SAVING THE PRAIRIES Part II

The thing that strikes me most each time I return to the prairie is the diversity of grass and forb species in any given section. Just looking out over the land and casually glancing, one might think, "Well, there is a grassy field", and not consider it anything special. But when you actually get out and walk around in a native prairie, when you look closely at the ground and the plants growing there, you find quite a selection. These pictures were taken right at the end of May, 2009. Many of the grasses were starting to put on seeds and most of the spring wildflowers had already bloomed, gone to seed, and died back for the summer. One thing I've learned about prairies from this year-long adventure is when one species puts on a display, the others retreat, but it's never overpowering. It seems to always be extremely subtle and blended. The plants take turns throughout the year, some species popping up and shining and the others resting until it is their season, and on and on, season by season.


On this particular day in May the early summer bloomers were showing their colors, like Texas Thistle (pictured above), Rudebeckia (Black-eyed Susans), the double-tiered Bee Balm (that bees seem to crave), some little white prairie flowers, lots of yellow sun flower-like plants, and a few more that not only could I not name, but I didn't recognize at all (!), like the fuzzy cream colored species with the fern-like leaves (pictured below) -what the heck is THAT?!! In addition to the flowering species and the plants with only dried seed heads left on shriveled stems, I must have counted at least 6 or 7 different species of grasses within my sight, all healthy and bunched up, ready to bloom soon and produce more seeds for the fall. I am sure I missed more than I counted in both grasses and forbs, but that's still a pretty good diversity in just a few short steps into a field. I contrasted that with the two fields of Johnson Grass that I passed on the way to get here today - which basically held 1 species of grass and no other plants.





















































That gentle blending that I've referred to in a native prairie is really a different sort of plant community experience than you get from other natural settings. From my experience observing this particular native Texas prairie over the past 8-10 months, the beauty isn't so obvious that it jumps out at you from a distance. It is so unlike a typical planned garden in a landscaped scenario, where you see large groupings of plant monocultures, all in bloom together at one time. Admittedly, that can be breathtaking, really getting your attention and making you say, "Wow!" But a native prairie is more like observing a whole, balanced, ecosystem, most of the time on a rather small scale, and you almost need to understand a little bit about what you are seeing to appreciate it. And you definately need to get CLOSE if you really want to observe and learn more about it. When you do that you can no longer ignore that what happens there is really is special, natural, and beautiful. And it doesn't happen in very many places anymore either.

So in a few more months this year's prairie adventure will have reached full cycle and my personal prairie observations of fall, winter, spring, and summer will have come to an end. Soon the fall maintenance cutting will take place again. I know without a shred of doubt, that I have only barely scraped the surface of 'prairie-ology' and that in turn has only fired up my desire to know more about these unique plant and wildlife communities. I hope by sharing my prairie adventure with you I have sparked your interest to explore some native prairies in your own section of the world and help to preserve them, wherever you may be!

SAVING THE PRAIRIES - PART I

I have been learning more and more about the great North American prairies and what a treasure they are to us all! I have known for a long time that prairies are special. They host a diversity of plant and insect species. But I don't think I ever really understood the true significance of a prairie nor had I ever really learned much about them until just last year. I feel like I am only beginning my submersion into native prairie education and I am learning interesting facts with each passing season. In my first post I want to share with you some pictures and clips of my first introduction to a native prairie. This fall and winter I was able to experience what it feels like to stand there, all alone, and just listen to the grasses sway. The opportunity came my way when a local resident invited us over to see her prairie remnant. The "Quebe Prairie" as it is called, is a beautiful piece of land maintained and preserved as a native prairie. It is located in Washington County, Texas, just about 1.5 hours west of the sprawling metroplex of the city of Houston. We are lucky to have several remaining prairie remnants in this area and luckier still to have gracious land owners who invite us over to experience them!

