 10th:
The following reflects notes by Jack Hill and not necessarily those of the Society:
Update on Dexham Marsh: The City of Rowlett approved zoning changes which could allow future development of Dexham Marsh and adjacent blackland prairie near Norma Dorsey Elementary School in Rowlett. Construction of a 130 home residential area (Lake Hill) could begin as early as September of this year along with 8,300 feet of 6-10' concrete paths throughout this unique wetland/prairie complex. Refer to Dexham Marsh page photos and information... Please help preserve this unique area near Springfield Park in Rowlett!!!
Notable species in flower: Puccoon, New Jersey tea, Crow poison, Texas paintbrush, Prairie verbena, Wild hyacinth, Slender-stemmed hymenoxes, Coral honeysuckle, Buffalo plum, Southern dewberry, Meadow flax
Week of Mar 27th:
James Rusk sent us a photo of a Mournful Thyris (Syris sepulchralis). This daytime
moth is often mistaken for a small butterfly as it nectars in the spring and summer.

Week of Mar 13th:
Violet Wood-Sorrell, Tiger Beetle (sp?), Golden Groundsel, Redbud
Week of Mar 6th:
Field, chipping, song, white-throated sparrows, eastern bluebirds (pair), purple finch (2 females...male seen in same area 9 days ago)
Spring Coral Root Corallorrhiza wisteriana
Pycnoporus cinnabarinus
"Many-colored polypore" Trametes versicolor
Old bloom on Trout Lily
Spring Creek Preserve - prairie
Week of Feb 28th:
Clean Up Day, March 5...thanks to all, including the Garland Parks and Recreation folks Frank Hansen and Donald Cartwright, for successfully removing 35 old tires and other solid wastes like bottles and cans this morning!
click to enlarge...
Spring Creek
Park Preserve
2/28/05 3:00-4:30pm
---------
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Ring-billed Gull
American Crow
Carolina Chickadee
Cedar Waxwing
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Spotted Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Harris's Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
American Goldfinch
PURPLE FINCH - 2
===========
Moths
-----------
Grapevine Epimenis - 1-2
===========
Butterflies
-----------
Orange Sulphur
Dainty Sulphur
White M Hairstreak
Question Mark
Red Admiral
===========
Plants
-----------
Trout Lily - blooming
Coralroot Orchid - almost blooming
Forestiera - blooming
fern sp. - probably Athyrium sp. or Thelypteris sp.
Saturday, Feb. 27
Trout Lily Walk images....
Tom Frey. landscape architect for the Garland Parks and Recreation Department, leads participants through Spring Creek Forest explaining the forest community, its use by earlier cultures, and presents a fascinating account well worth hearing.

Above: Trout Lily with mottled leaves in background.
Field Report from a Rio Grande Valley trip:
http://nctexasbirding.com/lrgv05.htm

Feb. 19 weekend:
James Rusk visited the Preserved and sent us these beautiful images...including an early blooming Trout Lily (left) Viola missouriensis or Viola sororia or possible hybrid (middle) Crow Poison (right). Click thumbnails to enlarge:
Jan. 15 New Texas Entomology Web Pages
January 11
Derek reports on the new sport of "phonescoping"
surfbirds.com
has a cool article about 'phonescoping',
an offshoot of digiscoping. some of the photos are
pretty dang good for a phone
http://www.surfbirds.com/Features/phonescoping/nokia7610review/nokia7610review.html
and all these were taken with phones:
http://www.surfbirds.com/easymoblog/
also, someone has a young male Anna's Hummingbird
coming to their feeder in Ft. Worth if you want to
check it out... see pics at
http://www.lynnbarber.com/id34.html
=====
Derek Hill
Richardson, TX
kinglet32@yahoo.com
http://nctexasbirding.com
Anyone wanting to contribute their observations or photos from Spring Creek Forest or Preserve for posting on this
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