Table of Contents: Christmas Party….…...1 January Program….….4 New Board…………….4 SCNP Bird walk……....5 Out and About….….….6 VSP Projects……..….. 7 Egret News..……..……9 Emerald Ash Borer…..10 Plant of the Month…...11 Bird Spotter…...…..….12 TX by Nature…………13 Our Own Backyard….16 Book Corner……….…17 Lighter Side…………..18 Baumgartner News….19 Please send chapter events and nature- related articles, photos, and items of interest to the chapter to Lynn by the 25 th of the month. Suggestions for the newsletter are also welcome. Thanks. Lynn Trenta, Courier Editor We are a group of trained volunteers who share our appreciation and knowledge of nature with the community through outreach, education and conservation/restoration projects December 31st , 2018 Volume 6, Issue 12 Coastal Prairie Chapter Courier December 8 th around 60 Coastal Prairie Chapter Members attended our annual Christmas party and chapter meeting! The wine bars were popular before the party and after our very short chapter meeting, we partook of a wonderful meal and the camaraderie with our fellow master naturalists. Executive board members elected were Jerry Trenta, President, Debby Wendt, Vice- President, Pauline, Secretary, and Jaime Fairchild, Treasurer. Congratulations to these chapter members! Also, many thanks to out-going president, Amber Leung and out-going board members, Diane Russell (7 years on the board), Carol Schwartz (5 years on the board) and Cheryl Garcia (VSP Chair for 2018). Also, many thanks to Donna Pisani and Debby Wendt for getting this wonderful party together! This was a great venue, with great food! We had 2 Mrs. Santa Clauses (way to go Santa!) who attended the party in the personages of Diane Russell and Donna Pisani, shown in photo below. For those who are interested, these dresses were purchased at Walmart—sorry for revealing your secret, ladies! Christmas Party is Big Hit! By Lynn Trenta Photos by Lynn Trenta Photo sent in by Diane Russell
Transcript
Page 1 of 19 Coastal Prairie Courier 0000000000000000000011111110000000000000000
Table of Contents:
Christmas Party….…...1
January Program….….4
New Board…………….4
SCNP Bird walk……....5
Out and About….….….6
VSP Projects……..….. 7
Egret News..……..……9
Emerald Ash Borer…..10
Plant of the Month…...11
Bird Spotter…...…..….12
TX by Nature…………13
Our Own Backyard….16
Book Corner……….…17
Lighter Side…………..18
Baumgartner News….19
Please send chapter events and nature-
related articles, photos, and items of
interest to the chapter to Lynn by the 25th of
the month. Suggestions for the newsletter are also welcome. Thanks.
Lynn Trenta, Courier Editor
2
We are a group of trained volunteers who share our appreciation and
knowledge of nature with the community through outreach, education
and conservation/restoration projects
December 31st , 2018
Volume 6, Issue 12
Coastal Prairie Chapter Courier
December 8th around 60 Coastal Prairie Chapter Members attended our annual Christmas party and chapter meeting! The wine bars were popular before the party and after our very short chapter meeting, we partook of a wonderful meal and the camaraderie with our fellow master naturalists. Executive board members elected were Jerry Trenta, President, Debby Wendt, Vice-President, Pauline, Secretary, and Jaime Fairchild, Treasurer. Congratulations to these chapter members! Also, many thanks to out-going president, Amber Leung and out-going board members, Diane Russell (7 years on the board), Carol Schwartz (5 years on the board) and Cheryl Garcia (VSP Chair for 2018). Also, many thanks to Donna Pisani and Debby Wendt for getting this wonderful party together! This was a great venue, with great food! We had 2 Mrs. Santa Clauses (way to go Santa!) who attended the party in the personages of Diane Russell and Donna Pisani, shown in photo below. For those who are interested, these dresses were purchased at Walmart—sorry for revealing your secret, ladies!
This was a great way to end the year for our chapter! We are going strong as a chapter and with our wonderful new class and committed established members, our outlook is good!
