Story and photos by Anita Westervelt, Texas Master Naturalist Identifying birds isn’t always easy in the Rio Grande Valley. Young birds don’t always come into their adult markings until they are a year or more old. In the field, or in your backyard, when you see an unusual bird you’ve not noticed before, scout the…

By Anita Westervelt, Texas Master Naturalist Many are familiar with the startlingly shrill shriek of the great kiskadee, but many don’t realize what a rare treat it is to have this bird in North America. The Rio Grande Valley is the great kiskadee’s northern most range where it is a permanent resident. Another not so…

By Anita Westervelt, Texas Master Naturalist The nine-banded armadillo is the only species of armadillo in the United States, although 20 species exist throughout Central and South America. Nine-banded armadillos live throughout Texas except in the Panhandle and the Trans-Pecos. The species is found as far north as southeast Nebraska and Illinois, and east through…

Story and photos by Anita Westervelt, Texas Master Naturalist In the rush to get over hot sand and into the surf, the plant life of a dune is often overlooked. Fun surprises take shape when a more focused look at a dune’s plants are studied. Just as in a fallow field alongside a road, a…

Story and photos by Anita Westervelt, Texas Master Naturalist It’s getting toward the end of spring in the Valley, and newly planted gardens are looking colorful and healthy. Many uninvited yard plants are looking healthy, too, much to the consternation of many a gardener. Four annoying lawn and garden plants everyone probably has but never…