East Texas Naturalist Blog

I added a new lens this week, a Nikon 18-300 Zoom  (AF-5 DX Nikkor 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3G ED VR to be exact).

Naturally, I had to stick it on my camera and immediately start shooting.  The light conditions were not great for it was near dusk and most of my yard was in shadow.  However, the birds were active on my feeders so I sat on my steps and took a few shots.  

The Chickadee was kind enough to pose.  The picture of him, shown here was shot in aperture priority and handheld so it is a little soft, but it shows promise.  It shows what the lens is capable of doing.  

I love living on the edge...of the woods, that is.  Here in East Texas, there are lots of woods, so finding a home with an adjacent wooded area is not hard to do, even if you live in town, as we do.  This part of Texas isn't called the Piney Woods for nothing!   

My husband and I moved to Marshall almost seven years ago from Indiana.  We had lived in Texas before - College Station was our hometown for a couple years back in the mid-90's.  So, moving to Texas was not a complete change of climate for us, and I'll take our long, hot summers here any day over the long, cold, lake-effect snow laden winters of northern Indiana.   

As anyone knows who has moved to a new part of the country, finding something familiar in the real estate world, is like the comfort food we eat under stress - for us, it was a home on a cul-de-sac, and woods beyond our backyard.  We both felt an immediate connection and peace when we stepped out the back door and faced the glorious snarl of trees and brush that met our grassy lawn - and to add to our nature-loving joy was the small stream that ran along the back of our modest lot, connecting our parcel of human habitation with that of the wilds beyond. 

My granddaughter found an interesting insect on her patio this weekend.  She is nine and loves "bugs".  She had her mother take a picture of it and send it to me so I can tell her what it is and why it had a baby riding on its back.  

What Lin had found is a walking stick.  To be precise, she had found a female walking stick who had a hitchhiker on its back.  The hitchhiker wasn't a baby, it was a male.  Ah, what an opportunity for talking about the birds and the walking sticks to a nine year old.  I don't believe my daughter took advantage of the perfect lead, but that really is not the point of this piece.

Walking sticks are really neat insects.  They are members of the family Phasmatidae and can be quite large.  The one pictured here, that my granddaughter found is nearly six inches long.  Well, the female is.  The hitchhiking male is more like two and a half inches.  They look very much like a small plant twig which is great camouflage.  Their movement is also very slow and steady which adds to their ability to remain inconspicuous. They also often remain motionless for long periods.  When disturbed, they often extend their legs and antenna which increases their appearance of being a twig.

When I was growing up in east Texas, I caught everything I get my hands on including using various kinds of traps.  In particular, there is no telling how many snakes, lizards, turtles, toad, frogs and salamanders that I at least temporarily added to my collection.  At the time there were no laws related to collecting or capturing reptiles and amphibians.  Wow, has that changed.

One important part of all this is that you cannot even temporarily capture or handle reptiles or amphibians even if you are just trying to photograph them if you are on a road, shoulder or unpaved part of the right of way unless you have a Texas hunting license with a reptile and amphibian stamp.  It is up to a $500 fine.  

This also includes your actions as a citizen scientist working with the TPWD Texas Nature Trackers (only on public roads).  That program is for private lands, not public areas or roadways.

When I decided to get some bird feeders, I really didn't put a lot of thought into it.  I just went to Walmart and grabbed a bunch on inexpensive feeders.  My main criteria at the time was cost, perceived effectiveness to attract birds, and ease to use. 

I ended up buying 1 hummingbird feeder in the traditional red and clear plastic, 4 plastic tube type of seed feeders, and 3 suet wire feeders.  Grand total was approximately $40, not including feed.

I started off attracting some interesting species: chickadees, titmice, nuthatches, cardinals, house finches, hairy woodpeckers and a red-bellied woodpecker.  Before long there was lots of activity on the feeders with the addition of cowbirds, mockingbirds, English sparrows and squirrels.  Lots of squirrels.