C R O S S T I M B E R SC H A P T E RN E W S L E T T E R

VOLUME 2NUMBER 1

JAN/FEB 2013

I’m really happy to be able to say that.

After all, the world was supposed to end on Dec

21, 2012, right? Those Mayans were an amazing

civilization and really advanced the way that we

keep track of time, but on this matter, I’m more

than excited that were absolutely, positively wrong!

So now it’s time to get on with business, get on

with a new year, and get on with what we all love

to do. Get outside!! Winter still has it’s chilly grip

on the area, but we can work with that and volunteer our time in one way or another to get our

Master Naturalist message spread. The year ahead promises some great things. New and

returning board and committee members are working hard behind the scenes for 2013. We hope

to have some great programs, new volunteer opportunities, and exciting Advanced Training as well.

So to all of you new members, welcome aboard. To all of you returning members, welcome back,

and to all of you possible future members, come on in, the water’s fine, and luckily, another year

older!!!!!!!

PRESIDENTHESTER SCHWARZER

VICE-PRESIDENTCHAD ETHERIDGE

SECRETARYALICE MOFFAT

TREASURERSANDY FOUNTAIN

RECORDS CHAIRRICK SHEPHERD

VOLUNTEER/AT CHAIRBILL SHAW

OUTREACH CHAIRGEORGE MCBRIDE

HOSTESSKIM GUNNLAUGSSON

HISTORIAN/NEWSLETTERCHAD ETHERIDGE

Goals and Bucket ListsSuddenly it is 2013. It seems only yesterday I was celebrating the start of 2012 from a

hospital room after back surgery and planning the wonderful accomplishments possiblein 2012. Needless to report, only tiny steps forward have resulted since those lofty plans.Now a new year stretches before all of us. What plans can be made for our personalgrowth and the enhancement of the precious land we love. Can we reach 100 citizens ofthe area with our story? Can we open the eyes of even one small child to the untoldmysteries that abound in the natural world? How can we carry our Master Naturalistgoals forward? Do we establish a “bucket list”? Maybe a set of definitive goals wouldwork as well. Here are some we might consider:

*Plan and produce a special weekend program for family groups.

*Have 95 % of our membership complete all requirements for the year by November 2013.

*Have all 2012 class members complete all make-up assignments by this year’s end.

*Operate a well-stocked booth at all events available.

*Have members available to speak on a wide variety of topics whenever asked. (seek opportunities)

*Be the best represented Chapter at the Texas Master Naturalist state meeting in October.

*Have articles published in the local newspapers or other media to alert the public of our activities.

*Establish a Junior Master Naturalist program for the area.

This may not be your vision for the Cross Timbers Chapter. What do you wish wewould accomplish this year? Please, give this some serious thought and send notes toanyone on the board. We each spend a bit of time in classes and volunteer activities andwant our efforts to count. How best can we fulfill the Master Naturalist mission?At the end of 2013 what will our completed list contain? We truly can make a differencein our communities. Let us each seek opportunities to make this happen.Share your ideas. Make this a banner year. Hester Schwarzer, President Cross Timbers Master Naturalist

Frostweed, Verbesina virginica.

This lovely perennial plant is native to Texas and many other states, buthas been ignored by commercial nurseries.

The large leaves give it a rather tropical look, but it is very hardy. It canreach as high as 6 feet, but averages 4 feet. Trimming it back in June will giveyou a fuller plant and more blooms. It likes full sun, partial or full shade.Frostweed requires a small amount of water to be happy.

Its native habitat is river banks, open woodlands and shaded woods.The large clusters of white flowers bloom in August and September and areusually covered with bees and butterflies. The foliage is a larval host for theSummer Azure, Bordered Patch and Silvery Checkerspot butterflies.

As if all that wasn’t enough, when a freeze happens the stems will burst andmake beautiful ice formations at the base of the plants, but you have to go outearly to see it, the ice sculpture melts fast.

FROSTWEED

o kidding, there I was. Somewhere on a river.....

Enjoying a beautiful spring morning. Listening to the gentle ripple of gurglingwater as it parted for the bow of my canoe and quickly glided sternward along theslick green sides. Watching the slowly retreating whirlpool eddies created by thepaddle blade as it pulled through the gentle resistance of the warming water.Moving quietly forward, listening, observing, rounding a bend in the river'ssinuously winding water course when suddenly...it happened! Off to river-left, asplash, a sudden burst of speed, a rapid vibration of wing beats against air as apair of ducks erupt upward with a whistling alarm call and quickly leave mebehind. I float along in the increasing silence of their departure, staring upwardin amazement with a smile on my face. I had been seeing ducks of all kindsthroughout the winter. Migratory visitors that linger a while and then go on theirway back to nesting grounds farther north Most of these itinerant waterfowl hadalready moved on. The pair of ducks in my encounter, however, were special.These were after all my favorite ducks. These ducks were not migrating through,but simply moving about.

