September 2008 Vol.28, No.6

Take the Florida Everglades. Surround with SoutheastArizona’s mountains. Cover the mountains with rainforest.Drain the whole area with clearwater streams and lakes straightout of Central Texas, and feed these into a river that dwarfsthe Mississippi. Pepper the wetlands with palm groves, andthe drier areas with cactus. Now fill this all with jaguars, ant-eaters, tortoises, lizards, incredibly exotic fishes, insects,and plants, and as many bird species as what normally oc-cur in all of the US and Canada. Pack all this and much,much more into an area slightly smaller than the state ofMinnesota. Then you will begin to have an idea of the Brazil-ian state of Roraima - O Extremo Norte’ do Brasil.

In July and August, longtime PWWS members David andEdnelza Henderson spent two weeks canvassing this stateon Brazil’s far northern frontier, while visiting family in BoaVista, the state capitol. From spending a week in a rainforestsitio to soaking up some of the state’s many cachoeiras ebanhos, or just relaxing and enjoying the many avian visitorsto her sister’s guava tree in downtown Boa Vista, Ednelzaand David experienced a bit of the state’s natural heritagefirsthand. Far beyond a simple ecotour, however, they alsoworked the land, went shopping, and prepared meals fromthe region, gaining a deep appreciation for the area’s frontierculture as well.

Come join David and Ednelza as they share their unique per-spective on this very unique land.

By Diane Cabiness, Texas Master Naturalist

East Texas Nature

“There are risks and costs to a program of action, but they arefar less than the long range risks and costs of comfortableinaction.”—President John F. Kennedy

Dr. Brent Ridge, M.D. stated, “When it comes to preventingheart disease and stroke, a little exercise can go a long way.Squeezing 30 minutes of physical activity into your day—whether all at once or broken into 10-minute bursts—can con-siderably reduce your risk. Working out regularly also helpsguard against diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure, allknown to damage heart health.

“Two recent studies have shed new light on how exercise helpsyour heart. First, University of Iowa researchers showed in ananimal study that endorphins and other feel-good chemicalsreleased by the body during exercise can protect against heartattacks. Next, a group of scientists from the Netherlands dis-covered that getting active at least once a week cut the risk ofblood clots. Exercise appeared to give women an even greaterdefense against blood clots, a common cause of stroke.”(WholeLiving: body + soul magazine, April 2008)

A fun way for adults and children to get daily exercise that is astress buster, good for our overall body health, great activity forfamily bonding, and good for our environment is gardening. Ifyou have not taken the plunge, take a class, listen to a lecture,check out a book on gardening from your library and get yourhands dirty. Whether you have acreage or a condo, you canstill have a garden with occasional wildlife to a grand centralstation of flying, crawling, and running critters.

On our front porch in a large container resides a peace lily thatI ended up with after my mom’s funeral. As you can imagine,because of the circumstances of how the plant came to me, Ihave given it reasonable amount care and it has provided mewith occasional wildlife. Currently a green tree frog lives in acrevice of the windowsill that is within inches of this plant.During the day the green tree frog sleeps in his safe, snugproof home and at night whether or not I put on the porch light,it hunts on the walls of the porch as well the glossy green

“Under the Porch”

continued on page 4

September PresentationO Extremo Norte’ do Brasil

with David and Ednelza Henderson

Date: Tuesday, September 16

Time: Social 7:00 p.m.Meeting 7:30 p.m.

Place: Mercer Arboretum22307 Aldine-Westfield

2 2 2 2 2 The Pine Warbler The Pine Warbler The Pine Warbler The Pine Warbler The Pine Warbler

Hello again! What a spring andsummer it has been for mak-ing sea turtle history! Last year128 Kemp’s ridley nests werefound on the Texas coast. Wehoped for 150 this year but lookwhat happened. 196 Kemp’sridley nests were documented

along with eight nests of other species. Here’s the unbeliev-able countdown:

As of August 11, 2008, 196 Kemp’s ridley nests have beenconfirmed on the Texas coast including (north to south in state):Bolivar Peninsula - 7Galveston Island - 6Brazoria County, just north of Surfside -1Surfside Beach - 2Quintana Beach -1Matagorda Island -13San Jose Island - 5Mustang Island - 5North Padre Island - 104, (including 93 at Padre Island National Seashore)South Padre Island - 40,Boca Chica Beach - 12

