C h a p t e r N e w s - Texas Master Naturalist

Texas Master Naturalist Program

Cradle of Texas Chapter

Chapter News – May 2021

Chapter News is published by Texas Master Naturalist Cradle of Texas Chapter. Contact us at:

Texas A&M AgriLIFEBrazoria County Office21017 County Road 171Angleton, TX 77515-8903979-864-1558 (Angleton)979-388-1558 (Brazosport)281-756-1558 (Alvin)979-388-1566 (Fax)https://txmn.org/tmncot/[email protected]

The Texas Master Naturalist program is coordinated by Texas A&M AgriLIFE Ext. Svce. and Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept. TMN programs serve all people without regard to socio-economic level, race, color, sex, disability, religion, age, or national origin.

Masthead photo by Sierra Club, Houston Group

C O N T E N T SPresident’s Message

Page 2Upcoming General Meeting

Page 3Membership Data Report; TMN Annual Meeting

Page 4President’s Message, contd.;Member Spotlight: Karen Leder

Page 5A Novel Way to Teach the Value of a Salt Marsh

Page 6Little Slough Weir CrossingProject

Page 7A Snailing We Will Go

Page 8 - 13Migration Celebration PhotoContest Winners

Page 14Butterflies Seen During CityNature Challenge

Page 15Seen But Not Heard

https://facebook.com/TMN.COT

Mickey Dufilho is the president of the Cradle of Texas Chapter. She can be reached at [email protected].

R E M I N D E R

Please respond to the resumption of in-person meeting survey.

A M e s s a g e f r o m t h e P r e s i d e n t

T e x a s M a s t e r N a t u r a l i s t – C r a d l e o f T e x a s C h a p t e r

M a y 2 0 2 1

"When purple finches sing and soar . . .

With vernal gladness running o'er—

When joys like these salute the sense . .

Then waiting long hath recompense,

And all the world is glad with May."

~John Burroughs

May is indeed a happy month. Winter is

truly over, the days are longer, the plants

are blooming, and everything is verdant.

Most importantly, we are coming out of a

long year of an historic pandemic and

isolation, and we are beginning to resume

some of our activities. It is indeed a month

of hope and renewal.

You will note in the newsletter, there are

more volunteer opportunities in our

communities and the ability to work with

each other in person. The board agreed to

continue virtual membership meetings for

May and June and depending on feedback

from our membership on a survey, we might

be able to have a limited, in-person meeting

in July. PLEASE FILL OUT THE SURVEY

WHEN IT ARRIVES IN YOUR INBOX. WE

NEED YOUR FEEDBACK AS WE MOVE

FORWARD.

#TMNTUESDAYS – 2ND Tuesday each

month

These virtual presentations count as

Advanced Training if you watch during the

scheduled time or the recordings later. May

11 concerns National Wildlife Awareness

with a presentation by Chris Schenck,

Statewide Fire Leader. Remember to

register in advance.

BE THE CHANGE – 3rd Tuesday each

month

May 18th’s speaker for this webinar

series will be Alex Bailey of Black Outside,

C h a p t e r N e w sbased in San Antonio,

Texas, speaking on

“From Awareness to

Allyship: An intro to

Black Outside, Inc.

and engaging BIPOC communities.”

Register in advance to participate.

ONE YEAR LATER – NATURE

REFLECTIONS

The State would like to hear your

“reflection on how nature, and specifically,

the Texas Master Naturalist program, has

given you refuge or provided benefits in the

past year.” They would like you to make a

60-seconds or fewer video on your

thoughts. You can make a statement, write

a poem, show a painting or use any other

medium. You should upload your video by

May 31. Go to the following link for

instructions on uploading: Nature Reflections

2021 (tamu.edu)

2021 ANNUAL MEETING – OCTOBER 21

to 24, Irving, TX

A “save the date” email was sent out for

the annual meeting. Currently, it is a hybrid

format of in-person and virtual components.