These ducks were Wood Ducks (Aix Sponsa) and they live here all year long.Locals, friends, and show-offs, they are our only year round resident ducks. Fewsights in nature can compare to the beauty of a Wood Duck drake in his fullbreeding plumage. They have iridescent green crested heads with a bright redeye and a distinctive flair of white feathers that extend down and back along theirNeck. Their bodies are chestnut, bronze, tan, and cream and there is an ornate

pattern on nearly every feather. The female, while much more muted in color, stillhas the distinctive crested head, but with a white eye ring. As these ducks swimthey bob their heads back and forth drawing attention to the two distinct eyepatterns. If you were to lift these ducks out of the water you would noticesomething else very unique. Their webbed feet have small, sharp claws on eachof their toes. This is very unusual for a duck, but extremely necessary for a woodduck as they are a perching duck. You can, unlike other ducks, see them high upin trees and these claws permit them to grasp the limbs on which they perch.They are a medium sized duck, about three-fourths the size of a mallard, which isthe duck most people are most familiar with. Adults average 19-21 inches inlength with a wingspan of 26-29 inches. They weigh between 16-30 ounces andare very agile and swift fliers, reaching speeds of 20 miles per hour. Anotherunique feature that they share with few other ducks is that they do not quack.They whistle and chirp to communicate.

The wood duck's breeding habitat consists of wooded swamps, shallow lakes,marshes, ponds, or creeks. They fare best when open water alternates with 50-75% vegetative cover such as willow, alder, button bush, and arrowhead, that theycan hide and forage in. Their range is eastern North America, the west coast ofthe United States and on into Mexico. Birds are year-round residents in theirPacific flyway and southern range, which includes north Texas, but northernpopulations migrate south for the winter. This leads to a very unique situationhere in north Texas. In Fall and Winter we actually have two separatepopulations. The first is the adult birds that nested here along with the youngbirds that were produced in the state during the Spring and Summer. Togetherthese birds form a resident winter population. Texas is also the southernterminus for birds migrating from the north. So Texas hosts a migratory non-

resident winter population as well. Both groups merge into one large compositewintering population, but as spring approaches the two groups again separatethemselves into the two distinct populations. The migratory birds head backnorth to nest and the locals just hang around waiting to begin their nesting here.

Wood duck nesting is in and of itself an extremely unique and interestingPhenomena. F irst of all, in southern regions they can hatch two broods a season.Wood ducks are the only North American duck to do this. Secondly, their choiceof nesting sites is very different from other ducks. They typically nest in cavitiesof trees which is another reason for the claws on their toes. Usually the nestingtrees are close to the water, but may be as far as a mile away. These cavities canrange from a few feet off of the ground to as high as 300 feet! The elevation offersprotection from predators. The openings to the cavities may be as small as 4inches or as wide as 2 feet. Depth averages about 2 feet but in rotten trees can beas deep as 15 feet. The hens will line the nest with down feathers and softmaterial and usually lay a clutch 7-15 white-tan eggs that hatch in about 30 days.

Often, people build nesting boxes on poles near the water when natural habitatis lost. These can be a great help, however, if the boxes are placed too closetogether, hens may lay eggs in neighboring boxes which may result in as many as40 eggs and unsuccessful incubation. This behavior is known as intraspecificbrood paratism, or nest dumping. The ducklings are precocial, or relativelymature, at hatching. This adaptation allows them to perform an amazing feat.One day after hatching, the hen goes below the nest, either on the water or theforest floor if away from water, and starts to whistle and chirp to the hatchlings.Eventually curiosity gets the best of them and one brave little duckling will climbup to the opening of the nest. Again the sharp toe claws come into play allowingthem to accomplish this maneuver. Soon the calls of mother prove too alluring

and the brave little duckling takes a leap of faith.• Off it jumps, remember frompossibly 300 feet, and lands beside mom, none the worse for wear.• Fluffy feathersand very light weight allow baby wood ducks to bounce very well!• The otherssoon follow the leader and all are reunited.• The ducklings can swim and find foodat this ripe old age of one day!• Off they go to follow mom to get busy eating andgrowing.• They feed by dabbling (shallow dives) and by walking on land to findfood.• Wood ducks are omnivorous and will eat insects, duckweed, water lily,water primrose, berries, acorns, and seeds.• Hens will care for the ducklings for5-6 weeks, but leave before they can fly which is about 8-9 weeks.

