Busy, busy summer

As the title implies, we're up to our ears in... life. Between wrangling pups, pup-sitting for others, work, school, work and more work, we've managed to get a few photos worth sharing:

Family portrait: Matt, Nauga, Heidi and Anakin. Awww.

A Black Witch moth on the back wall while blacklighting.

The Chihuahua named Little.

Pepsis wasp. Oh yes, there's an Entomology class afoot this summer!

Recent bug life: Lyside Sulphur, Eyed Elater and an Opuntia Beetle (the 'longhorn')

The reason you don't go the speed limit out here. Ever. This was taken at 6:40 - long before dusk!

...and, FINALLY, our first dung beetles of the season. It only took until mid July to see them at Post Park. Still no sign of them in town. Maybe after a few real rains?

near and dear to my hawk tower

I wondered if this day might come: the Smith Point Hawk Watch is basically losing funding for a season. It is a brilliant place to see raptor migration but counting hawks there is like trying to count spaghetti as they boil! Falcons and kites are a MUCH more reliable count, but the location is prime for kettling Wood Storks and Magnificent Frigatebirds at the same time.

It is where I 'cut my teeth' with raptors in high school, spent the better part of a fall after Prin and have followed every snippet of its life through hurricanes and budget ails. For birds, for bugs, for life, Smith Point is not to be ignored.

***

Subject: Smith Point Hawk Watch
From: Susan Heath sheath/GCBO.ORG
Date: Fri, 15 Jul 2011 15:07:08 -0500

TexBirders,

We have been warned by our leaders that belt-tightening must take place and that all will feel a little of the squeeze. That reality has hit GCBO's Research Program for the coming year. To be honest it has always been a touch-and-go situation when it comes to raising the resources necessary to fund the important Smith Point Hawk Watch, and some years GCBO has had to swallow much of the cost, draining funds away from other, equally important programs. The season, our 15th, we have had to make a lemons-to-lemonade situation on the raptor migration monitoring project. In the past, the cost of the hawk watch was shared between Hawk Watch International and GCBO. This year neither party was able to raise the necessary funds to cover the expenses associated with running the hawk watch. Therefore we have decided to do two things: (1) try to keep the count going with volunteers, and (2) change the focus of the count a bit. We have decided to focus on the Swallow-tailed Kite, since Smith Point is strategically located to sample much of the southward migration of this vulnerable iconic symbol of the southern bottomlands. Kites migrate earlier than other raptors so we will begin the season on August 1st instead of the 15th as in the past. The Swallow-tailed Kite migration is largely over by October 1st so we will concentrate on that 60-day period initially. Several intrepid volunteers from past seasons have already volunteered to cover much of that period, but we need a few more volunteers to fill out the calendar. Several volunteers have agreed to continue counting through November 15, to keep this season's data comparable to previous years. Last, but to some by no means least, if in past Smith Point seasons you were in the habit of swinging by the tower to use the sanitary facilities, don't bother. Sadly that has been a casualty of belt-tightening this season also. We are checking with local officials to see if any one else can support that need.


If you have hawk watch experience and would like to volunteer, please check the calendar at:

http://tinyurl.com/6ehoh3o

If you are available for any of the open dates, please e-mail Sue at sheath AT gcbo.org and let her know of your preference. We really appreciate the efforts of all our volunteers to help keep the Smith Point Hawk Watch alive. We have high hopes that we will be able to raise funding to resume with paid counters next year. To that end, if you would like to make a contribution to the hawk watch or know of other organizations that can, we would really appreciate the support. You can make a donation at:

https://www.justgive.org/nonprofits/donate.jsp?ein=76-0553113

and specify Smith Point Hawk Watch or mail a check to the address below. Thanks for your support everyone!


Sue Heath & John Arvin

Susan A. Heath, Ph.D.
Avian Conservation Biologist
Gulf Coast Bird Observatory
103 W. Hwy 332
Lake Jackson, TX 77566
979-480-0999
Join us in our quest to study and conserve birds and their habitat around the Gulf of Mexico.

www.gcbo.org
Sign-Up for our monthly E-News Letter
http://www.gcbo.org/default.aspx/MenuItemID/205/MenuGroup/Home.htm

Marathon t-shirts?

