Ode to Bois D'Arc

 

Interpretive Sign Along Harris Creek Trail

Twelve interpretive signs were installed along the new loop of Harris Creek Trail at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge  in late April.  Shown above is just one of the signs that add to appreciation and understanding of the habitat and wildlife there.  Several years ago this poem by Don Mathis of Sherman, Texas, was submitted to the Friends, and seems appropriate to publish along with this particular sign:

The Osage Orange is a lowly tree.
French explorers called this wood 'bo dark.'
Natives of the 16th century
used many parts of the wood and bark.

This 'wood of the bow' served well in war.
Bows and war clubs were used on the Plains.
Tannin from bark could help cure leather.
Ropes were twisted for use or exchange.

Dye from the roots yielded a yellow.
It's used to make uniforms khaki.
And it was a creative fellow
who used it for fence in the prairie.

'A hedgerow of bois d'arc was bull-strong,
horse-high, and pig-tight,' old experts said.
Horse Apple fence posts also last long.
The wood is even good for the dead.

Grave markers, gates, and parts for machines,
foundations, wheel rims, and rail-road ties,
were made from the hardest wood ere seen.
It's essence repels mildew and flies.

But like the tree of evil and good,
there's a shady side to the Hedge Ball.
If you try to burn it as fire wood,
wild sparks will fly to directions all!

A tougher, thornier, more tangled
specimen of cantankerousness,
odd grains that grow twisted and angled,
does not exist in the wilderness.

Try to prune bois d'arc limbs if you please,
the branches will bend with your chain saw.
Board Ark lumber splits and cracks with ease.
The toughest wood west of Arkansas.

Thorns adorn this arboreal quirk.
Itchy inch-long spikes will shame barb-wire.
They tried paving streets but it didn't work.
It floats in flood and is fuel for fire.

But like the natives of the Blackland,
the versatile qualities shine through.
Bois d'arc roots grow in clay, loam or sand.
And we're bodacious in all we do!

Don Mathis
Sherman, TX

Painted Buntings

Painted Buntings were among the most sought after bird sightings at BirdFest Texoma.  The following information is excerpted from an article that appeared in the Featherless Flyer, in May and June  2012.  The article was an interview with Dr. Wayne Meyer, by Allen Rich, editor of the North Texas e-News.

"Painted Buntings are most common in areas that have open grassland with small honey locust, mesquite, or other trees that like to invade abandoned pastures.  The birds feed on grass seeds and insects, but build their nests in small trees about 3-5 feet off the ground.  Honey locust and mesquites have thorns to deter predators from getting at the nests.

When field seed is scarce, they may come to your backyard.   They seem to really like white millet seeds and will readily feed from hopper feeders with perches, unlike most sparrows that prefer to feed on the ground.  If water is also provided, you'll increase the chances of getting a visit or two, however, it is pretty rare that they continue to use a feeder for more than a few days.  Only a few lucky people get Painted Buntings to come all summer.

One of the more interesting things about this species is that adult males migrate three times each year.  In addition to moving south for the winter and north in the summer, buntings in western and central Texas fly to western New Mexico and Arizona in July.  Breeding usually ends about that time, so males leave the females to raise any young birds.  Late July and early August are when the monsoons arrive in Arizona and New Mexico, so the birds take advantage of the rains to molt where there is an abundant food supply.  Presumably females who haven't any young also go, but most females that are rearing young will stay here in Texoma through September. 

As they prepare to fly south in September they may come to feeders again.  Remember that young birds of both sexes retain the female-like yellow-green plumage.  Exceptionally, a few bright males will stay as well,"

Bring the Family to BirdFest Texoma

BirdFest Texoma, May 3 -5, will offer several free events at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge for youngsters and families.  On Saturday, May 4,  Eensy Weensy Spider will be presented by John Slaughter at 10 am and Leave it to Beaver will be presented by Texas Parks and Wildlife ranger, Kelly Lauderdale, at 1 pm, both in the Audio Visual Classroom at the Refuge.  Please register in advance for these events.   

