Master Naturalists – Page 2 – The Hermits' Rest

Sixty-four Bird Species!

Today was a fun one in the bird department! It was a beautiful day, and I guess the birds thought so, too.

Look at that bright sky and brilliant foliage.

I guess the birds are on the move or something. Of the incredible 64 species that either I saw or Merlin heard, there were even two hummingbirds! I know a few hang around during the winter, but I was surprised to see Merlin heard a Rufous Hummingbird! But, hey, it turns out that they do come through here in the winter! I wish I’d actually seen it.

Other birds that have shown up in the past few days are more expected, though I don’t know if we get Towhees and Juncos very often here (common elsewhere in Texas). It’s as if we had a sudden influx of the birds from further south and west.

My notebook. Three full columns is 60 birds. I do abbreviate many names, just like Amy Tan.

Ones with an x in front are new this month, though I think the Brown Thrasher was here not too long ago. I love writing down the birds every day. It only matters to me, but it brings me joy to track their comings and goings on this one little spot where three habitats meet and there are many natural food choices. It’s not going to get written up for science, but it interests me (and a couple of you).

I’m almost done with my first pretty bird notebook. I’ll have to choose one with a winter bird on the cover next.

Other than birding and working, I enjoyed spotting a few intrepid flowers still blooming. I meant to capture some dandelions but forgot. All these cheer me up, though.

As always, it’s good to have nature to distract me from…I guess, nature. Something has given me a stuffy head this week (Lee, too) and today my ears were clogged. We assume it’s an allergen, though maybe we got a virus while camping with all those germy people (just kidding).

I was around more people this evening, as I learned about bears at the Master Naturalist meeting. No one breathed too hard on me.

So why am I blogging with this sinus headache? I’ll be back soon!

One More Good Day at the River

I’m not kidding. If I lived on one of these Texas Hill Country Rivers like the Blanco, you’d find me every day sitting under a huge bald cypress tree looking at the river life, marveling at the life within the moving water.

I spent a great deal of time this morning just watching fish being fish. It makes me miss my aquariums.

Look at these bluegill beside a cypress.

The morning was magical in many ways, from the light shining on grasses to meeting some interesting Master Naturalists and birders. That’s one reason I love visiting state parks! It’s so much. Fun to talk about what birds and plants we have on our land.

I did find birds farther down the pump house trail, where my binoculars let me enjoy the crown of a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, who also sang his entire repertoire for me.

I also managed to find some palafox and skeleton flowers, which was a pleasant pink surprise.

After that walk, I uploaded everything to iNaturalist until I was invited to lead a nature walk by some fellow campers. We went on the trail that goes under the highway, and I showed them the things I found yesterday as well as finding new plants and a Greylag Goose.

Later in the day I practiced taking pictures with Lee’s newest camera, once I got some help with the settings. Another reason it’s nice to see old friends again. I’d share photos, but they aren’t showing up for me.

I also have no photos of the enjoyable potluck dinner this evening. I got to meet some very interesting newer members and their fun kids and dogs, and enjoyed catching up with others. I’m glad I was able to be more social and really get into some meaningful exchanges.

I’m really going to hate to leave tomorrow, but since the temperatures are going to drop I will need to go bring in some plants. I’ll miss the fish, though.

I’m Sufficiently Learned

Another day in scenic Aggieland at the Master Naturalist meeting for this year is in the books. I even went outside and looked at the incredibly manicured grounds for a few minutes. The highlight was a few drops of rain falling, but just a few. There were so many dressed-up young people in never-ending maroon outfits that I had to flee.

I had to be sure to do the name for the spurge correctly, since I took a class on how the taxonomic system for all forms of life is currently set up. I learned a few nuggets, so it was worth going.

Other interesting sessions I attended were about jellies (correct word for jellyfish) and grasshoppers. I discovered I didn’t know squat about the jellies except that they sting. Now I know all the types in Texas and will never swim in the ocean again. On a positive note I had fun and met nice women.

I knew slightly more about grasshoppers, but thanks to the fabulous Brandon Woo, who can really spit out those Latin words, I am confident I can identify broad types of katydids, crickets and our grasshopper buddies. I took lots of photos for future reference.

Sam K introduced Brandon. Two weird but brilliant guys.

After the most-welcome lunch break, during which I picked up this piece of art, it was back to learning.

I took a two-hour class on andragogy (adult learning) that my friend Mike M has been working on. I’d seen it before but was interested in how he refined it and hoped to glean some useful ideas for my work, which happens to be teaching adults, after all.

