Friends of Sheri Capehart Nature Preserve

KERA's North Texas Now interview with author Amy Martin explores some "ecological treasures" of North Central Texas, including Arlington Parks and Recreation. (SCNP is featured at 5:00. Photo below is at Scyene Overlook on Piedmont Ridge in Dallas.)

DFW is more than a concrete jungle — it's actually filled with ecological treasures In Amy Martin's book "Wild DFW," readers can discover trails, wildlife, and natural hidden gems in North Texas.

This coming Thursday, June 25, is the last session of the Wild Lives of Texas' Reptiles and Amphibians. We will take a close look at the conservation issues facing these animals, what Texas Parks & Wildlife as well as the federal government do, and what we can do. I'll profile several Texas species that are in trouble, from box turtles to the dunes sagebrush lizard.
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Another walk at a crazy time, but 2:30-3:20 wasn't bad when there was shade. (But please do take water on a walk like this and be mindful of the limits of anyone you take with you. The heat index was 102F.) I watched for invertebrates on the spotted beebalm on the way up, and then from the bluff to the boulders I kept an eye on other flowers.

While it seemed quiet, Merlin detected painted bunting, white-eyed vireo, northern cardinal, and tufted titmouse. No Texas spiny lizards; I think they were wisely having a siesta. (Their summer activity patterns tend to be morning and late afternoon.)

I walked for an hour, and I'm not known for good judgment about the timing of my walks - so 11:30am-12:40pm was hot! But it's OK, always a worthwhile walk.

With Caleb Hinojos, I walked the preserve for a little over two hours this morning. Caleb took lots of photos of invertebrates and turtles, and I took just a couple of iPhone photos to capture what really stood out. At the beginning, the sky was mostly covered with a herringbone-sort of cloud pattern. Then we saw a differential grasshopper on a basketflower that apparently had just shed. One photo is one view of how many flowers are blooming right now, and another (in the yucca meadow) shows more four-point evening primrose than I've ever seen at one time.

A brief visit today, sticking close to the fishing pond. I've been looking forward to the kind of numbers and diversity of dragonflies that I saw today. And a red-eared slider is always welcome - and so is the beebalm!

If you were at the preserve this afternoon and wondered if it was summer yet, it might be hard to tell. With a temperature near 90 and high humidity, it felt hot. I was happy to see the spotted horsemint (aka spotted beebalm) growing tall and blooming. Many of the other flowers are winding down, though there is plenty of black-eyed Susan. And it's always a pleasure to see one of the Texas spiny lizards waiting on the oak trunks to ambush an insect.

A reminder that this coming Thursday is the 3rd installment of the Wild Lives of Texas' Reptiles and Amphibians. There will be lots of photos and lots of information about the American alligator and the turtles found in our part of Texas. See the link below to sign up and attend, by Zoom, and it's free!

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The second in the series of presentations, "The Wild Lives of Texas' Reptiles and Amphibians" is scheduled a week from tomorrow (May 14). It's a free program starting at 7pm via Zoom - see the event listing below (or at www.friendsofscnp.org on the "events") page.

Photo shows a pickerel frog.