The 196 exceeds the previous record of 128Kemp’s ridley nests found in Texas set dur-ing 2007. This marks the fifth consecutiveyear that record numbers of Kemp’s ridleynests have been recorded in Texas sincerecord keeping began in 1980. Other spe-cies are:

GREEN TURTLE - Four green sea turtlenests have been confirmed on the Texascoast including: North Padre Island 3, includ-ing 3 at Padre Island National Seashore,South Padre Island 1

LOGGERHEAD TURTLE - Three loggerheadsea turtle nest has been confirmed on theTexas coast including: Mustang Island 1North Padre Island 2, including 2 at PadreIsland National Seashore

LEATHERBACK TURTLE - One leatherbacksea turtle nest has been confirmed on theTexas coast at the at Padre Island NationalSeashore, the first found in 30 years

ALL SPECIES COMBINED - As of August11, 204 sea turtle nests have been found onthe Texas coast! This surpasses the previ-

ous record of 137 sea turtle nests found in Texas during 2007.

Needless to say, it’s thrilling to see this increase in nestings.Strandings have been fairly low because shrimping activity isless. The high cost of fuel is one of the major reasons formany boats being tied up at dock although many shrimp boatowners continue to say that “cheap imports” are their biggestenemy. In an interesting article in the August 11 online issueof Seafood News, the editor wrote: “In the summer and fall of2006, shrimp prices were low, both for imports and for domes-tic production. But since then, the prices for domestic shrimphave increased much faster than the prices of imports.” Heended the article with this comment: “But the basic fact isthat claiming that domestic shrimp prices are low because ofimports does not hold water, and it should no longer be re-peated by either domestic shrimpers or their advocates, orthe press. To do so is simply to perpetuate a myth that willonce again lead the domestic industry away from long termsolutions.” Hooray for Editor John Sackton!

Heart Happenings

The Pine WarblerThe Pine WarblerThe Pine WarblerThe Pine Warbler 3

Directions:Meet at park headquarters at 8 a.m. There is a $3 perperson fee for ages 13 to 64. From Humble area, gonorth on Hwy 59 to Fm 1485 / New Caney exit. Go righton1485 to the first light at Loop 494. Go right on Loop494 to the first light. Go left at the light onto 1485 andacross the railroad track (Tullos Garage) for 2 miles tothe first blinking light at Baptist Encampment Road (Exxon on the right.). Right on Baptist EncampmentRoad, go 2 miles through subdivision. After a sharp leftcurve, look for green park entrance sign on the left.Drive to the parking lot and check in at headquarterswhere we will meet at 8 a.m.. - submitted by Jennifer Backo

For our September Field trip, we will be looking for fallmigrants at Lake Houston County Park. Our guide willbe Jerry Walls who is the staff naturalist at the park. Iknow that Jerry will provide a quality birding experiencefor all who participate. This is an easy trip , but therewill be lots of walking. Bring binoculars, rain gear, lunchand plenty of water.

Please join us for our first field trip of the season onSaturday September 20. Lake Houston Park is locatedat 22031 Baptist Encampment Road, New Caney, TX77357.

Copyright, M. Lockwood, Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia.

September Field TripLake Houston County Park

The PWWS May Field trip was to theBalcones Canyonlands in Texas. Thephotograph of a Golden-cheeked War-bler is courtesy of Chuck Sexton,Ph.D., Wildlife Biologist - BalconesCanyonlands NWR

Lake Houston ParkPrograms and General Information

Lake Houston Park Events for September 2008“Night Creek Walk” Saturday, September 6 – 7:30p.m. Join us for this fun and educational adventure as

Lake Houston Park is an Urban Wilderness Park of 5,000 acres lo-cated 30 miles north of Houston near the town of New Caney. LakeHouston Park is the only park in the HPARD system where overnightcamping is available. Cabins and walk-in campsites are available forrental. Activities include hiking, biking, canoeing, kayaking, and horse-back riding (Bring your own bikes, watercraft, and horses). The parkis a wilderness park and is heavily forested so visitors need to beaware that wildlife in the park includes several species of snakes.

The state of Texas purchased 4,786.2 acres from Champion PaperCompany in 1981, and an additional 202.4 acres from the San JacintoGirl Scout Council in 1990. Home to Peach Creek Girl Scout Campsince the mid-1950s, this second section came complete with camp-sites, lodges, and an equestrian area.