Out of context, but these young men presented their work on an “algenator” device that cleans algae out of ponds. They were pretty precious.

I did learn a few things, and marveled at the extent to which Mike prepares each of his classes, including this one. Even if my style is different from his, I can learn a lot from how he interacts with students and presents information. That’s why I took two sessions from him.

His handout showed bright colors, white space, and QR codes for more information.

It’s been a very good conference, and getting to talk to new people and get to know old friends better has also been a highlight. The only bummer was the food service, which was merely okay. We all enjoyed the banquet and honoring members who reached milestones in the past year.

I’ll be glad to head home tomorrow and see the animals and human family!

You Know I’m an Introvert, Right?

What’s something most people don’t know about you?

I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I’m 100% an introvert. Well socialized, they tell me. I mention it often, as my links in this paragraph show, but it still surprises folks. Being an introvert (and hermit) always gets put to a test when I go to do things in large groups. I need my recovery time.

Yesterday was the first full day of the 2025 Texas Master Naturalist Annual Meeting, so I was around people from 7am to 10pm. This should explain why there wasn’t a blog entry! By the time I got back to the sad hotel, I just wanted to collapse.

I did see some nature. This cloudless Sulphur stood still!

Today is the second day, and I’m skipping a session to hide in a corner and write. Perfect for regaining energy.

Still, yesterday was a lot of fun. The highlight, for sure, was a visit to the SM Tracy Herbarium and the other collections in the huge former warehouse it shares. I’d been there before, but it’s so fascinating, and this time we were shown each collection by one of the people who work there.

This is a freezer to kill bugs on specimens.

The fish specialist pretending to be the herp specialist was my favorite, because he showed us his new gulper eel specimen and a video on these fascinating fish. The gulper eel is now my favorite. It will be yours, too, if you watch the video.

I made a new friend and we carpooled both here and to an afternoon session on old growth forests, where it was hot, but I learned about how to measure a tree (at 4.5’ and with a special diameter tape that I now want).

When we got back I talked a lot to vendors and bought a replacement for my missing binoculars, plus enjoyed a second viewing of my friend Mike M’s presentation on “eco-grief.”

Still thinking about what metal art to buy

It’s been fun hanging out with old friends and meeting new ones. The dinner presentation was a sweet tribute to where volunteering can take you, then we tested out the new bar in the convention center. It has a great view. I only had ginger ale and bitters, since I had to drive to the hotel, but conversation was good!

Dinner speakers, including good ole Sam K. He’s a great ambassador for us.

Getting More Naturalist-y

I still don’t feel too great since my bruising on various appendages is setting in, so I took it slow this morning until I had a nice early lunch with my friends Lynn and Don. We had interesting semi-Mexican food and just chatted. I told them, as I’m telling you now, that last night I had a dream in which some little kids did something funny, and I laughed so hard that I woke myself up! That was a new one.

The Master Naturalist Annual Meeting is in a fancy hotel and conference center on the Texas A&M campus, which means you are required to say “howdy” a lot and whoop. Eh. But it’s a nice place.

I attended a session or two but mostly enjoyed the vendors, which include at least three talented artists, one on canvas, one in metal, and one in super-realistic machine embroidery.

I’m going to get metal art for the motorhome, because it’s all stuff Lee will really like.

I don’t have photos of the machine embroidery, but I was very impressed with the artist, who modified used machines to do much more intricate designs than they originally would have. She seems like a big bundle of talent and skill!

The other thing I was impressed by was a series of poster sessions by young scholars in the natural sciences. I had a great time talking to them and asking them questions about javelinas, goats, and bats, among other things. They were all very articulate!

It’s been good seeing my local friends and some old pals, and the next two days will be more packed with activities, so I’ll rest up now. Tylenol is helping, but I’m just sore.

All By Myself

I’m all cozy in a hotel very close to a University campus. So it’s not quiet. I’m pretty tired from all that bleeding and stitching yesterday, so you’re not getting much to read tonight.

I did do a BioBlitz at Lick Creek Park in College Station today, but it was very low key because I just wasn’t ready for big crowds (auto correct made the word “crowds” into “briefs”) and talking. So I wandered around and looked at the saddest collection of wilted plants I’ve ever seen in the wild.

It’s hard to find diverse plants when everything is brown and droopy.

I found a few things and would have seen more if I’d been in the guided botany walk.