From 9:30 – 11 am on Saturday, May 4, Susan Knowles will be on the Visitor Center patio to help visitors identify birds at the feeders and houses near the Visitor Center.  No registration is necessary to join in.   Free coffee will be available.

Jarryd Robison will exhibit snakes all day Saturday, May 4, and The Raptor Project, live outdoor show with 36 birds of prey - owls, hawks, eagles and falcons, is set for 10 am, 1 pm and 3 pm on May 4, and for 1 pm and 3 pm on Sunday, May 5.

A general presentation on snakes will be given Sunday afternoon by Don Walker, at 1:30 pm in the A/V Classroom.  Advance registration is recommended for this event as well, to guarantee seating.

Families can also enjoy reading a nature-themed story together as they walk the Storybook Trail at the Refuge, available from 9 am – 4 pm both Saturday and Sunday.  On Sunday afternoon, the Bluestem Chapter, Texas Master Naturalists will help children make wildflower seed bombs, from 1 – 4 pm on the Visitor Center patio.

Food and nature-themed merchandise vendors will be on hand throughout the festival, or families may bring picnics and non-alcoholic beverages (no glass allowed) and enjoy one of the three picnic areas at the Refuge.  There is no charge for parking or admission. Hagerman NWR is located on the Big Mineral Arm of Lake Texoma, at 6465 Refuge Road.  Information and registration is online at www.birdfesttexoma.org, or call the Refuge, 903 786 2826.

How Sweet It Is

Do you have "good taste"?  You are invited to attend a honey-tasting, at BirdFest Texoma, on Sunday afternoon, May 5, at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge.  A Friends of Hagerman member and Visitor Center volunteer,  Barbara Corbin,  is arranging this opportunity for you to test your taste buds.  Barbara, who is a long-time Collin County beekeeper, will have 12 – 15 floral honeys for you to sample at this free event to be held in the Visitor Center at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge.   A handout will list the floral honeys present; honey samples will be numbered, and you will try to match the honey to its floral source. Crackers, water, cups and other supplies will be available to clean the palate between honey samples.

You will also get to meet and visit with the Texas Honey Queen, Shelby Kilpatrick, shown above.  As an official spokesperson for the Texas Beekeepers Association, the Texas Honey Queen promotes all aspects of the beekeeping industry.  Shelby is a senior in high school and is home educated along with her two younger sisters. She began beekeeping in 2007 when she received a Youth Beekeeping Scholarship from the Collin County Hobby Beekeepers Association. Since then, beekeeping has become a family project. In addition to beekeeping, Shelby is an active Denton County 4-H member, a certified Denton County Master Gardener and an Elm Fork Chapter Master Naturalist Intern. 

While honey is the best known bee product, it has been estimated that 30% of our food supply depends on bee-pollinated plants, not to mention the importance of pollination to  plants for feeding livestock. (http://beespotter.mste.illinois.edu/topics/economics/)  In addition to the tasting table, there will also be a display and handouts with information about bees, honey and the beekeeping industry.  

Advance registration is recommended for this program, to guarantee that you will get to taste.  You can register online at www.birdfesttexoma.org, or download a form to mail; forms are also available at the Refuge.  Come learn about the honey bee, pollination and the sweet gift of honey at BirdFest Texoma! 

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The Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Text and Photos by Laurie Sheppard

Spring is a special time for birders at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge.  We expect many migrants to pass through on the Central Flyway, but spring is also a time when our summer birds return.  One of the first things these visitors, as well as many of our resident birds do is to search for a mate and begin to raise a family.  Nesting behavior is happening all over the refuge.  Sometimes it’s very obvious – a Great Blue Heron carrying a stick to the rookery beyond Harris Creek, a bluebird or martin sitting on a nest box near the Visitors Center, or a woodpecker hollowing out a nest in a dead tree at Dead Woman Pond.  Last weekend, I happened upon one of the less conspicuous nesters, but one of the more interesting.