I had originally planned to do this prairie post all in one section, but as I started gathering photos, I thought it would really be nice to see the prairie in all different seasons throughout the year. Thus started my prairie posting adventure! It has taken about 4 months so far to gather 2 seasons of pictures! So here are fall and winter pictures, I should have spring and summer pictures soon for Part II. As an added bonus, you simply must check out the 3 links at the bottom of my post. They are short videos about local prairie projects that are currently underway. You just have to see these. I can't say enough about the people who are out there working to save our prairies. I just wish more people knew more about prairies so that we didn't have to fight so hard to protect what is left.

OCTOBER 2008 - QUEBE PRAIRIE

Big Bluestem, Little Bluestem, Indian Grass, Lobelia (wildflowers), and lots of other assorted grasses that I am still learning about....

WINTER 2009 -QUEBE PRAIRIE

This prairie gets mowed once per year as part of the maintenance plan. In winter the native grasses and forbs stay low to the ground and wait for the spring weather. If you look closely you can find all sorts of little native plants bunching up and putting on green growth in anticipation of the springtime show! If anyone wants to identify any of these plants for me, or correct anything I might have misidentified, feel free to help me out here. Like I said, I am in the learning stages!

The prairie in January, 2009. It was cut in the fall and doesn't look like much, but when you get down in the dirt and look around......! Lots of things going on down there!

I think this is a nice bunch of either Big Bluestem or Little Bluestem above and Mexican Hat wildflowers coming up in the picture to the right. The bottom plant I didn't recognized, maybe one of you know? It looks a bit like Penstemmon but I'm not sure.

My experiences on this local prairie are just beginning and I hope you can get some idea of just how beautiful it is through my pictures and clips. But it isn't enough to just post about one local remnant prairie. Through my involvement with prairie groups and native plant societies in Texas I am finding out that there are lots of other people out there who also understand how precious and unique these ecosystems are - and they are DOING SOMETHING to save them as I write. The following links should open up a few video clips that are ABSOLUTELY INSPIRING to me - I hope they will do the same for you. I had no idea that people out there are sacrificing so much of their own time and energy in order to save portions of native prairies here and there for us and for future generations as human development keeps plowing them under. They deserve to be recognized but they do it as a labor of love and without recognition, without any payment at all except the deep gratification they find in knowing that they might make a difference, little by little. They are at least DOING SOMETHING to try to save the prairies, and working against all odds to educate others before it is too late. Without their hard work and dedication the prairies would surely be gone from us all forever, and forever is a REALLY, REALLY LONG TIME.

So to all of these people in the following video clips, I say "THANK YOU" from the bottom of my heart. What you are doing is truly awe inspiring...

Texas Coastal Prairie - Saving Saums Prairie:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xj_H0kJMIKg&feature=related

Texas Coastal Prairie - Volunteers Seed Saving:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rI6jLeob5dM&feature=related

Katy Prairie Conservancy - Native Prairie Nursery

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RJ3R4P6ReY&feature=related

BATHING BIRDS AND HUNGRY HONEYBEES

OK, the animal life around my home has now successfully trained me to 1) wake up, 2) feed domestic animals, 3) feed wildlife, which now involves, a) add food to (what has now become) a various assortment of wildlife feeders, b) rinse and fill the bird bathing area with clean water, c) put out some deer chow around the trails, and d) (as of today) tend to honeybee feeding stations! I have to admit, this is getting a little bit ridiculous! I feel like the local Mother Nature sanctuary! But I have brought this on myself, the wildlife is not forcing me to do it..... :)

I am totally sure that anyone who is not a nature nut like me would undoubtedly think I was CRAZY if they followed me through my winter morning routine! We actually have metal garbage cans set up along the front porch containing all of the various feeds and scoops and buckets and whatever else needed to accommodate a host of feathered, furry, and other assorted flying, buzzing, or crawling friends. It is a lot of extra work everyday and the money expenditures add up, but it makes me happy to see the wildlife eating, and bathing, staking out territory and vocalizing to each other all over the place everyday! So while I know it probably seems nutty, I still keep doing it and when I'm done I sit back and reap my reward by watching all of these totally neat and unique species display their exquisite behaviors for me!