There were irrigated pollinator gardens around the nature center. I hoped to get lots of pollinator photos, but the butterflies seemed more intent on mating than sipping nectar. And the mid-afternoon sun makes phone photography hard. You can’t see the screen, so you miss a lot. I tried taking distant photos and cropping, with poor results. So the four types of skippers and the many Queens remain uncaptured.

I only heard four birds, too. But, it was a day outdoors and I did chat with a few like-minded people. No complaints.

Thanks to all who checked in on me. I will endeavor to not fall this weekend.

Mothing

Tonight’s Master Naturalist meeting presentation was on moths. It turns out I have a lot to learn about moths, which far outnumber butterflies, so I thoroughly enjoyed the presentation by a very personable Swedish woman who I’d love to know better.

This fiery skipper would like to point out that butterflies are still fascinating.

It turns out all that sorrel vine at our house attracts the beautiful Wilson’s Wood Nymph moth, so I will need to share it with our Wildscape for a new project.

We did some mothing after the meeting was over. That’s where you shine a bright light with UVA in it on a white cloth and see what shows up. I’ve done it before at Master Naturalist annual meetings, but it was fun to do it in Cameron.

Genuine moth. The good old Vagabond Sod Webworm moth *Agriphila vulgivagellus*

We didn’t see many moths, but did realize that by attracting tiny insects, we were providing a smorgasbord for Asian lady beetles. It was like Wild Kingdom (that’s an old TV show).

Maybe I’ll set something up so I can get better photos with the good camera while we go camping this weekend. Ooh, I can see a white sheet from where I’m writing this…in my bedroom…not sweating. Yes, the air conditioner is working again.

I can enjoy my glow-in-the-dark fingernails comfortably. They really looked good in the motorhome, where I slept last night, because it gets dark in there.

Traipsing Around

I’m missing RV travel, I can tell. Anytime I get an offer to go do something, I try to figure out a way to tack on a nature trip. I did that today!

Nature. She is good. Maximillian Sunflower.

I stayed in College Station last night after the dinner with my friends, which provided me with the chance to visit some parks there. After a hotel breakfast with many food labels in Spanish (see, Texas IS bilingual), I walked around behind all the hotels and restaurants to find a nice, older neighborhood that was chock full of Blue Jays. They love urban spaces! I found some wild areas, so my iNaturalist needs were sated.

I checked out and went to the next place, which I could probably have walked to. It was a small nature preserve in the middle of the nice neighborhood.

I noted it had a Texas Master Naturalist sign. The park has seen better days, maintenance-wise, but the paths are still there, and there are good places to sit and look at wildlife. And if you like ragweed, it’s a great time to visit.

Still, I found some interesting plants and saw lots of birds, including this Greater Roadrunner with its catch.

I decided next to go check out Lick Creek Park, where lots of the outings at the Texas Master Naturalist meeting in October will be hosted. I’m glad I went, since I couldn’t register for the Annual Meeting until today, one day after registration opened, so all the field trips were full.

Anyway, it was already hot by the time I got to the huge park, so I just did a short loop trail. There was much to see and photograph, plus quite a few summer birds. A Summer Tanager taunted me for at least ten minutes hopping from tree to tree, but hiding. I certainly knew it was there!

I made my way home full of nature and happiness, only to spend the rest of the day enjoying nature at home. Beautiful clouds came in bearing very welcome rain, which was pleasant to observe from the shelter of the porch. Lee and I read, looked at birds, and relaxed for quite a while!

This all constituted a fine day in which I had no complaints. Well, I didn’t get to ride horses. Maybe tomorrow!

Lee got these pictures of the Mockingbird babies in our small tree. They look great!

Repost: You Know They’re Here, but They Are Hard to See

This is not Déjà vu.

I’m sharing what I wrote up this morning on the Master Naturalist chapter blog. I think you’ll enjoy it, too.

Posted on July 21, 2025by Sue Ann (Suna) Kendall

Those of us in and around Milam County, Texas know there are more native mammals out in our area besides deer, cottontails, raccoons, opossums, and armadillos. But many aren’t easy to spot. I’ve never seen a porcupine, for example, but I know they’re out there. Occasionally we will spot coyotes, bobcats, or (very rarely) mountain lions. The most fun mammals we look for, though, are beavers and river otters.

A likely sighting site, Walker’s Creek bridge on County Road 140, featuring: flood debris.

This morning I was doing my daily walk to the bridge and back, dreading the inevitable scattering of annoyed vultures (today both Black and Turkey) who have been patiently working on what appeared to be a deceased Holstein steer, which must have come a long way, since we have no Holstein cattle nearby. Cow mercifully not shown.