The camp facilities were updated by the state as the basis for LakeHouston State Park. The park was opened by the state for day use in1992, and overnight camping was instituted in 1995. In August of2006, the park was transferred to the Houston Parks and RecreationDepartment. The park is located at 22031 Baptist Encampment Roadin New Caney. It can be reached from U.S. 59 and F.M. 1485; justfollow the signs.

Lake Houston Park is not currently an access point for boating onLake Houston. The park takes advan-tage of the woods along the creeksand rivers that empty into the lake, butdoes not front onto the lake. Canoescan navigate Peach and CaneyCreeks, although there may be lowpoints that require portage.

we search for the many interesting things out and about on PeachCreek at night! We will listen for owls and use a bat detector to hearbats. Walk the creek with us as we look for fish, frogs, animal tracks,and other evidence of wildlife! For ages 8 & up. Bring a flashlight,insect repellant, and closed-toe shoes. Call (281) 354-0173 for re-quired reservations.

“Breakfast With the Birds” Saturday, September 20 – 8:00 a.m.Join fellow birding enthusiasts on this fun and educational guidedwalk through the park as we search for the many beautiful avians thatlive here! For ages 10 & up. No need to be an expert birder! All expe-rience levels welcome! Call (281) 354-0173 for required reservations.

4 4 4 4 4 The Pine Warbler The Pine Warbler The Pine Warbler The Pine Warbler The Pine Warbler

from page 1leaves of this plant. Occasionally I will spy this reptile restingquietly on one of the green stems while waiting for a mos-quito, small moth or other insect to go flying past. It is often aquick capture by this predator. This past spring while stand-ing by the window on the inside of our house I caught sight ofa pair of Carolina wrens checking out the plant for a possiblenesting site. If the wrens had made a nest in the plant, I wouldhave had to let the plant go unwatered while they raised theirbrood. Occasionally this adventurous pair of wrens will hoponto and in among the foliage looking for dinner. During thewinter when a freeze is lurking in the background I will bringthe Peace lily inside the house. I have found out if I do notvigorously shake this plant beforehand I will be running aroundthe house trying to capture the always faster than me greenanole or garden spider each heading for the ceiling or a neverbefore noticed cubbyhole where I cannot catch them withoutgoing to extraordinary means to save their lives. If a houseplantcan offer a few wildlife sightings can you imagine how muchcan be seen using plants that are attractive to wildlife whetherit be in a container or in the ground. Do not let the size of youryard deter you from investing a little time and money into put-ting the appropriate native plants. Every yard small or big canmake a difference.

Two rules of thumb for wildlife gardeners:

1. Never bring anything into your garden without thinkingcarefully about where it has come from.

2. Never take anything out of your garden without thinkingcarefully about where it is going.

Richard Burkmar on the other side of the ocean relates howhis father-in-law when he retired gave his garden a makeover.Along the way he unexpectedly dug up a lot of stone, whichhe incorporated into a patio, and even a massive block of con-crete, which he turned into an attractive garden seat. As mymom used to say, “Waste not, want not”.

These are a few suggestions for the sunny yard:Indian blanket, Mexican hat, Salvia greggi (Au-tumn sage), gulf muhly grass, Mexican plumtree, purple coneflower, and spider lily. And forthose of you who have shady yards here are afew ideas: Inland sea oates, cardinal flower,swamp lily, lizard tail, sensitive fern, pawpawtree, and turk’s cap shrub. This is just a smallsampling of some of the desirable native plantsthat might be just what you are looking for inyour yard.

A word to the wise, do not take on more thanyou can handle caring for during the dog days ofsummer. When gardening with the motive ofbringing in beautiful butterflies and birds into youryard, think before spraying with pesticides whichmay be harmful to the wildlife that you are at-tracting as well as harmful to humans, espe-cially children and elderly folks. There is con-

cern that pesticides may be an issue of concern for honey-bees as well as one of the links to CCD (colony collapsedisorder) that is plaguing so many of the bee populations.