Among the first summer visitors we hear, almost as soon as the leaves pop out, is the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.  I say hear, because usually you will hear them before you see them. Everywhere you go, if there are trees, you will hear the buzzing Pzzzzz, Pzzzzz call of the busy little birds.  Smaller than a sparrow, the Blue-gray Gnatcatchers flit about looking for small bugs and spiders in the emerging leaves.  When you hear that distinctive sound, look high in the trees – often oak trees – and watch for movement.  Gnatcatchers constantly flick their tail when they are hunting.  They will continue to frequent the canopy throughout the summer and into the fall when they will head back south to avoid the cold weather. 

Male Blue-gray Gnatcatcher at HNWR

As their name implies, they are mostly steel gray with a conspicuous eye-ring.  There is often some black in their tail and they have white bellies and white outer tail feathers.  In breeding plumage, the male has a black line over each eye that meets in the middle just above his beak.  Because of their size, they are often hard to see, but if you’re patient and watch for movement, you will be rewarded.  That is how I found the nest-building pair.  I noticed that there were two birds in the tree and they repeatedly went back to the same branch.  I thought maybe it was a particularly good feeding spot but soon I realized they were carrying nesting material.  They were not terribly bothered by my presence so I took advantage and when both were off getting more supplies, I re-positioned myself to get a better look.

Female at the nest

I have since learned that the nest they built is typical of the species:  beautifully constructed of grass stems, bark strips, plant down, hair, feathers or other fine fibers held together with spider webs and caterpillar silk.  On the outside, it is camouflaged with tiny bits of bark and lichens.  Both parents participated in perfecting the nest, which is positioned on a level branch away from the trunk of their tree.  Soon there will be 3-6 pale blue eggs dappled with brown spots.

Male at the nest

To give you an idea of the size of a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, an American Goldfinch is reported to be around 4.5 to 5 inches, and a Ruby-throated hummingbird 3 to 3.5 inches.  A Blue-gray Gnatcatcher is right in between at about 3.9 to 4.3 inches.  I have read that hummingbird eggs are the size of a Tic-Tac mint.  I imagine these will not be much bigger than that.

The Blue-gray Gnatcatcher is the only member of its species you will find this far north, and is the only truly migratory one. Predominantly, gnatcatchers are Neotropical residents but the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher can be found from the Pacific coast to the Atlantic.  In the west, the birds remain in the southern tier, but in the east you can find them all the way north into Maine.  Here in the central U.S., they are active all over Texas, Oklahoma, and throughout most of Kansas. 

Sources for technical material: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Audubon Birds app for Android.

Great Blue Heron Rookery at Refuge

Great Blue at Hagerman NWR by Carol Ann Sowell

The Great Blue, a favorite sight year around at HagermanNational Wildlife Refuge, makes its nest in a group of the tallest trees on the horizon, looking south from the Harris Creek Bridge.  

Heron Rookery

The Herons, members of the Ardeid family, are seasonally monogamous, according to (Sibley, 2001) The Sibley Guide to Bird Life & Behavior, and breed in colonies.

The male and female cooperate in building the nest, which is usually located near water.  In colonies with mixed species, they tend to nest in tall trees, and may reuse the nests from one year to the next, adding on or refurbishing.

Herons have a single one brood each year, with from 2 – 7 eggs.  Parents take turns incubating which usually begins as soon as the first egg or two are laid.  When the chicks hatch they may be different sizes due to varied time under incubation.

The chicks, who make continuous food-begging calls, (Sibley, 2001)are fed by the parents, who regurgitate it into their mouth or onto the nest.  By two weeks in age moat chicks are ready to leave the nest and perch nearby.

If you visit the Refuge soon, be sure to look for the rookery as you cross Harris Creek Bridge.

