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 Holford Road behind Naaman Forest High School....Embers from a burning Christmas tree were probably what ignited leaves in a dry creek bed, spreading up the side of the creek and consuming over 10,000sq. ft. of open grassland and underbrush...“It is really dangerous out there right now,” said Captain Smith. “The dry grass and underbrush could ignite easily. Everyone needs to be aware of how dangerous fireworks are during these conditions.”  Burn bans continue in many counties in Texas, including Dallas, Tarrant, Collin and Rockwall County.

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":

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

.

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.

Images from Spring Creek Nature Area (Richardson, TX)

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

Added fall photos of Duck Creek in Garland - refer to Image page.

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

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!

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

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:

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
 

Texas Rat Snake seen on trail Thursday, July 14th

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)

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)

Plant list updated

Added Yarrow (Achillea millefolium )

Inadvertently left off Box-elder (Acer negundo)

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

...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.

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

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....

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 )

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

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.

Violet Wood-Sorrell, Tiger Beetle (sp?), Golden Groundsel, Redbud

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

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...

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

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