by Pat Avery The RGVCTMN formed the Pelican Squadron Committee earlier this year to educate the public about the danger that cold and windy weather poses for Brown Pelicans. Highway 48 becomes a death trap for pelicans due to the wind currents. The committee’s mission is to inform and educate the public of the need…

by FrankWiseman If you are ever out in a park or brushland and you smell something sweet, it might be the smell of vanilla coming from a Whitebrush shrub. Aloysia gratissima, also called Beebrush, and other common names, is a member of the Vervain family. My first experience with this plant was at Harlingen’s Hugh Ramsey…

Latin plant names, we’ve learned, often clue us in about the nature of a plant. See Eileen Mattei’s article, page 13, “Enough Latin Names to be a TMN,” at the December 2020 Chachalaca newsletter: https://rgvctmn.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/The-Chachalaca-Winter-2020.pdf The Latin word horridulum isn’t as bad as it looks; it translates to: “somewhat rough; unadorned,” according to latin-is-simple.com. The word Cirsium derives from the Greek…

by Janis Silveri When I moved to Texas in 2004, I noticed several large trees with vast root systems growing on the east side and near the Resaca as a continuation of the neighbor’s landscaping. They divided the property in the 1960s. Texans use these large trees as barriers and buffers in rural areas. I…

Growing up in Kansas, it was kind of fun to see a couple of June bugs bumping against the porch light in the evenings. I knew they wouldn’t hurt me, because my momma said so, and with the arrival of June bugs, I knew summer — and my birthday month — had definitely arrived. As…

by Norma Friedrich On April 27, 2021 five members of the RGVCTMN New Class 2021 participated in the Great Texas Birding Classic (GTBC). Selecting the Sunrise to Noon tournament, the team members sent in the $30 registration fee for each member. This tournament required a minimum of 3 and maximum of 5 members. With the…