Check the website for more details and

updates. Texas Master Naturalist 2021

Annual Meeting (tamu.edu).

I am looking forward to seeing you in

person at some of the volunteer activities.

Please stay well and stay safe.

When I was a new grandma, I gave my

grandson interesting nature books. I once

gave him Everyone Poops, to the horror of

Continued on page 4

Texas Master Naturalist Program—Cradle of Texas Chapter

General Meeting and Advanced Training

Wednesday, May 12, 2021, 9 AMVia email meeting invite to Texas AgriLIFE Extension Service’s

Microsoft Teams Meeting license

NOTES:

• Stay tuned for information and instructions via email in order

to “attend” the May virtual General Meeting.

• Missing meetings because of trouble logging in? We miss you

too! Contact John O’Connell at [email protected].

Kristine Rivers has been an avid birder since childhood, participating in

her first Christmas Bird Count (CBC) with the National Audubon Society at

age 14. Continuing to participate in multiple counts each year ever since,

she has been an Area Leader for the Brazoria-Columbia Bottomlands CBC

since 2013, and for the Galveston West End CBC since 2019.

Kristine loves sharing her passion for nature and wildlife with others and

founded Birding for Fun in 2015, which provides guided tours and

workshops that embrace her philosophy that birding should be accessible

to everyone.

She has provided nature-based education for both children and adults for

the Cities of Pearland, Meadows Place, Missouri City and League City, as

well as UTMB’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) in both Galveston

and Angleton.

Kristine became a certified Texas Master Naturalist in 2016 and was

President of the Cradle of Texas Chapter from 2017 until 2019.

Kristine Rivers

9:00 AM – 9:10 AM Welcome and Meeting Participation Notes

9:10 AM – 9:30 AM

Nature Notes

Speaker: Chris Kneupper, COT Member

Topic: “Some Old Maps of Texas”

9:30 AM – 10:15 AM Advanced Training

Speaker: Kristine Rivers, Birding for Fun and COT member

Topic: “A Bird’s Eye View on Behavior”[Hours for Advanced Training (AT) TBD at close of meeting]

10:15 AM – 11:00 AM General Membership Meeting

[Hours for Volunteer Time (VT) TBD at close of meeting]

T e x a s M a s t e r N a t u r a l i s t – C r a d l e o f T e x a s —C h a p t e r N e w s

M a y 2 0 2 1 – P a g e 2

Congratulations to those achieving recertification and awards as of April 30, 2021.

Impact Data YTD—30 April 2021

1708 Adults 2504 Youth 4212 Total

MEMBERSHIP DATA REPORT by Dave Brandes, Data Manager

2021 Recertifications

James Calvert Don Sabathier

Jerry Eppner Jimmy Salinas

Jackie Hicks Luanne Salinas

Phil Huxford Mary Schwartz

Karen Mosis Chip Sweet

Malcolm Mosis Anna Tobias


M a y 2 0 2 1 – P a g e 3

SPECIAL RECOGNITION FOR SPECIAL VOLUNTEERS

On April 20, after a

clean-up day at the

Discovery Center

of BNWR, Tom

Schneider of Texas

Mid-coast NWR

Complex recog-

nized Dick Schaff-

hausen as 2020

Volunteer of the

Year, and on behalf

of Friends of

Brazoria Wildlife

Refuges, Phil

Huxford honored retired board member David Plunkett for his many years of service.

250 Hours Milestone

Barbera Yoder Rose Wagner

500 Hours Milestone

Debbie Nance

1000 Hours Milestone

Regina Tippett

Hours Totals YTD—30 April 2021*

4246 Hours VT 998 Hours AT

* April only: 1177 VT and 192 AT Hours

This year’s meeting is a HYBRID Event—both

online and in-person at the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport

Marriott in Irving, Texas. Running from Thursday,

October 21, through Sunday, October 24, it will

include plenty of activities throughout the event! Join

us for a long weekend of greenspace adventures in

the hideaways of our largest urban area in Texas.