This morning was no exception and since it was a fairly nice day all of the resident birds decided it was BATH TIME!!! Now, I don't mean that only one bird or one species gets cleaned up on bath day around here. THEY ALL LINE UP (!) in the trees, or on the ground, or somewhere nearby and take turns! I can sit and watch them through the window as they go in some sort of pecking order that only they understand. The Cardinals are usually the ones to go first, male before female, and they can usually kick the smaller birds out if they want to get in. Sometimes a different species will share the bath, but they always keep a respectful distance from one another.

Pretty much all of the different birds have a similar ritual of; sit on the edge and look around a bit, take a few sips to quench that thirst, hop to the rock or just jump right in if feeling brave, sit a bit, and then get TOTALLY WET! before anyone catches you!

Hop out when done and the next bird waiting takes your place! I was able to snatch pictures of the Cardinals and a Titmouse bathing, but I truly have a steady stream of different species that come to the communal bathing pond including; Chickadees, Inca Doves, Savannah Sparrows, wintering Pine Siskins and Finches - all taking turns!

It's a great source of amusement to watch them flitting and splashing around, trying to get clean, ever mindful of who or what might be watching or lurking just around the corner!

Well, having finished my morning entertainment session at the bathing station, I hadn't expected anymore wildlife chores for the day - until I just couldn't ignore the activity going on at the hummingbird feeders any longer.

Now, I have been trying to keep at least one feeder up for the hummers this winter because I have heard them buzzing around so I'm fairly sure we have at least one or two that are still hanging around. They haven't been using the feeders at all, but the HONEYBEES sure are!





Soooooo......just in case you didn't know, this is not a good thing, to have honeybees desperately trying to suck sugar water out of the hummingbird feeders. Because, what actually happens is they crawl into that tiny hole (believe it or not) and they DROWN in the water basin! I unfortunately found at least 20 of the little guys dead as a doornail when I emptied it. Well, I can't have that, and I know they must be really hungry for that sugar water so I decide to try out some homemade "HONEYBEE FEEDERS" made from assorted shallow pans that I find out in the shed.

This, of course, takes up another hour of my time, but again - it is all worth it to me! So I get out my makeshift pans, add some lounging rocks to it (so my little buzzing friends will have a way to crawl out), and look up a honeybee sugar water recipe on the internet. I don't know anything about feeding honeybees so if any of you have advice, please help me out here. I read that they prefer a higher sugar to water ration of 1:1 instead of the 1:4 ratio for hummers. So I made that up and divided it into my pans. Just for fun, I left the red dishes with the 1:4 ratio and added 1:1 to the new dishes to see which they preferred.

And then I waited to see how long it would take them to find it again. It was not very long, immediately 1 or 2 sniffed it out and started drinking and in about 30 minutes I had a whole pack hanging around fixated on the mixtures in the pans!

I joke around a lot about how much work it is to provide food, shelter, and water for the wildlife (and it IS work and it CAN BE costly), but for me it truly is gratifying to watch these creatures and to learn from them everyday. So there you have it, the crazy nature lady is now not only feeding horses, dogs, cat, birds, squirrels, deer, rabbits, hummers, but (pause for breath here), she is now feeding the HONEYBEES TOO!!!

BUTTERFLY FALL

OK, I had to post a few pictures of the butterflies and moths that have been congregating outside my front door the last several weeks. The weather down here in south-central Texas has been fabulous, I don't know if this is our prelude to major global warming trends or not, but I must say for right now I am enjoying it. Usually our area of Texas gets about 3 or 4 weeks of beautiful, perfect weather in the spring and the fall and then it either slips into hot, humid summers or cold, damp winters but this year is certainly an exception. Our summer gradually faded into cooler nights in the 40's and 50's and gorgeous fall days in the 70's and 80's - and it has stayed like that for the longest period of time that I can remember. It's been like that for months now! I think we only had about 1 or 2 real cold fronts so far this fall and even then no freezes that killed off anything. The butterflies and moths are taking advantage of the climate and they are collectively habitating my fall orange Cosmos, which are still in bloom by the way - at the end of November! I have soooo many different species of butterflies and moths right now, there is no way I can identify them all. Several of them can't sit still for pictures either, so you are getting the click and post for the few that did. I am not a butterfly expert by any means, so those of you out there that are, please correct my identifications if I'm wrong so I can learn more. Also there are at least 2 pictured below that I would love to ID so please help if you can! Here they are:

These, I believe are called 'QUEEN' butterflies. They are really beautiful! They're about the size of a Monarch. And I have TONS of them flying around right now. They outnumber the other species by at least 2 to 1. They seem to be torn between visits to the Cosmos for nectar or hanging out on the Milkweed/Butterfly Weed plants.