Sure enough, I scared the giant birds off. Then I noticed a head larger than that of a turtle or snake in the creek. Ooh! A mammal! I was instantly ready to snap a photo, figuring it would see me and exit.

Sure enough, something brown and wet was exiting. Was it a beaver or an otter? I was ready to verify by checking its tail.

Yay! It was a river otter! How fortunate I was to see this water mammal! I’ve seen two swimming together here a few years ago, and one crossing our field after a big rain. That was very cute.

I didn’t take too many more photos, because I was enjoying the moment. But I was very happy to finally document one on iNaturalist!

River otters are also called common otters (Lontra canadensis). As their scientific name suggests, they are found all over North America, except for a swath of territory in the center of the country.

They love to eat fish, crayfish, and turtles, but will also eat other small animals. They aren’t a danger unless you own a fish farm, which would lead to happy otters. River otters also love to play, which makes them very popular in zoos.

I’m glad we still have some otters here in Milam County, because they’re a sign of healthy waterways. I guess Walker’s Creek is pretty good other than pooping and dying cattle.

I’m still looking for a beaver, though I’ve seen evidence at a fellow Master Naturalist’s property nearby.

Bonus observations:

I saw a Northern Cardinal eating away at the berries of a nettle-leaf noseburn vine. more fell to the ground than went in.
Yesterday I was swimming when I saw a small bird bathing in the shallow “beach” end of our pool. I figure it was a House Sparrow, but her breast was yellowish. Then she shook her wings. She was a Painted Bunting! I’d never seen one at the pool before!
Also yesterday I heard a Summer Tanager, and something chirped back. It was the female, for once not hiding. I’m always impressed with myself if I can ID a female bird of a species with drab females.

Nettleleaf noseburn *Tragia urticifolia –* photo by Sue Ann Kendall

Female Painted Bunting Passerina ciris – photo by Lloyd Davis

Female Summer Tanager *Piranga Rubra* – photo by Don Danko

Tarot Card of the Day

Today I drew a great card for the topic of this blog, the Child of Air (page of Swords). It’s about having the enthusiasm of a curious child who is in awe of nature and the world around them. In the Gaian deck, she is entranced by butterflies, an air allusion.

I bet she’d have been as excited as I was about encountering an otter in the wild!

Rainy Rainy Floody Floody

Gee whiz. Last night 8.5” of rain fell at the Hermits’ Rest. That’s the second most since we’ve been keeping records (2011). It was wet this morning.

It’s rare for water to flow over our driveway, which is the dam that created the front pond. It did last night, though, and much of our road base washed away.

This is worse than it looks. The ruts are deep.

The pond got the highest I’ve ever seen it, but with the water flowing quickly through our big culvert, it quickly lowered once rain stopped.

At left you can see how high the water got. The little trees in the water show the normal “full” line.

I walked down the road to see how Walker’s Creek looked. I’m used to it being out of its banks, but it was way over the road and there was a large dead tree in the middle of the bridge. That’s some strong water.

Looking at the fence on the right you can see how much higher the water was!

I talked to the guys who put the sign out. They said they’d move the tree when the water receded, but we think the neighbor down the road did it.

I thought about all the birds and turtles and hoped they were okay. I knew the frogs were happy, because I could hear at least four kinds.

The creek is usually at the far tree line.

I’m always fascinated by how the water drains from the property next to ours down an arroyo, to be joined by runoff from the cultivated field across the road, which becomes our mighty stream that joins the creek eventually.

Our back pond also has runoff feeding into it. When it’s full, the water goes to the pond behind our woods, then helps flood the floodplain field. No wonder it looks like we live on a lake when it rains a lot. All this drainage will start after receiving two inches of rain. Eight inches creates huge masses of water heading along until it reaches the Little River, which is also joined by Big Elm and Little Elm Creek. I’m guessing all their water has made the Brazos River pretty impressive right now.

Here you can see Walker’s Creek, which goes by my house. Above it is Pond Creek, which is a different watershed. Our creek is joined by Terry Branch just before going into Big Elm Creek. The creek that joins Big Elm is Little Elm. Big Elm joins the Brazos quite a ways east of this map.

It was interesting that the talk at tonight’s Master Naturalist meeting was watersheds. How water flows is mysterious but it works! Soon the creeks will all be back to normal, and at some point, Walker’s Creek will go through another dry period. I hope not too soon.

Outflow from the pond. The new concrete did its job.

Ooh, in other excitement, I finally finished May on the temperature blanket. I sure was glad to receive new black yarn!