Any decision that may change the final format of the

Annual Meeting will be shared immediately and

travel/registration considerations will be made alongside

these updates.

A call for presentation proposals should be posted by

the time this issue of Chapter News is released.

Registration fees have not yet been announced.

For more information, visit https://txmn.tamu.edu/2021-

annual-meeting/

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGEContinued from Page 1


M a y 2 0 2 1 – P a g e 4

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: KAREN LEDERBy Kathy Pittman

my daughter. My grandson adored the book and told

everyone he met that “everyone poops,” which was

quite a conversation starter with strangers in the store.

This leads me to my monthly Factoid… Did you know

that turkey vultures, along with other vulture and stork

species, have a very memorable way of staying cool on

a hot day? They lack sweat glands, and

favorite memories was going on a nature walk with

other TMN members and learning to identify trees.

She also has a great desire to interact with the

community and to set a good example for her kids,

grandkids and others. Karen’s favorite volunteer

activity is rehabilitating wildlife, saving animals and

releasing them back into the wild. Karen says that

husband Danny “is always very supportive of

whatever crazy endeavor I take on!”

When asked how being a Master Naturalist has

changed her life, Karen says; “It has made me aware

of what we need to do to protect nature. Seeing all

the activities that Texas Master Naturalists do to

improve our areas inspires me.” Some of Karen’s

goals are to know that she made a difference in the

world and to save as many wild animals as she can.

Outside of her Master Naturalist activities, Karen

enjoys photography, quilting, spending time with

family, volunteering at her church, and raising

chickens and quails.

Karen advises new members to “get involved with

as much as you can and take pride in whatever you

do.“

Karen lives with Danny,

her husband of 48 years

and is currently retired. A

summa cum laude graduate

of Alvin Community College

with a degree in Office

Administration, Karen

worked for the U. S. Postal

Service for 30 years. She is

a professional photographer

and co-owner of Magnum

Hunting Products. Karen

currently works with Gulf Coast Wildlife Rescue in

Brazoria County as a wildlife rehabilitator.

Karen’s favorite park in Brazoria County is Camp

Mohawk, as her family has a special connection to it

via her great-grandfather Henry Clements, who

helped build the park and built the first Tabernacle at

the Camp.

Karen’s love of nature and passion for wildlife led

her to become a Master Naturalist. One of her

feathers do not work all that well if they are wet. So,

what is a turkey vulture to do? It defecates on its

feather-free legs, which adds moisture to the skin that

can then evaporate like sweat. The mixture of feces

and urine is also sterile, helping to decontaminate the

bird’s legs after they have been wing-deep in rotting

carcasses.

Ph

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M a y 2 0 2 1 – P a g e 5

A NOVEL WAY TO TEACH THE VALUE OF A SALT MARSHBy Peggy Romfh

We recently saw an educational display about the many roles a marsh assumes in nature. We know that

marsh plants can withstand tidal fluctuations and grow in a mixture of salt and fresh water, and that marsh

plants decompose to become food for the thriving community of living creatures that live there. But who

ever thinks that a marsh acts like a bar of soap, a baby crib, a hotel or a coffee filter? What a fun way to

remember the value of a marsh!

BAR OF SOAP

The roots of cattails

clean chemicals and

other contaminants out

of the water.

HOTEL

Marshes provide

important rest stops for

many migrating birds.

COFFEE FILTER

Marshes filter salt, sediment

and pollutants out of the

water.

BABY CRIB

Marshes serve

as nurseries for

many animals. Brazoria County Marsh


M a y 2 0 2 1 – P a g e 6

FOBWR’S LATEST PROJECT: LITTLE SLOUGH WEIR-CROSSING FOOT BRIDGEBy Oron Atkins

Below is a description of a small project our team

just completed. Curtis Jones at the Mid-coast Wildlife

Refuges office asked if the Friends of Brazoria

Wildlife Refuges could install a relatively-short foot

bridge on Little Slough Trail. It’s located at the

southern leg of the Cedar Lake Plantation Loop Trail

located right across CR316 from the Mid-coast

Complex office (see Google map below).