Photo by Terri Hurley
Photos by Lynn Trenta
Page 3 of 19 Coastal Prairie Courier
Christmas Party (Continued)
Photos by Lynn Trenta
Photo by Diane Russell
Page 4 of 19 Coastal Prairie Courier
Executive Board President--Jerry Trenta Vice President / Programs--Debby Wendt
Treasurer--Jamie Fairchild Secretary--Pauline Zinn Directors Immediate Past President—Amber Leung Membership Director—Bert Stipelcovich Program Director—Debby Wendt New Class Director—Carol Hawkins Communications Director—Lynn Trenta Publicity Director—Margo Johnson Advanced Training Director—Ramona Ridge Volunteer Service Projects Director—Terri Hurley Seabourne park Director—Jerry Trenta New Class Representative--Open State Representative—Andrea Morgenstern
Many people grew up hearing the distinctive "ah bob WHITE" call of quail. Where are the quail now? The Northern bobwhite lives all over Texas, but their population has been declining in the past 40 years. Guests will hear reasons for this decline and what we can do to reverse it. Speaker Amber Leung's co-presenters are a pair of tame bobwhite quail. The birds were hatched and raised to become animal ambassadors and put a feathered face on the effects of habitat loss. The Texas Master Naturalists are sponsored by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. For additional information call 281-633-7033 or email [email protected] Free and Open to the Public, the program will be held at the Rosenberg Civic Center and the social time is 6:30pm with the program from 7-8pm.
Amber Leung Presents Quail Program at January Program
On Wednesday, December 5, 2018, a group of 25 took a walk at Seabourne Creek Park and identified 43 species of birds, including: 2 Lincoln Sparrows, 1 Northern Cardinal, 4 Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers, 4 Roseate Spoonbills, and the feature photo of a Least Sandpiper. Two taxa were also identified, incl. a nutria. Link below to eBird information for Seabourne Creek Nature Park bird sightings, along with general photos and bird calls.
https://ebird.org/hotspot/L470093
Sandpiper
White Ibis
Loggerhead shrike
Goldfinch -
Nutria Mother and baby -
Bird Sightings at Seabourne on November Walk (taken from the CPCTMN Chapter Blog) By Kimberly Farou
Diane Russell presented a program on skins and skulls at a Local Katy church to a group of homeschoolers using our Workshop on Wheels, developed by Michelle Sullivan and Julie Near, who were then our VSP Co-Chairs. As you can see, the kids were pretty excited about it!
Carol and Richard Hawkins participated in the Christmas Bird Count at the Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge. One bird they came across was this burrowing owl!
Photos by Richard Hawkins
Page 7 of 19 Coastal Prairie Courier
As your new Volunteer Service Projects (VSP) Director for 2019, one of my goals is to maximize your knowledge of our volunteer opportunities so that members and new trainees can find the best fit for their talents, skills and interests. Each month in this column, I will highlight upcoming events or long-term projects that could use your help. Please email or call the person listed as the main contact for more information on each project. If you have any general questions about VSP opportunities, please contact me at [email protected] Houston Native Prairie Association of Texas (HNPAT) Seed Cleaning & Packing Party Date: Wednesday, January 23, 2019 @ 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm Location: Red Cross Building, 2700 Southwest Fwy, Houston, TX 77098 Contact: https://houstonprairie.org/. Registration link will be posted on the website soon. Join the annual Seed Cleaning and Packing Pizza Party sponsored by Katy Prairie Conservancy (KPC) in conjunction with Houston Chapter – Native Prairies Association of Texas (HNPAT). Pizza party at 6:30 pm then seed cleaning and packing at 7:00 pm. You will be cleaning seeds collected from the wild this fall and putting them in packets to be distributed to people willing to grow them out for KPC’s Great Grow Out Program. (VMS: use the category “Katy Prairie Conservancy”.)
2019 Regional Tree Planting Competition Date: Saturday, February 9, 2019 @ 10:00 am - 2:00 pm Location: Buffalo Run Park, 1122 Buffalo Run Blvd, Missouri City, TX 77489 Contact: Kristi Johnson at [email protected] We are putting together a team for the Houston Area Urban Forestry Council’s 2019 Regional Tree Planting Competition which takes place in Missouri City this year. We entered a team 2 years ago and had a great turnout and time. Invite your friends and family to help with this activity. This is a competition, but we are part of the amateur/have fun division. Last time we were finished before lunch was served. It is fun to watch the professional (landscaping) division compete – they are FAST! It is also fun to watch the student division – some of these kids have never held a shovel before. Come ready to work hard and have fun. Bring your own shovels (marked with your name) and work gloves. Lunch and a t-shirt are included for all participants. (VMS: use the category “Community Nature/Public Access”.)
