Tag: June2023

At the National Butterfly Center (NBC) near Mission, Texas, we had been receiving reports of a bobcat being seen jumping out of the bushes and pouncing on squirrels and large birds in the bird feeding area. Since this was occurring on a daily basis, I decided to make it a priority to see and document this activity for myself.

Its rich geometric patterns of blue, yellow, orange, green and black recall delicately inlaid stones in Zuni jewelry or a tinted cut-glass pendant. I wonder where this elegant creature has been hiding the 40 some years I’ve lived in the Valley, but then realize it is I who have been inobservant.

Texas native bees

At the conclusion of the 2022 Texas Master Naturalist Annual Meeting it was announced that the 2023 Annual Meeting would be in McAllen. Sworn to keep this a secret, our advisors and chapter presidents were given only a
few days’ notice prior to the
announcement that we would be hosts for this event. After our initial surprised (stunned?) reaction both the Rio Grande Valley and South Texas Border Chapters got into gear and have been busy preparing for the meeting at the McAllen Convention Center in October.

We’ve lived on South Padre Island (SPI) since 2007, but almost every year we travel from our home in SPI to Denver, Colorado in the spring and return in the fall. Recently, while visiting the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, east of Denver, I discovered that we are not the only ones that do this annual round trip. Although the Lark Bunting is the Colorado state bird, it spends its winters in Texas, too.