Some time back, a pond area had been created in

the Little Slough bed, and the excavated spoils were

placed such that a levee was created downstream of

the pond. It turned out that the levee needed to be

modified by removing some of the material to

essentially make a weir to reduce the overflow

height. Our job was to construct a walk bridge once

the weir was cut.

Craig Hoffpauir, also a refuge staff member, used

the excavator to make the weir; the refuge supplied

construction materials; and foot bridge construction

took two days. We took advantage of having the

excavator on-site and used it to “push” in the ground

posts to 36” depth and used the corner posts and

4x4x12-foot ground contact posts as intermediates—

about two per side. Twelve-foot posts were used, as

they also served as guardrail posts. Using a

construction technique like that at Bobcat Trail—five

across 2x6 stringers resting on 2x6 double saddles

across all ground posts, we installed ½” galvanized-

carriage through bolts across the saddles. Three-inch

galvanized lag bolts were used on the outside

stringer-to-post connections. We decked the

substructure using 2x6 composite. The foot bridge is

six feet wide and sixteen feet long.

Martin Hagne, George Valadez and I worked on the

construction phase of this project. Craig operated the

excavator and added ground material to each end of

the foot bridge to create ramps. Refuge staff member

Darrell Deneal and refuge volunteer Dan McCrady

used a motorized compactor on the earth ramps Craig

had made. Since Curtis delivered all materials

needed, we had no downtime waiting for or making

trips for materials. It was a very satisfying project.

GCBO’s Martin Hagne, George Valedez, and Oron

Atkins building the Little Slough Weir-Crossing

footbridge. Photos provided by Oron Atkins.


M a y 2 0 2 1 – P a g e 7

“A SNAILING WE WILL GO…”By David Heinicke

April 21—Dick Schaffhausen and I went on a snailing

trip today at Hudson Woods. With the cold (by my

standards) temperatures and strong winds, we had

very little luck finding adult snails—about 15 for the

whole day. We covered pretty much the entire west

end of Smith Lake, destroying eggs cases as we

went. There were plenty of those but less than I

thought we would find. Water levels have dropped in

the lake, and paddling is getting difficult in some

locations. Hopefully, we'll get some more water on

Friday.

We did find that there was a fairly large leak in one

of the kayaks. We had noticed it a couple of weeks ago

but located it today. Unfortunately, its location on the

boat makes it very difficult to patch. I changed out the

seat back and some of the other deck hardware from

the leaky boat with another boat that was previously

out of commission, thus keeping our kayak fleet at five

boats. I put a note on the leaky boat so no one will take

it out and sink it.

It had been about two weeks since we’d been to

Scobie Lake to smash eggs, and our next trip will be to

ensure that we smash any additional eggs. The goal is

to keep Scobie Lake as snail free as possible.

It looks like it's going to be warm (86 F) by Saturday

(April 24), so I'm planning to go out again.

Happy Snailing, Dave

April 24—I went out and paddled Scobie Lake this

morning. Two weeks ago, when

Dick Schaffhausen was there, we

found about 150 eggs cases—

pretty low compared to Smith Lake.

Today I could only find (and des-

troy) about 50 egg cases. Most of

those were on a couple clumps of

emergent vegetation on the north

end of the lake. I also found a few adult snails. Good

news on both counts. I'll continue to hit Scobie Lake

about every two weeks to (hopefully) keep

reproduction there to a minimum. It is my hope that

warming temperatures will make finding adult snails

easier on future trips. With water levels dropping in

Smith Lake, getting in and out of the kayaks gets

muddy, and paddling is difficult in some areas.

