Wood Duck Whistler

East Texas Chapter Master Naturalists May 2018 Volume 18, Issue 5

Spring Going Summer Contents Summer is coming, takes place. Most my mom and I were A Beautiful Marriage 2 but spring still holds common was whoolly- going to leave. Well, I white for one with was about to get in the May Book Review 3 on. At least the flowers seem to say so. For fleabane, yellow wood car again when I saw Bird Mortality Rates 4 now. The plants are sorrel, verbena, and a tick crawling across just happy to get some Mimosa species of the back of the seat. Martin Creek State Park 5 rain at all. Soon things some sort—a kind of White spot seemed to ETCMN Information 6 will get toasty for sensitive brier or not— make it a lone star them. growing around as tick, making it a well. Still plenty to find female adult, too. Earlier in the month when you look close. when I was out at Of course, that led to a Keep an eye out there. Tyler State Park I nasty surprise later. We have a few noticed less flowers species and all have growing. Sometime in One season that the possibility of the recent past burns doesn’t quit with carrying some kind of had been done to spring is tick season. unpleasant disease. control the vegetation After I was done Not really funny how and recovery still wearing myself out, often it turns out to be

bity females in ticks held on Thursday, about iNaturalist and much like mosquitoes. May 24. Becky more. Beverly must If you get bit, try to Whisenant spoke have your RSVP because Hideaway is a make sure you can about rocks and take the tick with you minerals. She had controlled access community. Contact quite an impressive when you see a doctor Beverly Guthrie at so they can hopefully array of rocks, [email protected] . rule out something or minerals, and fossils, We will bring our lunches you can get proper too. and drive to a public park treatment. Stuff your or nature preserve pants in your boots Coming up: nearby to enjoy a few and check yourself. hours in the afternoon No reason to quit CAD on June 16 at exploring and using our enjoying the outdoors. 9:30-11:30 AM. It will knowledge of the take place at Hideaway iNaturalist tool. Morning Lake, 3 miles west of AT and afternoon VSH Our last monthly Lindale. We will spend will be given. chapter meeting was the morning learning

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A Beautiful Marriage, For Better or Worse …

I have long thought that signing on to take Master Naturalist This tremendously talented and classes could be compared to enthusiastic Class of 2018 has beginning a marriage or a not skipped a beat in taking what beautiful partnership—one they have learned and using it to agrees to take the good times give back to the community. Hue with the bad. Thankfully, there has taken on leadership of a new are always SO many more good activity to clear trails, install times than bad—especially this signage and generally improve year! The bad, however, came beautiful Faulkner Park in early at the hands of the weather Tyler. Paul is hard at work gods. It became a cruel joke that educating the public about our it must be 6 pm on Tuesday native wildlife and saving wild evening because the heavens Hue Adams and Wanda babies who are injured or Nichols proudly display the repeatedly opened and literally orphaned. Some are working to new signage just installed at POURED right on cue at class identify and document plants Faulkner Park. Note the time for the first two months. found in our parks, wildlife beautiful Mayapples Faithful, but drenched and refuges and campuses. Others bedraggled trainees came week are looking forward to keeping after week to experience the our lakes and rivers clean and

wonderful part of this partnership. healthy through water testing with The classes were so interesting Texas Stream Team. Whatever and fun that few even missed they are doing, and wherever one, for any reason, unless they they are doing it, our new class had to. members are making the organization very proud by Thankfully, after the winter representing ETCMN with great

deluge, the sun came out and the enthusiasm and joyful weather cooperated beautifully service. Congratulations, for all our outdoor classes and welcome and thank you to all the field trips. We are Naturalists and 2018 Class members! it does not surprise that students named the field trips and outdoor By proud Class “Mom”, Beverly classes as their favorite parts of Guthrie the course. Nineteen new The Class of 2018 as follows: members stuck it out through rain (Back row, left to right) or shine, to receive their Steve Niedrauer, Hector permanent name tags and Aguilar, Paul Wick, Kyle certificates of participation at our Wolfe, Buford Lessley, Dave Brakebill, Bob Kudrick, Joe last class celebration. Hunt, Hue Adams