I think the butterfly pictured to the left is called a' GULF COAST FRITTILARY'. These guys all seemed to be going crazy over the orange Cosmos. In years past it seems like I had a lot more of them but this year the numbers have been slimmer. I still have plenty of Passion Flower Vines for the larva, in fact probably more than previously, but this species has not been out in full force like in years past. I don't use herbicides or pesticides, only organic materials in my gardens so I don't think that would be the reason. It remains a puzzle to me. Any ideas???

















Now these two guys I think are called 'VARIEGATED FRITILLARIES', but that is just a guess based on what I see in my butterfly ID book. They look very moth-like, but I do think they are classified as a butterfly. I wish the pictures were better because they have awesome color variations on their wings. Hopefully you can tell from my shots. Someone correct me on the ID if I am wrong.
OK, here we have 'BUCKEYE' which has the most unique large spots that look like eyes staring back at you on the wings. I have several of them flying around right now and they are actually kind of easy to photograph - I just didn't get a good one! There is a video clip with Buckeyes at the end of this post, maybe you can get a better view that way.
















OK, now this one really has me puzzled and this is a really neat little guy! I think it is a moth because of the hooked antennae but I'm not sure. He has this awesome long, straight tail (wings actually) and a big white stripe on the underside of the wings. It's hard to tell his size from the pictures but I'd say it's about the size of a medium butterfly like a Fritillary, it's not a little thing by any means. What is it???!!!! Please help me ID I can't find it anywhere in my books and it's driving me nuts to find out what this is. Even without a positive ID, it's a pretty species to watch.....!

Here we have the dependable yellow butterfly, of which species I am not sure. Is it a 'SULPHER'? I don't know, but one thing I am sure of is they are usually the first ones out in the spring and the last ones to leave in the fall. Even on those days when the butterflies are are nowhere to be seen, I can usually spot some species of yellow around somewhere! ID please....thank you!






And for my last unidentified species that had assembled at the nectar feast, here you go.... Moth? Butterfly? Whatever he is he has spectacular coloration and he was different then all of the others. And he held still long enough for a picture - any ideas?


Below, Buckeyes at work....(or play?!)

MONARCHS & MIST FLOWERS

I have been totally enjoying myself this weekend at the local Fall Festival at the Antique Rose Emporium! Every year they hold this event and every year I can't wait to go again! The gardens out there are spectacular and they have speakers presenting throughout each day on a variety of plant and nature topics. This is a free event, open to all and it is exciting to see so many new faces each year as people from the community and from afar gather to hear about and discuss plant topics! This morning we were all greeted by throngs of Monarchs and other assorted butterflies and moths as we passed by a long row of White Mist Flower (Eupatorium wrightii) in full bloom. It will be hard to convey the full effect of the onslaught of butterflies, moths, and assorted bees that were attacking these white flowers through a video clip, but I assure you, no one passed without taking notice and at least saying, "Wow!" If you live in the south and you want a great butterfly plant, try White Mist Flower planted in masses!

9 BANDED ARMADILLO (Dasypus novemcinctus)

Well I don't have all of the pictures I'd like to post, but I couldn't wait any longer to share these video clips with you. The Army Corp of Engineers has cleared a new hiking trail through the woods by my house and of course I couldn't wait to check it out. More pictures from that to follow, but for now, here are 2 videos I just had to post because - Armadillos are just SO CUTE! This one ventured close to me on the trail and as I stood very, very still I was able to get some shots. Armadillos can't see very well, but they can hear a little better and once he sensed my presence, he took off running through the woods!