We start at 9 a.m. and go until about noon. You can

head out or stay, have lunch, and go back for a couple

more hours of snailing. Interested in joining us? Please

let me know: [email protected]

Thanks for your help, Dave

April 28—Dick Schaffhausen, Kathy Pittman, Jennifer

Sanchez and I went out to again do battle with the

Apple Snails at Hudson Woods. We worked the west

half of Smith Lake again. Some areas had much fewer

egg cases than last week (yea!) but other areas had

similar numbers as last week. Progress? Maybe? We

covered the entire west end today; the first time we've

done that, and we also had better luck finding adults,

ending up with about 100 adult snails removed

today! That’s the most we've had this year. Somehow

despite only working about half as long as the other

three of us, Jennifer "the snail killer" Sanchez caught

25% of the snails! Not sure what her technique is, but

she certainly showed up the rest of us.

Water levels continue to drop, making paddling

more challenging in some areas. It was a real workout

today, and I really appreciate those who came out.

With egg incubation times of two to three weeks, we

will leave the area we covered today alone next

week. I think we will move into the east end of Smith

Lake and cover it for the first time this season. It will be

interesting to see how many eggs come back in two

weeks on the west end.

If you're interested in helping, please let me know:

[email protected]

Thanks for your interest in protecting your wildlife

refuges,

Dave

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Photo by David Heinicke


M a y 2 0 2 1 – P a g e 8

MIGRATION CELEBRATION NATURE PHOTO CONTEST 2021 WINNERS

BEST IN SHOW

“Chilly Chickadee” Mike Zarella

BIRDS OF TEXAS—First Place

“Flock of Birds” Mariela Rodriguez

BIRDS OF TEXAS—Second Place

“Haybale Sentinel” Mike Zarella

The following were submitted by Kim Richardson, contest coordinator, on behalf

of Friends of Brazoria Wildlife Refuges. The judge was Charles Jesse Miller, Jr.


M a y 2 0 2 1 – P a g e 9

MIGRATION CELEBRATION NATURE PHOTO CONTEST 2021 WINNERS Continued

VERTEBRATES OF TEXAS—Second Place

“Alligator Under the Boardwalk” Ed Barrios

VERTEBRATES OF TEXAS—Third Place

“A Little Privacy” Dick Schaffhausen

BIRDS OF TEXAS—Third Place

“Pileated Woodpecker” Ken Conkle

VERTEBRATES OF TEXAS—First Place

“Looking at You” Ken Conkle


M a y 2 0 2 1 – P a g e 1 0


INVERTEBRATES OF TEXAS—Third Place

“What” Dick SchaffhausenINVERTEBRATES OF TEXAS—Honorable Mention

“Mistflower Queen” Mike Zarella

INVERTEBRATES OF TEXAS—First Place

“Orb Weaver in Golden Light” Ken ConkleINVERTEBRATES OF TEXAS—Second Place

“Stuck on You” Dick Schaffhausen


M a y 2 0 2 1 – P a g e 1 1


PLANTS AND FUNGI OF TEXAS—First Place

“Supper Time” Dick Schaffhausen

PLANTS AND FUNGI OF TEXAS—Second Place

“Green Strawberry Hedgehog Cactus”

Stan Bravenec


M a y 2 0 2 1 – P a g e 1 2


LANDSCAPES OF TEXAS—Third Place

“Rising High” Brian KnappNATURE DIGITAL ART—First Place

“Big & Bright”” Brian Knapp

NATURE DIGITAL ART—Second Place

“Milky Core” Brian KnappNATURE DIGITAL ART—Third Place

“Sisters” Brian Knapp


M a y 2 0 2 1 – P a g e 1 3


NATURE DIGITAL ART—Honorable Mention

“Concealing Coloration” Stan Bravenec

PHOTOS FROM AROUND THE WORLD—

First Place

“Smooth Billed Ani” Mariela Rodriguez


Second Place

“Green Heron Reflection” Mariela Rodriguez


Third Place

“Sun Dog Sunset” Stan Bravenec


M a y 2 0 2 1 – P a g e 1 4

SOME BUTTERFLIES SPOTTED DURING THE CITY NATURE CHALLENGEBy Debbie Nance

Debbie and Jim Nance have been participating in a Texas butterfly-monitoring project at Camp