NOTE:  David Sibley will be at Hagerman NWR for BirdFest Texoma.  He will present a painting demonstration at Evening with David Allen Sibley, and the painting, A Painted Bunting, will be up for auction at the close of the evening; register for this event at birdfesttexoma.org (no tickets will be sold at the door).  Sibley will also sign books from 11 am - Noon at the Refuge, May 4, and following the evening presentation.

Photos of  Rookery by Dick Malnory

The Killdeer Is Back

Last week a Killdeer began laying eggs in the newly placed gravel in front of the Hagerman NWR Visitor Center, near the bicycle rack.  Just about this same time a year ago a Killdeer chose an area much nearer the front door for her ”nest” and was frequently seen hopping about trying to distract passers-by, but this year the nest area is a little more out of the traffic pattern. 

Killdeer photographed near Visitor Center by Dick Malnory

We are hoping for a repeat of last year’s nesting success, as in 2012, we believed that the same Killdeer had two successful hatches from the same spot, with babies led into the nearby fields the day they hatched.  Many visitors enjoyed checking on the nesting progress, in person and on Facebook.

The following is  reprinted from the  April 26, 2012,  blog post by Bill Hughes, on "the killdeer, a species belonging to a family of birds known as plovers.  The bird’s name comes from its repeated loud and strident call “kill-deer”.  Its call was the origin of an earlier name,  the noisy plover.

Although the killdeer is considered a shorebird, it is often found far from water in grassland habitats such as fields, meadows and pastures.  During the summer breeding season, the killdeer nests from the southern United States to Canada.  Nesting begins in March in the deep South, April in the middle states, May in the northern states and southern Canada and June in the far north.  

The killdeer’s nest is very basic--a shallow depression in the ground in an open area with some stones (graveled roofs are used) and sparse to no grass.  The depression is formed by a “scraping” action of both the male and female bird. 

Killdeer, eggs, in field near Visitor Center, 2012, by Dick Malnory

The killdeer frequently uses a "broken-wing" display to distract predators (and humans) from their nests.  In the display, the bird walks away from its nesting area holding its wing in a position that simulates an injury and then flutters around on the ground while emitting a distress call.  Predators are attracted to the seemingly injured bird and are drawn away from the nest.

As is the case for our pair of killdeer, the number of eggs laid is typically four.  The smooth, ovate-shaped eggs are dull tan or cream to yellow-gray in color with varied shades and sizes of irregular darker-brown blotches. 

The Killdeer nest with 3 eggs, taken March 25, 2013, by Kathy Whaley

The simple structure of the nest and the spots of the eggs, which disguise them as stones, make the nest and eggs blend remarkably into their surroundings.  This camouflaging effect is very apparent for the nest at the Visitor’s Center. 

The eggs are usually arranged in the nest with the pointed ends together and positioned downward in the center of the nest.  If disturbed, the birds will restore the eggs to their original positions.  Both the male and the female incubate the eggs; the male more often at night.  The eggs hatch in about 24-28 days; all four eggs usually hatch within an eight hour period.

Killdeer hatchlings are precocial, a term applied to young birds that are able to see and search for food soon after hatching.  For this reason, killdeer are not known to feed their young.  Newly-hatched killdeer can't fly, and they need the protection provided by the adults.  They are brooded extensively during the first three days after hatching.  Around one month after hatching, the young are fledged.

The killdeer is by far the most wide-spread and well-known of North American plovers.  Other plovers that could be seen at Hagerman, but are much less common than the killdeer, are the American golden plover, black-bellied plover and snowy plover.  These plovers are migrants that pass through the refuge but do not nest here.

The killdeer is one of the most successful of all shorebirds because of its tolerance for human modified habitats, such as lawns, driveways, athletic fields, parking lots, airports, and golf courses; and its willingness to nest close to people.  However, because they live near people they are vulnerable to pesticide poisoning and collisions with cars and buildings.  Presently, the range and population of the killdeer are considered stable."