It’s time for Texas Parks & Wildlife’s 7th annual BioBlitz!
What is a BioBlitz?
A BioBlitz is an event in which volunteer scientists, families, students, and the community help complete a biological survey during a specified period of time. The Texas Pollinator BioBlitz is hosted by the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department and focuses on our pollinators and their habitats.
How do I participate?
This year’s event runs from October 7 through October 23, 2022. Find lots of information and how to register to log your observations on the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department page at this link.
Danaus plexippus – Monarch Butterfly. Photo by Bob Kamper.
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— by Erin Buhl
On April 23rd we had our field trip to Native American Seed in Junction, Texas. The area was very dry and windy, and is part of a multi-county area of Central Texas currently experiencing drought level D4 – Exceptional, the most severe. The group included around 33 people from our chapter and the Austin Chapter, as well as some from the Master Naturalists group.
Bill Neiman (top left) sharing a few words with the field trip participants. Photo by Vicky Husband.
The field trip started at the Hacienda House where Bill Neiman, the owner and founder of the company, spoke to us about his youth and how he got started in the business after initially doing a lot of landscaping work using exotics. Bill’s philosophy about the importance of native plants is summarized on the company’s website on their pages What We’re About, and Sensible People… Why Native Plants are the Right Choice, and I encourage you to read both articles.
Prairie Verbena (Glandularia bipinnatifida). Photo by Erin Buhl.
Next, we made our way down to see the fields. Despite the dry conditions and difficulty of irrigating the fields, the beauty of the native flowers in spring shone through as you can see in these photos. Our tour guides, George and Emily, freely shared of their knowledge and answered our many questions. Some of the plants we saw that were currently in bloom were Prairie Verbena (Glandularia bipinnatifida), Mealy Blue Sage (Salvia farinacea), Winecup (Callirhoe leiocarpa), and Huisache Daisy (Amblyolepis setigera). We were too early in the year to see the field of Standing Cypress (Ipomopsis rubra) in bloom, but were told it is an amazing sight.
Mealy Blue Sage (Salvia farinacea) with Winecup “interlopers” (Callirhoe leiocarpa). Photo by Erin Buhl.
Huisache Daisy (Amblyolepis setigera). Photo by Erin Buhl.
Eventually we made our way up to the equipment area and the seed collecting barn. The equipment and time needed to sort the seed from the chaff and ensure its purity and viability are surprising. The business has to take seed and farming equipment that is made for general use (corn, soybeans, etc.) and convert it to their purposes with so many different species of natives that they are growing. They are providing a unique and essential service to the entire state of Texas and I encourage everyone to support their business for your native seed needs.
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** ARCHIVED POST – LINKS AND IMAGES MAY NOT WORK**
— by Gary Bowers
Saturday, Feb 23, 2019 1:30 PM
On a bright, blustery Saturday a tiny but mighty group met in the upper parking lot at Berry Springs Park and Preserve. After a short meet and greet, the team fueled up on some high carb snacks before heading into the park.
The group walked a short, level loop around the ponds chosen to provide a variety of micro-climates in a short distance. We were almost immediately greeted with the wonderful scent of a Mexican Plum (Prunus mexicana) in full bloom (and hope the summer walk coincides with the ripening of these fruits). A few minutes later, we found a large area of Bluebonnets skirting the pathway. Combined with rosettes of Cutleaf Daisy (Engelmannia peristenia) and Mexican Hats (Ratibida columnifera), we are all anticipating a great show once the blooms are underway.
While the many mature pecans (both in the orchard in the natural areas) are stand out trees, there are many hidden gems if you slow down. Ten-petal Anemones (Anemone berlandieri), clumps of Buttercups (Ranunculus spp.), thickets of Roughleaf dogwood (Cornus drummondii), Elderberries (Sambucus nigra ssp. canadensis) and clumps of Bushy bluestem (Andropogon glomeratus) were just a few of those that we saw along the walk today.
Thank you to all who braved the bad hair day and joined us! And if you didn’t make it today, we hope you’ll join us in April when we return to the park for the Spring iteration of the walk.