VOLUNTEER SERVICE PROJECTS HIGHLIGHTS
By Terri Hurley, Volunteer Service Project Director
ONGOING PROJECT of the MONTH: Seabourne Creek Nature Park – Arboretum Date: volunteer days are held every Wednesday and first and third Saturdays @ 9 am - 11 am Location: Seabourne Creek Nature Park, 3831 Hwy 36 S, Rosenberg, Tx. 77471 The SCNP is our signature project and is home to many volunteer opportunities. This month we highlight the Arboretum. The purpose of the Arboretum is to showcase trees native to Texas. If you are interested in helping with this project contact Pauline Zinn at [email protected] or Garrett Engelhardt at [email protected] Do you like trees? Your help is needed to keep the trees in the Arboretum in fine condition. There is maintenance that could be done on an ongoing basis such as taking out some of the invasives in the tree lines and forested area (Chinese tallow, Chinese privet, Japanese honeysuckle) to make room for even more natives. Or there’s pruning around the lake and on the live oaks along the outer loop. Winter is a perfect time!
Are you creative? We need help making brochures about the trees (handouts or online) or birds or insects that use these trees in their lifecycles. We're also gearing up for a big tree planting sometime on a Saturday after a planned tree delivery that is scheduled for mid-January. More details on the tree planting event will be forthcoming. The new trainees could always come on the regular Wednesday volunteer days or the first or third Saturdays; we will show them around and find out what they are interested in doing. (VMS: use the category “SCNP – 7 Habitats Public Access”.)
Last week, I wrote about one weird great egret who wandered the grassy areas of the park, snacking on snakes and beetles. I proposed (and knocked down) three possible reasons and left it as a mystery. Well, the mystery is why I didn’t realize sooner what was actually going on.
My big mistake was assuming that we had only one weird, land-feeding great egret. In truth, we have many and they are all completely normal.
We always see great egrets doing much the same thing: standing in the water looking for food. A great egret hunting on land is not something you see often, if ever, so it was very notable to me when I would see one. Except in our Park, land-feeding great egrets are normal. If our great egrets couldn’t adapt to feeding on land, how would they stay alive when every bayou in the city is out of its banks and racing to the bay?
Last week’s heavy rains produced just that circumstance. The bayous were high and Buffalo Bayou, at least, was out of its banks. A great egret, trying to stand at the shore (which was then above the running paths) would have been swept away. So, they moved to higher ground. I was out running when I saw these three (only two are visible in the photo) great egrets feeding away from the bayou.
For more go to https://buffalobayou.org/blog/in-which-your-naturalist-admits-to-muddled-thinking/
Photo by Garrett Engelhardt
In which your naturalist admits to muddled thinking By Alisa Kline, Gulf Coast
Master Naturalist ( December 12th for the Buffalo Bayou Partnership focusing on the Buffalo Bayou Park)
As of December 2018, emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) has been confirmed in Tarrant County and several counties in northeast Texas. The emerald ash borer beetle (EAB) is a destructive non-native wood-boring pest of ash trees (Fraxinus spp.). Native to Asia, EAB was unknown in North America until its discovery southeast Michigan in 2002. Since then, this invasive pest has spread, killing millions of ash trees across the country. EAB is a significant threat to urban, suburban, and rural forests as it kills both stressed and healthy ash trees. EAB is very aggressive and ash trees may die within two or three years after they become infested. Ash trees are widespread in the United States and all 16 native ash species are susceptible to attach.
What to Look For Host: Ash (all species) Signs/Symptoms: ash trees with dying or dead branches in upper crown, shoots or suckering along the trunk, bark splits with winding galleries and white larvae beneath the bark; presence of the beetle itself; heavy feeding by woodpeckers; and “D”-shaped exit holes in bark.