(Front row, left to right) Heather Hall, Jan Barth, Gaynell Doehne, Charlotte Sanders, Wanda Nichols, Vickie Hoppis, Shaun Graham

Not pictured: Connie Ford, Caroline O’bryant, Linda Skinner, Pete Houting

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May Book Review by Lance Homeniuk

The Private Eye Gathering Your more powerful and Signs, Trails, and Materials expensive metal & Wayside Exhibits: By Kerry Ruef, glass jeweler’s loupes Connecting People October, 3rd edition Curriculum Tour in our possible bags. and Places 2003, The Private Eye Project, Seattle, Assessment of the What to look at. This is not a page- WA. Subtitled “(5X) Private Eye Better ask “What turner thriller, but for Looking/Thinking By NOT to look at?” a rare kind of nerd it is interesting, and Analogy” and There is a two page Flowers, seeds, bugs, hopefully useful. I measures 8 ½’ by selected reference of minerals, feathers, admit, I picked it up 11”, this half inch “Best Books across hairs, mosses, shells, at Half price Books thick paperback is the ages”. your hand, preserved more a workbook and specimens, live for $5.99 which is 48 cents less than half guide than something So, what is it all organisms in the out priced Ahahahaha ! to read through. But about? Why is it so of doors, (Rub hands together the reading is special? Well, the manufactured items in avaricial glee). rewarding. Liberally program is of (ever see Velcro up sprinkled with considerable appeal close? How about a It is not quite a inspiring quotations to a naturalist. I have cocklebur? Can you handbook on how to (my favorite is Albert even led a CAD see the similarities? make signs and Einstein’s “The most activity at The Nature Wonder how the first interpretive centers; beautiful thing we can Center based on its one came to be? Now it’s more of a experience is the precepts. The focus is you’ve got the idea!) selected guidebook mysterious. It is the on observing nature of signage, lavishly source of all true art closely, looking at the If you have a journal illustrated with full and" science.”) and tiny wonders we in which to make color photos and a poetry, line drawings, probably overlook, notes, to make few B&W charts. and black & white and meditating on sketches, to jot Examples are photos, my copy also what we perceive. musings, to press shown of trail signs, has multicolored Not “Ommm” things, then you are park signs, highlights from meditation, but ready to go. Sorry, I interpretive signs, repeated perusings thinking deeply, have just worked leaflets and exhibits, and usings. Both my thinking flexibly, myself into a state of just as the title wife and I have taught deriving analogies, motivated action. I am suggests. But there units in school and creating artistic and grabbing my loupe is also a section on summer camps out of literary products, and notepad and hiking trail layout the program. measuring, problem heading out to the and management. solving, and all the springtime garden. Several of our Six sections are titled: other skills of a chapter projects natural philosopher. (Later) I got mine and might benefit from Eye to eye with the And it is centered on my wife got hers at a the information in Private Eye an instrument most of conference years ago here so I am us are already but you can see for selflessly going to Process and Tools familiar with – a yourself on the donate it to the loupe. The program project’s website chapter library. comes with five http://www.theprivate The Interdisciplinary (humble bowing and power plastic loupes, eye.com Mind: close up acknowledgement). but many of us have (continued on p. 5)

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Bird Mortality Rates by Mike Price

I was reading Parade mortality graph America has about 10 magazine recently prepared by Sibley – to 15 billion breeding and found the Marilyn of the Sibley bird birds in the spring column very book fame. I thought and 20 to 30 billion Clip art interesting. For those you might be birds in the fall who are not familiar interested in it. migrations. This with her column, she information comes is a very smart From the below from a Google search person (based on IQ graph, birds have a where there was not tests) and is hard life. With a lot of information, sometimes jokingly windows being the but the article called the World’s biggest problem referenced had about Smartest Woman. followed by feral cats. 10 references as the Anyway, she was I believe the window source of its answering a question information as being information. about why the largest cause of communication bird deaths as we Where all these

towers had red lights. have about 5 bird numbers lead to is Obviously, it is to let strikes a week on my depending on the night flying aircraft house windows and time of year, 5 to 10% know it is there. She about once a month I of bird deaths in went on to explain find a bird carcass at North America are that these towers kill the bottom of a caused by buildings about 50,000,000 window. and feral cats. I had birds a year. She then no idea. proceeded to explain As a point of that the solid red light reference, North was switched to a blinking red light several years ago and the bird deaths have been greatly reduced.

