Category: Blogs
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Long-billed Thrasher, our Woodlands Songster
by M. Kathy Raines Lush, intricate melodies tumbled from a willow tree near the river at Sabal Palm Sanctuary one unusually quiet midday afternoon. But, searching treetops for the presumed songster, the illustrious northern mockingbird, I found none. Then, to my surprise, I realized this sweetness poured from a brownish, orange-eyed bird with a black-streaked…
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The Red-tailed Hawk, a Welcome Winter Visitor
by M. Kathy Raines A vanilla chest rippled with chocolate and an intense glare alerted me to this red-tailed hawk scrutinizing mesquite and yucca-dotted grasslands—and, incidentally, bicyclists and joggers— from a 60-foot pole along Brownsville’s bike trail this November. Now I see it here often, as I did last winter. Could this be the selfsame…
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Be Our Guests, Northern Harriers!
by M. Kathy Raines Suddenly, from a tranquil ocean of grasses and brush, explodes an astonishing athlete—a low-cruising, long-winged harrier that deftly weaves under, over and through foliage, its yellowish-brown hues dazzling in the sunlight. With this element of surprise, no wonder it’s dubbed “the gray ghost.” This engaging winter guest, the northern harrier (Circus…
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Our Native Javelinas
by M. Kathy Raines A javelina is not a pig. It’s not even in the same family. Though the rather pig-like javelina (Pecari tajacu)—a lean, compact native creature with a bristly salt-and-pepper coat—inhabits the same local brushlands as the invasive feral hog, the two certainly differ. And the javelina, mainly a fan of prickly pear…
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The Vital and Prolific Eastern Cottontail
by M. Kathy Raines The big-eyed cottontail, crouching amid a bed of purples, mimicked a garden statue. A four-foot bull snake sprawled nearby, alert to the slightest motion. Neither budged. I watched for twenty minutes, rooting for the rabbit, but never saw how the drama played out. Snakes can be mighty patient. Like other ready-to-eat…
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Annual Texas Pollinator BioBlitz through October 17
Published October 2, 2021, McAllen Monitor — Citizen Scientist projects, like the annual Texas Pollinator BioBlitz, provide important habitat information.