What to Do Next Preventative Management: Remove poor condition ash trees now before infestation occurs to reduce current and future risk. If EAB activity is confirmed within a few miles of your area, treat high value ash trees with systemic insecticide to reduce intensity of attack. Therapeutic Management: Once infested, if more than 50% of crown remains, treat with systemic insecticide to slow attack; If less than 50% of crown remains, remove tree. TFS Can Help Guide for communities: http://tfsweb.tamu.edu/eab/ Hotline to Report: 1-866-322-4512
Our plant of the month is another rare plant. Cyperus cephalanthus is a perennial with a common name of Buttonbush Flatsedge. This fall it was blooming in my demo bed near the tables. It always gets pulled and weeded. My fault due to a lack of signage! It is easy to identify due to 1 long and 1 short awn and seedheads shaped like gumdrops. The rarity is listed as Global/State G2QS1. This plant was 1st recorded by Thomas Drummond near Galveston Bay in 1835. It was rediscovered in Harris County (Brown and Elsik 2002). This prairie remnant was destroyed by the building of a retention pond! Then it was rediscovered on Nash Prairie by David J Rosen and Christoffersen (2004). David did the original survey of Nash and Mowotony Prairies 330 species! I have been on field trips with Larry E Brown. He found the sedge in Harris county and upon return found a new retention pond. He can identify every plant in Harris and surrounding counties. Larry knows the scientific names but not any common names. Several years back we exited our vehicles at Brazos Bend State Park. A lady on the field trip picked a 2" flower out of the lawn at the parking area. He mentioned the scientific name and said, " it's from Europe!" I printed his book " A Checklist of the Vascular Plants of the Houston Area" 94 pages. His collections are housed at the Spring Branch Science Center Herbarium (SBSC).
Plant of the Month
Photo by Carolyn Fannon
Photo by Peggy Romfh
Buttonbush Flatsedge (Cyperus cephalanthus) By Mark Morgenstern
Page 12 of 19 Coastal Prairie Courier
The Monthly Bird Spotter
Orange-crowned Warbler By Jade Hems
➢ The Orange-crowned Warbler is a small, uniformly olive/ yellow, winter resident at Seabourne Creek Nature Park.
➢ Look for Orange-crowned Warblers in the woodland walk and the trees along the creek. Watch for rapid movement as these active little birds flit through the trees and shrubs.
➢ The Orange-crowned Warbler is one of the most common wintering warblers in our area. Listen out for their frequent, high-pitched, chip call as they forage.
➢ The orange crown for which the bird is named, is rarely visible. Only during territorial displays or when threated, the male raises its head feathers, and the orange crown patch is displayed!
➢ Orange-crowned Warblers are insect gleaners. Most of their food is obtained as they move through trees, picking off ants, beetles, flies, caterpillars and spiders as they go.
➢ In winter, they supplement their diet with berries, seeds and plant galls. Sometimes they visit woodpecker sapwells. They will readily come to backyard suet feeders.
➢ The species has widespread distribution, they occupy a variety of habitats including rainforests, high elevation woodlands, sage scrub and chaparral.
➢ There are four subspecies and the coloring and is quite varied.
➢ The song of individual Orange-crowned Warblers is so distinctive and varied, that individuals can be distinguished by their song patterns!
➢ On their breeding territories, they form “song neighborhoods” where two to six birds in adjacent territories learn and mimic each other’s song! These song neighborhoods may persist over many years.
➢ They nest on or close to the ground to avoid nest robbing avian predators, in all their diverse habitats except in the California Channel Islands where they have adapted to nest 20 feet up to avoid snakes and mammals!
➢ Orange-crowned Warblers are abundant and widespread but have declined locally where habitat loss has occurred.
References: Cornell Lab of Ornithology: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Orange-crowned_Warbler/overview
Orange-crowned Warbler by Mick Thompson
Orange-crowned Warbler distribution, Cornell Lab of Ornithology: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Orange-crowned_Warbler/maps-range
Page 13 of 19 Coastal Prairie Courier
Nature is a powerful force that provides positive benefits to health – a fact supported by growing research linking exposure to nature with health and wellness. Thus, it follows that conserving nature is vital to the long-term health and well-being of our society. Accordingly, Houston Methodist & Texan by Nature co-hosted a symposium to discuss and identify gaps in the science around the mechanisms in nature that produce positive physiological and psychological health and healing benefits.