The Wood Duck population was in severe decline in the late 19th century due toextreme habitat loss and market hunting for both meat and plumage for the ladieshat market in Europe, much as the American beaver was in decline for thegentleman's hat market.• By the opening of the 20th century they had virtuallydisappeared from much of their normal range.• Thanks to the Migratory BirdTreaty of 1916 and the subsequent enactment of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of1918, populations began to recover and rebound in the 1920's.• Development ofartificial nesting boxes in the 1930's added to the recovery.• Protection of theAmerican beaver and resulting expansion of their populations led to a majorincrease in ideal forested wetland habitat which of course aided the wood ducksas well.• Another instance where everything is connected.• Population continuesto increase today and that is a good thing since wood ducks are the second mosthunted ducks after mallards.

So, we are very fortunate to have this extremely unique and beautiful duck withus throughout the year. They have been around a very long time and PrehistoricIndians found them amazing just as I do.• Their likeness has been found carvedinto bowls and pipes used long, long ago.• Whether you call them wood ducks,woodies, summer ducks, swamp ducks, squealers, Carolina ducks, or any otherpopular name they have been given over the years, they are a part of us here innorth Texas.• A very welcome part indeed.

So, until we meet again, I'll be out, as usual,

Somewhere On A River.....................

Chad Etheridge

GUEST COLUMN

ried chicken wrapped up in foil fresh out of the frying pan, homemade pickles and potatosalad, an ice cold bottle of Dr. Pepper with cane sugar (not the Dublin kind!). Even after all theseyears, I can still remember those sensations. That is how I remember Rocky Creek Park atBenbrook Lake. I grew up on the Southside of Fort Worth. Every Easter we would head out forthe park in our 64 Chevelle to have our picnic, hunt Easter eggs and fish from the bank for perch!We didn’t have a boat but we had very patient parents who could sit for hours waiting for thatfish to bite. Perch was about all you could catch, but ever so often one would be big enough totake home and fry. My brother and I, on the other hand, had very little interest in fishing, sowhen the hiding and hunting of eggs lost its thrill, we explored the park. I was and still am a rockhound. (I think it had something to do with being closer to the ground then and liking shinythings!) I have never lost the thrill of finding the perfect rock! Although that ground is a lotfarther down there than it used to be! Now that I think back on those family picnics at the lake Isee the pattern of how my life would turn out. I learned to love nature then and that became mydriving force as I became an elementary teacher. College science trips doing field workintroduced me to native plants but I didn’t realize what made me enjoy it until much later!

Most kids even back then looked forward to summer when they could sleep late, watch theirfavorite show on the 3 channels we got on our TV, listen to music, play baseball in the street, allthose things that occupied kids’ lives in the 60’s and 70’s. I, on the other hand, was forced as achild to get up early every 3 days, pile into a 57 Chevy station wagon and drive to Rendon wheremy family planted a garden on a friends’ place. We planted the seed, watched it grow, gatheredthe produce, “put” it up, and generally hated it! I could not understand why other kids didn’thave to do this demeaning work! Occasionally we would somehow get some of the neighborkids to come to the garden to “play” but it was really so we didn’t have to do it all! Riding in theback of the station wagon down a 2 land Interstate 35 to 1187 was a blast if you were singing 99bottles of beer on the wall with friends. However it was usually just my mother, brother and I onthose days that fell between the weekends. My parents both grew up on a farm during thedepression.

They were connected firsthand to the land by tangible ties. By the time I grew up those ties formost children were already disappearing. Now you have to look hard to find kids who evenknow those ties to the land even exist! Now, I realize the value of knowing what the land can dofor us. I especially understand that those roots of working the land make me understand themagnificence of our native land, the way it was “back then”. My dad used to talk about thebodark trees, farming the “bottom” land, and living in an old schoolhouse in North Texas whenelectricity was finally delivered to his house. He talked about the “hog wallows”, running cattleand picking cotton. In fact the only cuss word my daddy said was “cotton pickin”! Now, Irealize this was Blackland prairie where the boise de’arc tree has grown for thousands of years.While my grandmother was working in the garden in her bonnet, my brother and I would befishing for “crawdads” in the deep cracks of that black land. In fact that rich black prairie land isthe same stretch of land that I discovered teaching in Arlington where I started a school gardenat my school. That connection started my “re”-connection to the land!