Howdy, SeeTrail readers! We're not dead, just busy. Before we bounce this off of our Big Bend Birds & Nature readers, we'll run this past y'all...

It is a prototype, but would anyone be interested in purchasing a shirt like the one below? Cost would be around $20 before shipping, sadly. Not sure what the colors will be, nor the full range of styles (tank tops and regular t-shirts should be doable), but the back will have some sort of "Big Bend Birds & Nature" logo/site/promo (bummer, we know). Those of you familiar with our business cards; is the horned lizard photo* too complicated? Should we just stick with text on the back because the image is on the front?

* It's the same horned lizard photo that's on the right sidebar on the Big Bend Birds & Nature homepage, if you'd like to check it out; or just look above this post on the SeeTrail page - RSS people, that means you!



















...basically, we'll likely be joining the Marathon Chamber of Commerce (because, y'know, we make no money doing what we do!) and since they have this t-shirt promo thing going on, we could sell them to anyone feeling brave enough to rock a scene where the sun actually sets to the north, the park is not drawn to scale or proportion, and Mexico will likely be omitted from the final version. Fearmongering or somesuch concern.

The shirt actually says "The sun sets on Marathon Texas" above the design and "www.marathontexas.net" on the bottom. Where it says "Mexico" will likely read "Gateway to Big Bend" or something like that. Unfortunately, we have no control over that portion of the design.

So... what do we think? Kinda cool? Lame? Overrated? Interesting? Too obscure for anyone else to appreciate? Leave us a comment!

June 2011 Update - rehab newsletter

This is my first attempt to post an e-mail, hope it works! Bear with us if not...
(Posted due to cute-fuzzy-mammal drought impacts, but not posted to the other blog because it's not regionally relevant!)

***

Be a part of saving these unusual animals. Your donations make this amazing work possible. The drought has brought to the Wildlife Center greater and greater numbers of wildlife that are dehydrated and undernourished. It is estimated that the drought will bring over 1000 more animals to our doors than in prior years. The drought is also bringing species to the Wildlife Center that are either rarely seen or in the case of the North American River Otter never seen. More information about the North American River Otter can be found in our new blog. To see these interesting animals in action, enjoy the Otter video The next Volunteer Orientation is June 11th contact the Wildlife Center at 713-861-WILD (9453) or volunteer@wrande.org Blog postings since the last update include Pileated Woodpecker Pileated Woodpecker video North American River Otter Otter video

This message was sent to h.trudell@gmail.com from: Wildlife Rehab & Education | 7007 Katy Road | Houston, Texas 77024

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Midweek laughs: Donut vs. Rock

Donut is the most well known dog in Marathon, a dear little creature with a heart of gold and a coat of white fluff to hide the ferocious beast within. She's also the owner of a fellow named Tim. The video below is by Noble Baker, who was inspired by Donut's approach to chasing/attacking rocks. Clearly! The video is about three minutes long, so please put down your beverages while Donut shows you how to properly deal with the vicious threat of a large rock:



Happy Wednesday!

what the world needs now

...is love, sweet love. Or marmosets.

Times like these call for a hug. Or a nice roll on the porch. Or a stuffed pig. Maybe something to gnaw on.

Bike Tire Flip Flops

Back in 2004 I fell in love with a pair of flip flops, $20 from the REI in St. Louis. By the following summer, they were pretty well worn through. So another $20 and voila, another pair (sadly, the store was out of black, so they weren't an exact replacement). By the following summer, the new pair was almost worn through. The first pair - by then house flops - were REALLY worn through. So, knowing that Teva would re-sole some of their models, I dropped an e-mail to see if their flops were among the re-soleable shoes... the predecessor of this is what I have. No luck. No love for the cushy foam-soles. I was out of luck.