This symposium, A Natural Connection: Exploring Positive Outcomes in Health and Healing Through Nature, brought together some of the nation’s top researchers, physicians, and policymakers to share their knowledge on the connection between health and nature, highlighted some of the recent findings on the positive benefits of nature on health and wellbeing, and encouraged dialogue that will spur further research collaboration in the future. The speaker program is available on demand in the video series below.
Outcomes from this symposium produced a partnership between Houston Methodist Hospital, Texas A&M University System, and Texan by Nature to form the Center for Health & Nature. We will work together to advance health and nature research and education.
The mission of the Center for Health & Nature, a collaboration between Houston Methodist, Texan by Nature, and the Texas A&M Health Science Center, is to drive research to study the impact of nature on health with evidence-based programs that complement the full continuum of health care: prevention, treatment, and recovery.
Mark your Calendar! The Center for Health & Nature will host a symposium on Wednesday, February 13, 2019, at Houston Methodist on the topic of the connection between health, healing, and nature. The event is invite- only and live streaming will be available, please email Amy Brown for more information.
The Center for Health & Nature has identified academic leaders and physician-scientists from around the country and world who are engaged in research related to our symposium topics. The symposium will consist of four keynotes: Laura W. Bush, Florence Williams, Perry Hystad, PhD, and David Berrigan, PhD.
Topics of focus include:
1. Nature as Preventative & Restorative Medicine 2. The Health Role of Nature in Cities 3. Nature as Chronic Disease Management
“The symposium was a highly unusual alliance of a leading conservation organization and a leading medical
center—a powerful combination in the service of human health and wellbeing. Together, I believe that Texan
by Nature and Houston Methodist will advance both the science and the practice of promoting health through
contact with the natural world, benefiting people across Texas and beyond.”- Howard Frumkin, M.D.,
Dr.P.H. Dean and Professor at the School of Public Health, University of Washington
Former First Lady Laura Bush Touts Architecture Student’s Rooftop Garden Design By Richard Nira, Texas A&M University College of Architecture
This article appeared in the Texas A&M Today’s publication on June 19, 2018
While announcing the creation of a Center for Health and Nature research consortium at Houston’s Methodist Hospital, former First Lady Laura Bush unveiled plans for the addition of a healing garden designed by Phillip Hammond, a fifth-year Texas A&M landscape architecture student.
Center researchers will use the garden as a living laboratory to investigate the therapeutic benefits of the outdoors, said Bush, founder of Texan by Nature, a nonprofit conservation group championing the initiative with partners including the Methodist System and the Texas A&M University System.
The announcement was made at a at a May 2, 2018 press conference at Houston’s Medical Center.
Hammond’s design, “Glory Gardens” was chosen by Center for Health and Nature partners from entries in a fifth-year Texas A&M landscape architecture student competition. Designs by Hammond’s classmates, Leticia Meza and Claudia Pool, placed second and third.
Although nature is clearly important to health, said Bush, there’s a lack of research regarding which nature factors lead to increased health, what exposure to nature means, and how much exposure is needed. “I’m thrilled to be here to announce the center, which will help fill these research gaps.”
Hammond and fellow students developed design solutions for the healing garden competition as part of a spring 2018 studio led by Chanam Lee, a professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning. They consulted with center representatives to create gardens that maximize patient healing and enhance the workplace environment.
His design, which includes native vegetation, medicinal flora, pollinator gardens and shaded seating areas, is interspersed with open areas connected by curving walkways.
“Glory Gardens provides a space where patients in search of peace can be surrounded by the natural environment’s therapeutic qualities,” said Hammond. “It reminds them that difficult times are temporary. Natural life comes as a reminder of the lightness of life and the glory of this beautiful world we live in.”
His design can also accommodate a variety of small events, since its trees are housed in movable planters to provide shade and ornamentation in a variety of configurations.
“Glory Gardens” also includes kiosks allowing patrons to note their favorite garden elements and why they are remarkable.