There is a place just south of town adjacent to that Rocky Creek Park that I explored as a kidwhere you can find “crawdeads” and horseapples! All of this leads me to where I am today! I’mjust one person trying to do my part to save what is wild and native….what is supposed to behere! That area contains a vast area of virgin prairie that has been shown to have over 700native plant species. It has an old homestead that dates back to Civil War times with an

excellent example of a rock “barbed” fence protecting its fields. The creek flowing through isbrimming with fossils. Two buffalo, deer and even a rafter of turkey are roaming there. It hasamazing huge pecan, elm, hackberry, and boise de’arc trees as well!A developer would love this area of gently sloping hills. They can level the land, push it aroundand make it into the perfect “range” of homes that look like every other “range” in the metroplex,or sell it for the latest shopping megastore. perhaps we can rise up and say

We all have our favorite areas to support with our valuable time and efforts.There are always more places than volunteers and time to save, but this is an importantendeavor! I hope you will join us in whatever capacity you can. Right now the best way to helpis to talk about it…… spread the word! Tell your friends, your church, your hair stylist, yourneighbors, and especially your politicians! Friend us on Facebook and ask your friends to do thesame! Come on one of our prairie walks and experience the land for yourself. Join the Friends ofthe Fort Worth Prairie and help us forge our dream! We welcome you in whatever capacity youare willing and able to provide! We are getting approval for this to be an official CTMN project.Come dream with us! Current dreams include community education (public, private, and adult),conservation and restoration research and education, and eco-therapy for helping our peopleheal from all walks of life. What happens next is up to us!How to get involved—join us on Facebook, get on our email list, spread the word!Let’s make this a Prairie WORD FIRE!.!.!.!.!

Jo Ann Collins—Prairie Wordfire Starter, Rock Gatherer and Crawdad Fisher!

A WALK ON THE PRAIRIE

Jo ann is one of our ctmn members from the class of 2009. This is agreat project to get involved in. Jo ann is also interested informing a naturalists book club. Each month will introduce anew book on nature and a meeting for discussion upon completion.If you are interested or have any questions about the prairieproject or the book club, you may contact jo ann atjoacollins@gmail.com

Thanks joann for a wonderful article!!!

JANUARY 2013

ONGOING WORKDAYS: (VH) FWNC NATURAL GUARD EVERY THUR & SAT 9-NOONMOLLY HOLLAR WILDSCAPE : SEE WEBSITE WWW.THEWILDSCAPE.ORG

O S GRAY NATURAL AREA: 2ND SATURDAY OF MONTH 9-NOONNEW YORK AVE BLACKLAND PRAIRIE WORKDAY: 3RD SaTURDAY OF MONTH

S M T W T F S

1NEW YEARS DAY

PERIHELION11:00PM

2 3 4EARLY BIRDSFWNC8:30-10:30AT

5MEET THETURTLESFWNC10AM & 1PMAT

6INSECTS INWINTERFWNC1-2:30PMAT

7 8 9 10 11 12CANOE TOURFWNC8:30-NOONAT

132012ANIMAL/PLANTPOPULATIONEXPLOSIONFWNC1 &2PMAT

14 15 16 17 18 19WINTERWOODY PLANTIDFWNC1-4PMAT

20 21MARTIN LUTHERKING JR DAY

22 23 24 25 26

27FEEDING THEBIRDSFWNC1-3PMAT

28CTMNMONTHLYMEETINGBOTANICGARDENS7:00PM

29 30 31

February 2013

ONGOING WORKDAYS: (VH) FWNC NATURAL GUARD EVERY THUR & SAT 9-NOONMOLLY HOLLAR WILDSCAPE : SEE WEBSITE WWW.THEWILDSCAPE.ORG

O S GRAY NATURAL AREA: 2ND SATURDAY OF MONTH 9-NOONNEW YORK AVE BLACKLAND PRAIRIE WORKDAY: 3RD SaTURDAY OF MONTH

S M T W T F S

1EARLY BIRDSFWNC8:30-10:30AMAT

2A WALK IN THEWOODSFWNC1-3PMAT

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 GROWING UPWILD TEACHERWORKSHOPFWNC 8AM-12P

CANOE TOURFWNC 8:30-12PAT

10BENEFICIALARTHROPODSFWNC1-2:30PMAT

11 12 13 14 15 16WINTERWOODY PLANTIDFWNC1-4PMAT

17ANIMALS INWINTERFWNC1 & 2 PMAT

18PRESIDENTS DAY

CTMN MONTHLYMEETINGBOTANICGARDENS7:00PM

19 20 21 22FULL MOONPADDLEFWNC6-8:30PMAT

23BOATMAN ANDBIRDMAN TOURFWNC1-3:30PMAT

24WHAT INSECTSDOFWNC1-3PMAT

25 26 27 28EVENINGSTROLLFWNC6-7:30PMAT

KIM GUNLLAUGSSON