This got me interested in bird death causes and I

did a Google search and found a bird

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Martin Creek State Park interpretive garden project Aug 2017 -Mar 2018

The project to either retired or granite chips, place establish an transferred, mulch in areas that interpretive garden at replacements aren’t will be planted later, the headquarters to expected until and plant at least Martin Creek State summer, and the some of the areas: Park has been a slow remaining staff have butterfly garden, process. On three been stretched thin to native plants, work days we have cover all the essential interpretive area, had 6, 3, and 1 tasks in keeping the wildflowers. Now that volunteers. On that park running. Nic, the hot weather has Chuck tilling the lawn first day work went so head ranger, is arrived we will fast (many hands…) upbeat and patient probably not put in that we spent a little with us. vegetation until fall. time clearing trail on We have talked to the island. We have Last weekend three NPSOT and master managed to cover of us met at the park gardeners advice and approximately 1,000 to lay out the walking have been collecting square feet of lawn path. We painted a plants and seeds with plastic sheets to four foot wide corridor donated by ETCMN kill the St. Augustine on the plastic. When members. Any grass, rototill the gravel or expertise is more ground and rake up decomposed granite than welcome, as I roots, and recover the and edging material have not a green ground. Park staff arrives, we will pack thumb on me. We removed a large tree down the soil along hope to have another at the site and ground the path, edge it, and workday before the up the stump. Two of apply the rock. summer heat sets in. Kris staking down plastic the park staff who we Still to do: edge path, sheets. have talked with have fill it with gravel or by Lance Homeniuk

May Book Review (cont.)

This slim volume (¼’ thick, I leave you with one tidbit: copy paper sized) is authored chapter six “Trails- Corridors by Suzanne Trapp, Michael to Adventure” includes a Gross and Ron Zimmerman. section titled “Designing for It was published by UW_SP Mystery, Variety, Beauty”. Foundation Press, Inc., U of Wisconsin at Stevens Point, Ilene, Hue, Heather – this WI in 1994. It is the fourth of book’s for y’all. the Interpreter’s Handbook Series which includes a guide for nature writers, techniques for programs and presentations, and creating environmental publications. Hmm, looks like something worth pursuing.

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2018 Officers & Monthly Programs Committee Chairs

We meet the Fourth Join us at 6:30 PM Bring a friend, invite Logan Long - President Kathy Riffe - Vice President Thursday for socializing and a guest. Cindy Smith - Secretary Phil Guthrie – Treasurer at The Nature Center let's get to know each Everyone is

Cindy Smith – other before our welcomed. Advanced Training 6:00 to 6:30 PM Approval Beverly Guthrie - AT Special Activity 6:45 PM meeting.

Approval Lindsey Smith – AT Approval Directions and Dues Lance Homeniuk – on the right (West side).

Volunteer Projects East Texas Chapter Turning off Loop 323, Please send $20.00 Approval Master Naturalists turn south onto North individual ($35.00 Mike Price – Volunteer Meeting Facility: State Highway 248, couple) Projects Approval The Nature Center (Also called University Annual Chapter dues Logan Long - Volunteer 11942 FM 848 Boulevard). Turning to: Projects Approval Tyler, Texas 75707- right onto FM 848 (AKA ETCMN Attn: Treasurer Beverly Guthrie – 5234 Bascom Road), the Box 131184 Curriculum Manager Nature Center is located Tyler, TX 75713-1184

Jerry Martin – Database Your news, stories, comments, photos, and Manager & Webmaster ideas are needed. Tell us about where you Mike Price - volunteer and what youʼre doing. Membership Manager Kathy Riffe - Outreach Deadline is the 15th of every month! Tamara Kratzer - Please send items to Tamara Kratzer at Newsletter Editor [email protected]

Kevin Herriman - TPWD ETCMN Webpage Advisor

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