Former First Lady Laura Bush Touts Architecture Student’s Rooftop Garden Design (Continued)
Page 16 of 19 Coastal Prairie Courier
In Our Own Backyards and Other Places
Chapter Outreach at the Fort Bend Photography
Club
Brown Thrasher By Diane Eismont
When I first saw this bird, with all its spots and speckles, I thought it might be a type of thrush (and in fact, in older books, it is also called a Brown Thrush), but the wing bars and long tail didn't fit for me. It turns out, it is in a different bird family from the thrushes - it is a Mimidae, which family includes Mockingbirds and Catbirds. The name "thrasher" may come from the twitching about of the long tail. Thrashers eat insects, small reptiles, wild fruit and weed seeds. It may be unusual to see it in a feeder, but we feed a variety of seeds and dried fruit, including some shelled peanuts. I recall having a thrasher before in fall and winter and feeding it on the ground, but that was B.W.H (Before Wild Hogs).
Aldo Leopold: A Sand County Almanac & Other Writings on Conservation and Ecology (LOA #238) (Library of America)
First published in 1949, A Sand County Almanac combines some of the finest nature writing since Thoreau with an outspoken and highly ethical regard for America's relationship to the land. Written with an unparalleled understanding of the ways of nature, the book includes a section on the monthly changes of the Wisconsin countryside; another part that gathers informal pieces written by Leopold over a forty-year period as he traveled through the woodlands of Wisconsin, Iowa, Arizona, Sonora, Oregon, Manitoba, and elsewhere; and a final section in which Leopold addresses the philosophical issues involved in wildlife conservation. As the forerunner of such important books as Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Edward Abbey's Desert Solitaire, and Robert Finch's The Primal Place, this classic work remains as relevant today as it was sixty-five years ago.
Leopold Aldo Leopold and Curt Meine
Nature Anatomy See the world in a new way! Acclaimed illustrator Julia Rothman celebrates the diverse curiosities and beauty of the natural world in this exciting new volume. With whimsically hip illustrations, every page is an extraordinary look at all kinds of subjects, from mineral formation and the inside of a volcano to what makes sunsets, monarch butterfly migration, the ecosystem of a rotting log, the parts of a bird, the anatomy of a jellyfish, and much, much more.
Nature Anatomy Julia Rothman
Page 18 of 19 Coastal Prairie Courier
Thanks to Julie Gentry (Facebook)
The Lighter Side
Thanks to John Donaho (Facebook)
Page 19 of 19 Coastal Prairie Courier
.
2018 Officers
President Amber Leung Vice President Debby Wendt Secretary Pauline Zinn Treasurer Jamie Fairchild
2018 Committee Directors
• Past-President Diane Russell
• Programs Debby Wendt
• Communication--Vacant
• Publicity Margo Johnson
• Volunteer Service Projects Cheryl Garcia
• Advanced Training Ramona Ridge
• Membership Michelle Sullivan
• New Class Carol Hawkins
• New Class Representative--Vacant
• State Representative Carol Schwartz
• Seabourne—Jerry Trenta
CPTMN 2018 Board Members
We’re on the Web!
See us at:
http://txmn.org/coastal
COASTAL PRAIRIE CHAPTER OF THE TEXAS MASTER NATURALISTS
1402 Band Rd Extension Office
Rosenberg, TX 77471—8678 Phone: 281-633-7033
Check out our Facebook Page at TXMN Coastal Prairie Chapter Facebook
To post photos and information, email John Donaho
Also, share our chapter Facebook entries with your
friends on your Facebook Page
We also have a Chapter-Only Facebook Page that allows chapter members to post items. You can join by going to the website below and clicking on “Join”. The administrator will allow you access. This is for chapter members only.
Baumgartner remains on subsidence district board The Fort Bend Herald December 19th, 2018 TYLER JOHNSON [email protected]
The Richmond City Commission has chosen Karl Baumgartner to retain his seat on the board of the Fort Bend Subsidence District to represent the city. Baumgartner’s current term is set to expire in 2019. He was first appointed in May 2014 and will continue to be on the board for another two-year term. Other Fort Bend Subsidence District Board of Directors include Chairman Marvin Marcell, Vice Chairman B.T. Williams Jr., Secretary William Wallace, and members Clifton Aldrich, Jay D. Anderson, Bob DeForest, Mark Gehringer, Donna Kay Tucker, Quart Graves, Morris Mitchell, Jon Strange, Lawrence Vaccaro, Greg Wine and Benny Wleczyk……..
