An early Spring Stroll amidst The Woodlands Texas forest

In The Woodlands, there are many miles of pathways for a variety of Spring strolls through the forest. This stroll was in Panther Creek Village in February.


On one quiet cool day, one observes the squirrels everywhere digging up acorns they planted in the fall. Many of them are beginning their courtships and establishing territory where they will raise their young. As one passes by these little creatures, the sole sound one hears is their sudden startling movements over the leaves and twigs on the ground. One looks up and sees very bright green leaves just beginning to show themselves on some of the small trees and brush. Look down and one sees the first of the wildflowers starting to cover the ground or the first blooms of the Trumpet vines as in this picture. Or after so much rain as we have experienced this year, one of the many small bogs hidden in the pine needles on the ground, soaking and creating the acidic water that fuels many of the forest plants and trees.

Frogs in The Woodlands Texas area

Croak… croak …croak….

We have an excellent Herpetology resource just a few miles down the road near the airport in Jesse Jones Park – Mike Howlett. Last night at McCullough school, he presented a “how to” identify local frogs and toads. Not only was the material excellent, but also his humor was super! Have you ever wondered what was making those noises outside (and sometimes inside)? He offered a few memory tips to identify these amphibians by their call and believe me; seniors need help in this area. Amphibians are endangered by our environmental non-consciousness just as birds, insects and animals. Ant poison is often over applied resulting in more than the inconvenience of these creatures. Construction in sandy soil areas has endangered two frogs and they are on the national endangered list. Their living environment has been more than encroached. It has been mostly removed. Introduction of species from other locations and competing amphibians for food sources, as well as lawn and garden poisons and fertilizer also affect the environment of these creatures.

Common toads and frogs in our area include the small Grey Frog, Gulf Coast Toad, Houston Toad, Cricket Frog, Spring Peeper tree frog, Western Chorus Frog, Rio Grand Chirping Frog (not native but here in abundance), Grey Tree Frog, Coats Grey Tree Frog, Green Tree Frog, Squirrel Tree Frog, Bull Frog, Bronze Frog, Southern Leopard Frog, Narrow Mouth Frog, and Herder Spade Foot Frog. Each one has a unique call. One can see the eggs on top of the water after a big rain. Toads’ eggs are laid in a double row and frogs’ eggs are laid in a glob.

Each of these creatures makes a unique sound. That is the way they manage to call their own species for social gatherings and mating. We humans are fortunate to be able to discern those calls, well enough to be able to go out, sit down and identify all the frogs in a given area and even be able to estimate the populations by their calls. Texas Parks and Wildlife sponsors a catalog process, which monitors area ponds and forest areas for their amphibian populations. One can adopt a pond for monitoring and cataloging by attending a class and getting the materials, including a CD of sounds for identifying these creatures.

OK, now let’s talk food chain! What creature is at the top of the food chain on some ponds and will eat a Crawfish? It is the Bull Frog! He will eat about anything that moves that is within reach of that sticky tongue. Those pinchers of a crawfish do not faze him at all. What is a threat to small birds that comes to take a drink on the pond? Again … the Bull Frog. Picture a frog with a mouth full of feathers. What looks like a snake but has legs? A Skink. What are those lizards called that change colors? Nope, not a chameleon, but an Anole! What are those translucent lizard-like creatures on the windows and sometimes get into the house at night? Mediterranean Geckoes. They are not native here but they are thriving here.

Later this Spring, I will go out in rain to listen to these creatures and hopefully I can find the time to get certified in frog monitoring on one of our Woodlands ponds. I may take one of my grandchildren with me. The children attending this lecture were obviously very interested and came to look at the living frogs in the bottles that Mike brought with him.

I highly recommend attending this Woodlands Association series of lectures on nature. The remaining lectures this Spring are “The Quiet Invasion” (invasive plants on March 26th and “Beyond Butterflies” on April 17th (should also be an interesting one for children).

Now let's change that croak to Peep ... peep ....peep

tweetily.tweetily.tweetily.tweetily.tweetily.tweetily..tweetily.tweetily.tweetily

Loose banjo string sound...........Loose banjo string sound (bwang?)

myyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.........myyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

I went away with a much different appreciation for an important resident of our forest.

Resources:
1. Any book store: look for Amphibian field guides in the Texas book section.
2. Jesse Jones Park: http://www.hcp4.net/jones/pw/amreptiles.htm
3. Texas Parks and Wildlife kids stuff: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/kids/
4. Texas Parks and Wildlife Texas Amphibians Watch: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_br_w7000_0492.pdf

Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge - Liberty

Although this is a little out of the scope of this blog, it is an example of what can be done to restore our forests. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service planted 50,000 native hardwood trees in the refuge as part of a reforestation effort.

Chronicle article by MICHAEL GRACZYK of the Associated Press.

Related article (Conservation Fund)

Audubon Society's 108th Christmas Bird Count

Are you aware that we are part of this national event? Yep, right here in The Woodlands Area. As part of the East Texas piney woods, we have been a point of measurement for bird populations for 25 years, organized by the Piney Woods Wildlife Society! Of special interest in this area is the red-cockaded woodpecker, a 7-inch endangered species which raises its family in very mature pine trees which are usually infected with a disease that softens the bark, allowing the bird to make a home in the living tree by digging it out over a long period of time. "While other woodpeckers bore out cavities in dead trees where the wood is rotten and soft, the Red-cockaded Woodpecker is the only one which excavates cavities exclusively in living pine trees." It's habitat has decreased over the years to only 1% of what it used to be. There are about 4500 nesting families in existence. As the forests are "cleaned" of aging trees and the forests are harvested for its wood, these birds are rapidly declining in population. We are on the southern boundary of its habitat. I recommend the readings listed below to learn more about this very interesting bird and the local effort to monitor the changes in the bird population here on the southern edge of our forest.

References:
Chronicle article Dec 2007

Red-cockaded woodpecker

About Com
Audobon Society - Spring Creek count

The Great forests of East Texas

This is our setting, the very core of what we see around us. Over many ages, the forests about us were populated with Indians, wolves, bear, eagles and many other small and large animals. As the urbanization sprawl of Houston continues, we see the deer pushed back further to the north and east. We have seen the disappearance of the wolf. The bear is far removed from our presence. Yet much of the great forest remains. I plan to run and hike in Davy Crockett National Park next Spring. That represents our heritage, holding the fundamentals of our biological framework that makes up The Woodlands.