Author: Justin Case
-
October Advanced Training Opportunities
contributed by Roberto Gaitan The information below is only a subset of AT opportunities available. If you find something on the list and wish to make sure it qualifies for AT, contact Teresa Du Bois. Follow the links below for more information to register or attend the meeting. Saturday, October 2, 2021 9:30am (In person) …
-
The Intriguing but Maligned Bronzed Cowbird
by M. Kathy Raines A bronzed cowbird is not a bad bird for depositing her eggs in the nest of an unwitting host, whose own brood often dies. No, the cowbird, like ourselves, does what it does to survive and prosper. An obligate brood parasite—like about 1% of bird species, including some cuckoos—a cowbird never…
-
August Advanced Training Opportunities
The information below is only a subset of AT opportunities available. If you find something on the list and wish to make sure it qualifies for AT, contact Teresa Du Bois. Follow the links below for more information to register or attend the meeting. Thu, August 5, 2021 12pm – 1pm Interactive Webinar Summer Lunch…
-
June Bugs, Harbingers of Summer
by M. Kathy Raines June bugs make my heart sing. Sheathed in glossy caramel shells, they zip about within swaths of springtime porch light—with some hapless beetles smashing into bulbs and landing sprawling, legs a-wriggle, onto concrete. To schoolchildren, they are happy harbingers of summer. Groundskeepers and farmers, though, do not share this joy. While…
-
Killdeer, Masters of Deception
by M. Kathy Raines A reedy, insistent whine of “Kill-dee!” alerted me to this handsome plover with its roundish head, signature double breast bands and dark, massive eyes ringed with flaming orange. Pacing the shallows of a receding resaca, this plover, a killdeer—so-named for its namesake cry—probed the mud with its pointed beak, then halted,…
-
The pile is gone!
contributed by Roberto Gaitan You can imagine our surprise at seeing our huge debris pile was gone! It had simply been normal to see it there every time we worked. I will have to say, I’m happy my stump was hauled away! The recent rain has helped keep our plants growing really well. Unfortunately, the…