While I had him in my sights, this guy exhibited typical Armadillo behavior, rooting around in the soil and under logs searching for a meal. Yes, they do dig around with their noses and look for grubs, worms, and other insects to eat. And yes, they do leave fairly large holes in the soil, which a lot of people with formal gardens seem to despise. I don't understand this adversity toward Armadillos at all. They are most excellent soil aerators, and they control the soil dwelling insects that destroy plants at the same time. From my observations, they do not uproot established plants, instead, they move the soil all around the root balls and provide a 'tilling' function that is better than any plow I have ever seen. All that is needed after an Armadillo comes through is a soaking from a water hose to flatten the mounds back down and the garden looks as good as new, but much healthier! Unfortunately, the way most people experience an Armadillo (besides seeing holes in their gardens and yards) is by passing them by in cars, lying 'legs up' alongside the highway. The poor little guys, like so many other animals, do not have a chance when it comes to vehicles and they experience a huge amount of highway mortality.

One very interesting fact about Armadillos is that each female bears 4 offspring at a time which are exact clones of each other. Apparently they are the only mammals which do this consistently and that makes them extremely unique! If you have some time and you want to read more about Armadillos, here is a link:

http://www.flex.net/~lonestar/armadillo.htm

WHOOPING CRANES IN TEXAS!

WHOOPING CRANE (Grus americana)

(Photo credit Luther Goldman/US Fish and Wildlife Service)

Well, actually they haven't quite started their annual migration yet, but a prior comment on this blog prompted me to post about Whooping Cranes. They are an example of one species of beautiful migratory birds that us northerners and southerners 'share' during the year. Mid-October through March is prime Whooping Crane season in Texas - which should give me ample time to plan and execute a trip to see them first hand (stay posted!) I thought it would be a good idea to post some 'whooper' information in case any of you happen to be in the western or eastern flyways. That way you can be on the lookout for these magnificent creatures as they take to the skies! Fall migration has started and here in Texas we are noticing our skies dotted with more and more varieties of avian flocks as they head toward winter destinations. If you look up and see some very large cranes with all white bodies and black wing tips you just might be viewing some endangered Whooping Cranes.

Down here in Texas we have an extensive Whooping Crane project aimed at helping this most unique species survive and thrive. Whoopers stay north in the hot summer months and then migrate down south when those cold northern winds start to blow. The population counts reported over the last several years seem to indicate an increase in individuals so hopefully all of the effort is making a difference.

Whooping Cranes (Grus americana) are the rarest of all crane species and only found in North America. Our western inhabitants spend the winter months in Texas and summer months in Canada. The primary wintering grounds for the western 'Whooper' population are the coastal areas of the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge located a little bit north of Corpus Christi near Rockport. Here is an informative link which also has an audio of the bird calls:

http://www.fws.gov/southwest/REFUGES/texas/aransas/whoopingcranes.html

Although Whooping Cranes can be found slightly north of the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge or even slightly inland on private lands, the winter range for this population of birds typically only covers about 35 miles of this unique and pristine coastal habitat in Texas!

Whooping cranes are listed as a USFWS Endangered Species. In 1979 there were only 56 known birds in a wild flock that wintered in Texas and nested in Canada. In Dec of 2007 the count was up to 257 birds wintering along the Texas coastline. The 2007-2008 count was 266! So they do appear to be making a come back - slowly but surely. Whoopers are now federally protected from hunters however, their main threat continues to be the loss of coastal wetland habitat.

There is also lots of hard work underway to re-establish an eastern population of birds which will winter along the Florida coastline and spend the summers somewhere near Wisconsin. So far the Texas/Canada population has been the most successful as far as numbers.

SO - if you come to Texas - especially during the fall through early spring - don't forget to plan a trip to Aransas National Wildlife Refuge for some most excellent biding adventures! And keep your eyes peeled - you just might see some rare and endangered Whooping Cranes!

These video clips were taken by BILL BEASLEY / TAILFEATHER PRODUCTIONS and reproduced with permission – Thank You, Bill for sharing your clips of these beautiful and rare birds in the wild!!!