Mohawk County Park by visiting the park once a week, walking the Loblolly Loop, and recording the

number and type of butterflies seen. On May 2, as part of the City Nature Challenge, the Nances were

astonished to see 24 butterfly species. The most they had seen on previous visits was nine. Below are

some of the species spotted.

Can you identify these butterflies? See answers below.

From top row, left to right, the butterflies were identified

on iNaturalist as: Pearl Crescent; Black Swallowtail;

Monarch; Red Admiral; Gray Hairstreak; American

Lady; and Question Mark.

All photos by Debbie Nance.


M a y 2 0 2 1 – P a g e 1 5

SEEN BUT NOT HEARD

Kathy Pittman submitted this picture taken by someone she met at GCBO’s Neotropical Bird

Sanctuary. It was taken on March 2, 2021, at Bobcat Woods Trail on the San Bernard National

Wildlife Refuge by Betty Martinez, who generously agreed to share it with COT.

A few COT members have mentioned seeing bobcats (including kittens) recently on or near

the trail. So, the answer to the unspoken question is yes, there are bobcats on the Bobcat

Woods Trail…they just do a good job of hiding.

Cradle of Texas Chapter Board

Master Naturalist Email ListsTMN-COT Chapter list

• Instructions https://txmn.org/tmncot/organization/email-lists/

• Send messages to [email protected]

• Message Archive http://tinyurl.com/TMN-COT-Mail

• All messages are sent immediately.

State Master Naturalist list

• Instructions http://txmn.org/staying-connected/sign-up-for-tmn-listserv/

• Subscribe [email protected]

• All messages are held for moderation by the TMN State Coordinator.

Chapter News is published monthly on Monday before the General Meeting by the Texas

Master Naturalist Cradle of Texas Chapter. Submissions are welcome; submission deadline is

5:00 PM on Thursday before the General Meeting. Send submissions by email to Chapter News

Editor at [email protected]. Submissions may be edited for clarity and spacing.

Mickey Dufilho, Brazoria

Kathy Pittman, Rosharon

Lisa Myers, Lake Jackson

Donald Sabathier, Pearland

Connie Stolte, Palacios

Bill Ahlstrom, Angleton

Mary Schwartz, Clute

John Boettiger, Lake Jackson

Bob Whitmarsh, Lake Jackson

Oron Atkins, Lake Jackson

Ruby Lewis, Angleton

Rose Wagner, Sweeny

Larry Peterson, Manvel

Daveyon Edwards, Angleton

Kristine Rivers

Dave Brandes

John O’Connell, AgriLIFE Extension Service

Paul Cason, Sea Center Texas

Lisa Myers, Lake JacksonMickey Dufilho, Dave Brandes, Peggy Romfh, Kim Richardson, Debbie Nance, Kathy Pittman, OronAtkins, David Heinicke

https://txmn.org/tmncot/

http://facebook.com/TMN-COT

https://twitter.com/tmncot

http://tinyurl.com/TMN-COT-Mail

President

Vice President/Programs

Secretary

Treasurer

State Representative

Immediate Past President

New Class Director

Membership Director

Advanced Training Director

Volunteer Service Director

Outreach Director

Chapter Host

Communications Director

Class of 2020 Representative

Non-voting positions:

Speakers Bureau Coordinator

Data Manager

Chapter Advisors

Newsletter Editor

Newsletter Contributors

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M a y 2 0 2 1 – P a g e 1 6

C h a p t e r N e w s - Texas Master Naturalist

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