Now, add 8 hrs of a drive to the nearest REI. Ignore that; pretend shipping was free. How to face the guilt of retiring a perfectly reasonable TWO PAIRS of some of the fondest foot-memories I have ('flopping 2 months in CA, 'flopping through streams in IL, 'flopping across two college campuses and countless birding trips, the list goes on!) ...when only the soles were a problem? Every walking-of-the-dogs was a new thorn poking through the soles, a new bur jabbing up from the heel, a fresh reminder of what, unfortunately, needed to be replaced.

How do you re-sole a flip flop? Easy. You admit defeat and call yourself a waste of resources and wish that shoe repair places actually existed or maybe that things were made to last (good-old-days syndrome).

But then, a glimmer of hope: Bike Man is a friend of ours. Matt's bike is from Bike Man (can we call him John yet?) and I have a new set of tires from him and I thought, just maybe, if WWII era 'flops were made out of stamped tires, where could I find a lighter, thinner substitute? Perhaps an old bike tire? John had a pile out back, and soon I was merrily chopping a tire into Heidi-foot long segments. Two pairs of flops, 6 or 7 Heidi-foot-lengths in one tire, plenty of room to experiment!

You can see where this is going:

For those interested in flops with awesome tread*:

1) Cut up tires
2) Trim off wire-reinforced edge of tire (thankfully I have narrow feet, so it worked nicely)
3) Clean inside of tire, bottom of flop
4) Apply Goop with abandon; smush together for ~48 hrs
5) Trim excess tire
6) Run around like a madman and brag about it all over the internet ;-)

* These treads are GRIPPY, it's awesome! Because the tread on a bike tire is only in the middle, though, it's taking a bit of adjusting - there's less support under my big toe. For less grippy tires, or really worn treads, I think it'd work out more smoothly. Just depends on how/where you want to use them.

So go forth and don't give up on your beloved flops! Reduce, reuse, re-flop!

The Yard List that keeps going...

I know I posted about yard lists a while back, but the last few weeks have been quite something! The Jan/Feb lull was a time of complacency (and frozen pipes) but spring seems to have hit right along with the 90+ degree days. Thankfully it's been cooling off nicely in the evenings, but for those of y'all not following our other blog, you may not have realized that most of the three counties out here have pretty much been, at least in part, on fire since early March. The fire just to our north, Iron Mountain, is about 8 miles out and has been going for around a week. Somewhere in the vicinity of 50,000 acres have burned and it's still only about 80% contained. On the bright side, the Rock House Fire is FINALLY out (after a bit over a month!) as of a few days ago. Oof!

Right, back to the bird list, starting where we left off:

Zone-tailed Hawk 4/5/11
Scott's Oriole 4/10/11
Harris's Hawk 4/10/11
Broad-winged Hawk 4/16/11
Yellow-headed Blackbird 4/20/11
Pine Siskin 4/23/11
Swainson's Thrush 4/23/11
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 4/26/11
Green-tailed Towhee 4/26/11
Painted Bunting 5/9/11
Gray Flycatcher 5/10/11
Willow Flycatcher 5/11/11
Black-throated Sparrow 5/11/11
Orchard Oriole 5/11/11
Western Wood-Pewee 5/12/11
MacGillivray's Warbler 5/13/11
Vermilion Flycatcher 5/15/11
Common Yellowthroat 5/15/11
Yellow Warbler 5/15/11
American Redstart 5/15/11

***

I should also throw in this gem of trivia: 95 bird species are on my tentative 'expanded' freezer list (to include wildlife work and rehab, but not captive zoo work nor pets). Most seem to be roadkill, but windows overlap a good bit (I knew I had 47 or 48 spp from Illinois, and now there are a few more window critters to add...)

Really, though, it's either impressive or depressing that roughly 20% of the bird species I've ever seen in the US have at one time or another been in a freezer that I've been associated with. Can't believe I didn't make/start the list sooner, it seems like something I'd do. At this rate, I'll have filled up a few chest freezers over the course of my rather short lifetime; every one of them 'salvaged' (not actively 'collected' with gun or trap).

To avoid ending on such a strange note, here's a Painted Bunting! She's alive, stunned, but otherwise uninjured. Found her in the middle of the road to Fort Stockton on my way to Houston earlier in the month. Houston? I guess that trip needs a post one of these days, too!