Heralds of Spring in Texas"It is a basic part of human nature to anticipate a new cycle of growth in our natural world and to recall fond memories of earlier springs. But the signals of spring are varied and personal. They differ from one person to the next and often are very special to the beholder."--from the Introduction We know by the calendar when spring officially begins, but how does nature tell us spring has come? In Heralds of Spring in Texas Roland H. Wauer walks us through Texas, from the Rio Grande to the Panhandle, as spring arrives. In addition to offering us his own special memories of spring in Texas, Wauer brings together here the thoughts of other Texas naturalists, professional and avocational, and augments both with background information about the particular herald being considered. Harbingers of spring explored include birds, trees, flowers, mammals, even the night sky. For many along the Gulf Coast, the arrival of the first purple martins signifies the season. As Petra Hockey of Port O'Connor says, "I run outside to welcome them, and they seem just as happy to be back as I am to have them. Now spring has arrived." In the Trans-Pecos, two welcome signs of spring are the blooming of the Big Bend bluebonnets and the arrival of Cassin's kingbirds in the Davis Mountains. But for Mark Adams of the McDonald Observatory, "as the Earth swings closer to spring, . . . Pegasus, the Winged Horse, emerge[s] from the solar glare into the pre-dawn sky. . . . My spring herald." For many in Central Texas, spring has come when the Mexican buckeyes and redbuds begin flowering and the golden-cheeked warbler arrives. But for Burr Williams, in the Western Plains, "spring is best expressed by the myriad of invertebrate tracks that he finds on the sand dunes at Monahans Sandhills State Park." All those who love outdoor Texas will relish this delightful celebration of spring and enjoy the artwork of Ralph Scott, who has done an illustration of each spring herald. |
Contents
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| 15 | |
| 20 | |
| 24 | |
| 29 | |
| 33 | |
GULF COAST | 39 |
Blooming Spanish Daggers at Laguna Atascosa | 41 |
Field Sparrow Songs at Guadalupe River State Park | 132 |
Anemones at Dripping Springs | 136 |
Chimney Swifts Aerial Acrobats | 139 |
Mountain Laurel Blooms | 145 |
Greening Cottonwoods at Barton Springs | 148 |
The Northward Passage of American Robins | 152 |
Whitethroated Sparrow Songs in Austin | 156 |
Migrating Upland Sandpipers | 159 |
Greening of the Coastal Prairie | 46 |
Matagorda Island Stonehenge | 51 |
Purple Martins Arrival at Port OConnor | 55 |
Alligators The Roar of Spring at Brazos Bend | 61 |
Crane Flies in Friendswood | 65 |
Yellowthroated Warblers Arrival at Sabine Woods | 68 |
TRANSPECOS | 73 |
Violetgreen Swallows along the Rio Grande | 75 |
Blooming of Big Bend Bluebonnets | 78 |
Turkey Vultures Returning to West Texas | 82 |
Cassins Kingbirds in the Davis Mountains | 87 |
Spring Skies at the McDonald Observatory | 91 |
Boutonniere Plants in the Guadalupe Mountains | 95 |
PINEYWOODS | 99 |
Violets at Old River | 101 |
Gray Squirrel Nest Building at Port Arthur | 104 |
Carolina Jessamine of the Big Thicket | 110 |
Flowering Dogwoods in the Forest Midstory | 113 |
Falcate Orangetip Butterflies in Sam Houston National Forest | 118 |
Warbler Songs at Caddo Lake | 122 |
HILL COUNTRY | 127 |
Mexican Buckeyes and Redbuds Twin Heralds | 129 |
Goldencheeked Warblers at Balcones Canyonland | 164 |
The Texas Bluebonnet Official State Wildflower | 170 |
PRAIRIE AND LAKES REGION | 175 |
Cliff Swallows near Victoria | 177 |
Our Little Huisache Tree Is Famous Worldwide | 181 |
Buffbellied Hummingbirds at Mission Valley | 185 |
The Unmistakable Scissortailed Flycatcher | 190 |
Northern Cardinals Provide Our Earliest Spring Songs | 194 |
Southern Plains Trout Lilies near Waco | 198 |
DevilsElbow in the Northern Plains | 201 |
Spring Beauty on the Heard Wildlife Sanctuary | 204 |
PANHANDLE AND WESTERN PLAINS | 209 |
Invertebrate Tracks on the Monahans Sandhills | 211 |
Cassins Sparrow Songs in Midland County | 215 |
Migrating Peeps near San Angelo | 218 |
House Finch Songs and Pin Clover Blossoms on the Llano Estacado | 223 |
Three Early Wildlowers at Amarillo | 227 |
Western Meadowlark Songs on the Northern Prairie | 230 |
Common and Scientific Plant Names | 235 |
| 241 | |
| 247 | |
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Common terms and phrases
according American appear arrival beauty begin Big Bend birds bladderpod bloom blossoms bluebonnet breeding butterflies called cardinals CHAPTER chimney coast color comes common continued cottonwood County described dogwood early eastern explained fall February feed feet field flight flowers flying four fruits grass gray green ground grow head herald hundred inches individuals insects Island known land late leaves living male March martins mesquite migration miles Mountains native nature nesting northern notes numbers occur once Park Plains plant points prairie purple range remain River robins roost season seeds shrubs sing sometimes song soon southern sparrow species spring squirrels summer swallows swifts tail territory Texas Texas Hill Country throughout trees turkey usually Valley warblers weeks western wide wild wildflowers Wildlife wind wings winter wood wrote yellow
Popular passages
Page 14 - Whereas, Ornithologists, musicians, educators and Texas in all walks of life unite in proclaiming the mocking bird the most appropriate species for the state bird of Texas, as it is found in all parts of the State, in winter and in summer, in the city and in the country, on the prairie and in the woods and hills, and is a singer of distinctive type, a fighter for the protection of his home, fallIng, if need be, in its defense, like any true Texan.
Page 35 - And yet they's a point worth thinking about — We note that the old mesquites ain't out! Well, it may be spring for all we know — There ain't no ice and there ain't no snow. It looks like spring and it smells so, too. The calendar says it plenty true — And still they's a point worth thinkin...
References to this book
A Field Guide to the North American Prairie Stephen R. Jones,Ruth Carol Cushman No preview available - 2004 |