January 2017 The Sheldon Lake Spectator

What’s inside?

Interpretation Team....2 Natural Resources .....3 Park Life ...... 4 Program Schedule…..5 At the end of 2016, Parks and Wildlife Department Special Event………...6 announced the recipients of the ‘Stars in the Parks’ awards. This program identifies and recognizes employees, volunteers, and/or teams who provide excellent service to the citizens of Texas. This Important Dates year over 178 employees, teams, volunteers, and partners were 2/2—Groundhog Day recognized in 16 categories. We are happy to announce that some 2/4—Buffalo Soldiers at Sheldon of these award winners are at Sheldon Lake State Park! Here are 2/14—Valentine’s Day our winners: 2/20—Presidents’ Day Interpretation Volunteers -Kelsey Johnson/Hannah Buschert -Libby Kara -Hannah Buschert -Lisa Kolb Leadership -Prairie and Wetland Restoration Team -Sheldon Lake State Park Team -Marissa Sipocz

A major thank you to all those at Sheldon Lake SP that work hard to be the best park we can possibly be. Without all of the support of our amazing volunteers we would not be able to accomplish so much with restoration, education, and guest engagement. We thank you for your hard work, dedication, and passion and cannot wait to see what you will accomplish in 2017!!

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Ranger Cullen moves on! At the end of January we will be saying good-bye to Cullen Ondracek, Sheldon Lake State Park’s Natural Resource Ranger, as he takes a position with the City of Pearland as their Natural Resource Manager. In his time at Sheldon Lake State Park, Cullen has worked to enhance the restoration effort at the park with the prairie and wetland restoration teams by writing and receiving grants, bringing in schools, and special interest groups to plant, pot, and remove invasives. He was also a driving force in developing the birding opportunities within the park including putting together the Big Sit! team for the Great Texas Birding Classic and he was the brains behind the Sheldon Lake Birding League. He contributed regularly to the newsletter and took all the pictures for the ‘Park Life’ section. Cullen will be greatly missed by all as a helpful, knowledgeable, easygoing co-worker, wonderful leader, and a great friend. Good luck in your new position, come back to visit! Winter Bird Count For some, the best way to start off the year is with a Bird Count! On January 7th, volunteers from the Lake Area Nature Club braved the cold to spread out and cover as much of the park as possible in an effort to count birds. Some of these areas included the lake, wooded trails, restored prairie, and all that could be seen from the top of the John Jacob Observation Tower. In 2016, this group identified 87 species. In 2017, on a near-freezing morning and afternoon, this team was able to identify 83 species. This information and other bird counts are important measures of the quality of habitat, monitoring the health and status of our lands, and a good tool for future species checks. Some of the best sightings for the day included: Least Grebe, Great Kiskadee, Vermilion Flycatcher, Bald Eagle, Palm Warbler, Pine Warbler, and several sparrows: Le Conte’s, Chipping, Fox, Savannah, Lincoln’s, Swamp, and White- throated. In addition to completing this yearly survey, the Area Nature Club also leads a monthly bird walk at Sheldon Lake SP on the third Saturday of the month, participates in the Great Texas Birding Classic and other birdy things we come up with! Thank you all for putting on your warm jackets and counting the birds!

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Natural Resources Both prairie and wetland restoration teams have been busy this month potting, planting, and removing invasive species throughout the area. Below are the potted and planted totals for the prairie team:

POTTED PLANTED Big Bluestem Andropogon gerardi 0 Big Bluestem Andropogon gerardi 0 Switchgrass Panicum virgatum 509 Switchgrass Panicum virgatum 135 Eastern Gamagrass Tripsacum dactyloides 594 Eastern Gamagrass Tripsacum dactyloides 594 Yellow Indiangrass Sorghastrum nutans 0 Yellow Indiangrass Sorghastrum nutans 0 Miscellaneous Grasses 1103 Miscellaneous Grasses 0 Total Grasses 1331 Total Grasses 729 Forbs 107 Forbs 0 Total Potted 1438 Total Planted 729 Winter Trout Stocking Each year, the Inland and Coastal Fisheries division of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department stock about 40 million fish in public lakes, ponds, and saltwater areas. In January, Sheldon Lake State Park’s pond 1S was one of these areas and was stocked with 1,001 Rainbow Trout from the East Texas State Fish Hatchery. There are still plenty of fish to catch….unless Glenn gets them all! American YouthWorks—Texas Conservation Corps We were excited to have a crew from the Texas Conservation Corps join us on a cold and rainy day to plant over 200 Overcup Oak trees along the northern side of the park, clean bags of seeds, and trim trails. Texas Conservation Corps works to help youth build skills to help them in their careers and use education, on-the-job training, and service to improve the environment and communities. Thank you all for your hard work and dedication to stewardship!

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Park Life: Here is a collection of our favorites from Ranger Cullen.

Rough Green Snake

Gray Treefrog

Savannah Sparrow Green Lynx Spider with Honey Bee

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Jumping Spider spp.

The Sheldon Lake Spectator 4 Sheldon Lake State Park is open daily from 8:00am-5:00pm and is FREE to the public. Catch-and-release fishing is available in ponds 1S and 2S February Weekly Programs Tuesdays Fridays 3:00pm Leave No Trace Hike 10:00am Junior Explorers (NO PROGRAM 2/28) (NO PROGRAM 2/10, 2/24) Saturdays 11:00am Games are for the birds! (NO PROGRAM 2/4 and 2/18) 3:30pm Arts in the Parks (NO PROGRAM 2/4) Sheldon Lake State Park Special Events Buffalo Soldiers February 4th @ 10:00am-5:00pm Come out to learn all about Blazing New Trails with the Buffalo Soldiers!

Geocaching 101 Fishing Skills February 12th @ 10:00am February 12th @ 1:00pm Come out to complete the Sheldon Lake Let’s work on our knot tying, casting, and State Park Geocache Challenge! fish identification skills in preparation for Great for beginners to advanced. the fishing season!

Bird Walk Spring Break Camps! February 18th @ 8:00am March 14-16th, 2017 Search the trails at Sheldon Lake State Check out our Spring Break Camps flyer Park for some of the birds of Texas. for more details on our day camps!

All programs will meet at the Pond Center. Make sure to bring water, bug spray, binoculars, and closed-toe shoes.

*Like* our page on Facebook for even more events (281) 456-2800 and park updates. Or visit our park website at… 14140 Garrett Road tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/sheldon-lake Houston,The Sheldon Texas Lake Spectator 77044 5

Sheldon Lake State Park and Environmental Learning Center’s Spring Break

Creature Feature Camp March 14-16, 9am-12pm For campers ages 8-12 Stewardship Camp Explore some of the many March 14-16, 8:30am-12pm critters we have at the park! For campers ages 16-18 We will learn how these animals live their lives through Have you ever wondered what crafts, activities, and exploring you can do to help our natural the park! resources? You will have the chance to restore the habitat, be a park steward, AND gain volunteer service hours!

All camps are FREE of charge. Space is limited, so please register soon! Register by emailing [email protected] or calling (281) 456-2800. Deadline is March 3rd at 5:00pm!

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