Gardening is a direct invitation to savor the beauty of familiarand ordinary things in a celebration of abundance, color, tex-ture, and form. There was a famous, Italian competition heldin the year 1401 to determine who would design the bronzerelief panels for the north doors of the Florentine Baptistery.Among the seven finalists were two brilliant young artists,Lorenzo Ghiberti and Filippo Brunelleschi. The judges choseGhiberti’s work deeming it “perfect in all its parts” and so grace-ful and well finished that it seemed “to have been breathed intoexistence.” Your backyard habitat does not have to win Yardof the Month or get written in the local newspaper. By provid-ing food and shelter for the wildlife because of the native plantsyou choose as well as adding a source of water than whenthey come you have won the competition.

“We all share the same backyard.”…anonymous

New research from the University of Missouri shows that pass-ing too much time on your duff can slow both your fat andcholesterol metabolism and stimulate disease-promoting pro-cesses. In a series of studies on animals and humans, leadstudy coauthor Marc Hamilton, Ph.D. found that staying sed-entary for hours can shut off enzymes in the blood vessels ofmuscles responsible for fat-burning. But simply standing upcan reengage those enzymes, helping you maintain a healthymetabolism and protect against a host of health problems,including metabolic syndrome, a diabetes precursor. Garden-ing can be a fun way to reengage in a healthy lifestyle.

“Kiss of the sun for pardon.Song of the birds for mirth.You’re closer to God’s heart in a gardenThan any place else one earth.”—Dorothy Frances Gurney

The Pine WarblerThe Pine WarblerThe Pine WarblerThe Pine WarblerThe Pine Warbler 5

Education Chair Needed

PWWS needs a new education chairperson, someonewith energy, enthusiasm, and resourcefulness. The chal-lenge is how to “hook” more people into protecting ourenvironment. Karen Stockton, present chair, has presentedhundreds of live nature concerts for many years now – butshe is Road Weary… Won’t you consider creative waysthrough which the general public (children especially) canbe reached? Karen will gladly assist the new chair; shejust doesn’t want the chairmanship herself. Contact AlBarr, president; or Karen (281 444 0343).

Throughout my 60 years of bird watching I have read hundredsof books, magazine articles, and newsletters about bird watch-ing trips to dozens of different locals. Birding Babylon tops mylist for the most unique bird watching adventure. Jonathon Trendopens his book by presenting us with the following explana-tion of why he followed his hobby of bird watching in such anextremely dangerous place. “I’ve often been struck by howdifferently people see the same place. A photographer seesthe world in terms of contrast and composition. An architectsees it in terms of space and structure. In Iraq there are tenthousand ways to see the world. I consider myself lucky Ihave seen it through the eyes of a naturalist” Jonathon wasthrown into the Iraq conflict along with his Connecticut Na-tional Guard Unit. He took his binoculars along with him aswell as a field guide to birds of the Middle East. He served withthe 118th Medical Support Battalion. Fortunately his job re-quired him to service military units in many parts of the Iraqcountryside. Thus, it provided him a range of environments forbird watching.

He was stationed at Camp Anaconda just North of Baghdad, asprawling base that covered an area of about 15 square miles.It was a constant target for enemy rocket fire. The old armysaying of “Hurry up and wait” applied well to his position, work-ing him for days on end and giving him free time when thingswere peaceful. He soon located the birding hot spots aroundcamp. Walking around the base in full body armor and helmetin the morning before breakfast he spotted Wood Pigeons,Collard Doves, Black Redstarts, European Goldfinches, BarnSwallows, and Red-waddled Plovers. Crested Larks seemedto be common everywhere, displaying and dancing on thedesert floor (and once in the middle of an enemy fire fightwhen his humvee was encircled during a mission outside thebase). A small lagoon used by the laundry crew was a greatplace for waders including Purple Swamp Hens a Little Grebe,Squacco Herons, a few Shovelers, and some Black-wingedStilts. The nearby dump was populated with a mob of Black-headed Gulls.

Jonathan’s schedule frequently took him to other locals, suchas Mosul, via helicopter. The copters had to fly low (at 100 feetabove ground) to avoid enemy rocket fire. This allowed Jonathonto bird-watch over the agricultural fields where he saw Hoodedand Mesopotamian Crows, egrets, hawks and larger land birds,such as Macqueen‘s Bustard (a bird hunted for its meat). Onone trip the copter hit a large bird that broke through the copter’sfront window. To the surprise of the pilot Jonathon identified itas a Pin-tailed Sand Grouse. On one day while deliveringchildren’s school supplies in his Humvee Jonathon spotted agroup of Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters, some Chaffinches and afew Babblers. Rooks were very common in the countryside;sometimes he saw them covering the fields as he flew overthem. Another time he watched a flock of Rooks playing aerialgames high up in the sky.

