Doves are among the most recognizable and numerous birds in Texas. The most common dove species in our area include Mourning Doves, White-winged Doves, Eurasian Collared-Doves, and Inca Doves.

I’ve taken lots of lizard pictures, but the behavior of these two long-tailed characters grabbed my attention.

“Caterpillars are built from the energy and nutrients stored in the leaves they have eaten. In effect, caterpillars are repurposed leaves that can walk.” —Doug Tallamy, PhD

Several years ago, I saw an unusual plant. And being a new member of Hays County Master Naturalist, I decided to look it up.

My Selah moment revealed to me how lucky we are to be part of a program whose mission is to provide for the beneficial management of natural resources and natural areas.

“I calmly took this photo… The image clearly was taken with a steady hand and not by someone who was screaming like a girl.”

Three short HCMN photo journals in one.

• Anything with Wings!

• A Mystery Solved

• Bird Sanctuary - The “Lazy Birders”
  
  

In years past, the Cedar Waxwings have devoured the berries on my wild Possumhaw. But this year, I had a different visitor.

There’s a whole universe in small floral spaces.

"When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.”

—Dedicated to helping children experience science with their heads, hands, and hearts.

Hikers know a lot about walking sticks…But how much do we know about insect walkingsticks?

“Where birds thrive, people prosper.”—Chloe Crumley, Audubon Texas

With special pride, HCMN members and many of the spring 2024 Training Class gathered for a 25th Anniversary Celebration.

20th Annual Photography Contest
Make it the best one yet! Deadline June 24. Spread the word!

Spring 2024 Butterfly Collection
Painted Lady, Reakirt’s Blue, Checkered White, Variegated Fritillaries, Monarch, and Common Checkered-Skipper

“Morning, Bob,” I’d say as I sipped my coffee from the other side of the window. Bob was busy. He didn’t have time for chitchat.

According to an article penned by HCMN Mary Dow Ross, the initial caterpillar count was 36 in 1999. Compare that to the 5,000 wrangled this year.

There are places called Sentinel Peak from Arizona to South Africa, but this woodsy slope in Hays County would be hard to beat.

About twenty Hays County Master Naturalist class members gathered in the parking lot for the Hornsby Bend site visit.