Birding Babylonby Jonathon Trouern Trend

Review and comments by Jack Gorman

In the summer, temperatures reached 110 to 122 F and bakedthe ground. Most plants dried up. However, it didn’t chase allbird species away. House and Dead Sea Sparrows were com-mon and Creased Larks were hovering 100 feet above ground,singing their hearts out in search of mates. He could still findSpotted Flycatchers hawking insects from the tamarisk treesand the Tigris River banks had European and Indian Rollerssnatching insects around the reed beds. White-winged BlackTerns spent their time between the base’s lagoon and theTigris River. The fall brought a relief from the heat and a largenumber of birds migrating south. August heat brought a lull inmilitary engagements. He then found some time to drive southand bird watch in the ruins of ancient Babylon, which is nearthe Euphrates River. Close by were what remains of a oncevast swampland. This produced some Pygmy Cormorants, agroup of Spur-Winged Plovers, a Pied Kingfisher and somegood looks at a Hoopoe combing the mud flats for a suppermeal. An Iraq Babbler along with some White-cheeked Bul-buls, a Laughing Dove and a Black Redstart added grace tothe ruins. In January he had the chance to visit the site of theancient Sumerian city of Ur. The land there was a rocky desertbut White Wagtails and Crested Larks were everywhere. AGreater-spotted Eagle and a Pied Wheatear were hunting froma perch on a telephone line near the Ziggurat of Ur.

Jonathan’s tour of duty ended at the end of January. He fin-ished it by finding a Moustached Warbler in the marsh reedsand a Brown-necked Raven in Kuwait while traveling home.His bird list for this adventurewas 122 species of which 102were new to his life list. Heleaves us with this though, “Iwas blessed with the oppor-tunity to be in Iraq. Becauseof my job and the places I vis-ited, I had more opportunity tosee and appreciate Iraq’snatural world than some. Oneday I hope to return with bin-oculars but without a weapon.”

September Board Meeting - Tuesday, Sept. 9th at7:30 pm. The meeting will be held at the home of Al andCarole Barr.

6 6 6 6 6 The Pine Warbler The Pine Warbler The Pine Warbler The Pine Warbler The Pine Warbler

Piney Woods Wildlife SocietyP.O. Box 189Spring, Texas 77383-0189

Visit: http://pineywoodswildlifesociety.org

Bird Walks with Al Barr - 2nd Saturday of every month through May,2009. 8:30-10:30 at Mercer Arboretum. All that participants need tobring is some binoculars and mosquito repellent if it is needed.

President............................................................Al Barr1st Vice President......................................Carole Allen2nd Vice President.............Jean and Mike Drummond3rd Vice President...........................Carlos HernandezSecretary.............................................Carole FrascellaTreasurer.......................................................Jim LaceyDirector (term expires 2010)....................Billl FortneyDirector (term expires 2008).................Jennifer BackoDirector (term expires 2009)..................Steven StonesPast President........................................Kathy Coward

2008 Board of Directors

Heart Hotline.......................................281444-6204

The Pine Warbler is published monthly, Septem-ber through May, by The Piney Woods WildlifeSociety, Inc. and Copperhead Publishing.

For membership information write to us at P.O. Box189, Spring Texas 77383-0189. Annual Dues:$15.00 per household.

Editor: Allison MarksPublish1@copperheadfarms.net orjdfagm@swbell.net.P.O. Box 131776 Spring, TX 77393

The deadline for submissions is the 25th of theprevious month, earlier if possible. Alwaysadd “PWWS” in the subject line. All emailswill be resonded to with in 3 days. If you donot recieve a response please call 832 717-3276. All articles are subject to approval bythe PWWS Board.

Please send new address changes and cor-rections to Mike Drummond at drummond@thedrummonds.com and add PWWS to the sub-ject line. Thank you.

Numbers of Interest

Piney Woods Wildlife Society Field Trips

Lake Houston County ParkSat: September 20 - Leader: Jerry Walls

The Pine WarblerThe Pine WarblerThe Pine WarblerThe Pine WarblerThe Pine Warbler 7 7 7 7 7