Fin

Thus the end of an inspiring experience.

January 13, 2010 was the first Introductory to Fieldcraft class and I had no idea what to expect. The course listing had described using a field guide and journal to catalog different bird sitings and as well as learning about the region in which I was currently living in. Still, I was a bit unsure for what this class had in store for me, I knew it would be a relatively small group of students and that it would be an honors course. I had chosen to take this course because not only did it seem like it would be fun, I love being outdoors and studying the environment and its creatures. Luckily I knew I would know at least one person in the class, my suite mate Melanie. Overall I figured that I would both enjoy and benefit from this class.

It was the first day of class and I could already tell that our professor was someone special, a lot of students seemed to already know her and many confessed to taking the course solely because she was teaching it; a good sign I thought. We went outside after introductions and began looking for birds. Easy enough stuff I thought, most of these birds I knew from back home; apparently this was not the case for others though. It took me a while to realize that it appeared that I knew these birds better than many others in the class, perhaps that was because I readily spoke out or that others merely did not know; I am still unsure. However, I am one to retain information (especially regarding wildlife) and therefore I thirst for knowledge on anything and everything concerning animals, that is the way I have always been. These attributes are what helped me to already have previous knowledge of the birds that we saw. I was not trying to be a smartalic or show off, I was truly excited that I knew the answers to Dr. Tomlinson's questions.

During the first couple of classes we focused on the basics of a field journal, maps, insight, sketching, etc. The way in which Dr. T had us perceive a map was drastically different from any other way I'd ever imagined before. A map was more than purely a piece of paper that directed someone from one place to another, a map could tell a story, could demonstrate the passage of time, or the impact that one makes on the world. Reading The Mappist helped me to better understand these perceptions of maps and how they can catalog pretty much anything. Dr. T also taught us about giving insight in our journals, telling how we are feeling at the moment, what are senses are telling us and so on. I enjoy that kind of writing because it is very detailed and personal. As far as learning how to draw goes, ya right! Maybe can do a sketch every once in a while but it is not me. For some reason I have the hardest time converting what I see and how I picture it in my head to manually applying it to paper. It is almost pathetic how poorly of a drawer I am, but oh well, that's just something to cross off my list of things I want to do in life...become an artist; I'll pass, thanks. This is not in anyway to condemn Dr. T's teaching abilities, drawing is just not my forte. I did enjoy however attempting to sketch "Bird" the ever changing Styrofoam model.

We then began going to the Lubbock Lake Landmark, a historic site that is deceiving by name. In my opinion, they use that name because they hope that it will one day come true-there will be a lake in Lubbock. Two words: keep. dreaming. While at the Landmark we began learning about the North American Prairie and the plains biome in which Lubbock is situated. Through these lectures I was able to understand why this region is so dry, why trees are so scarce, and why it is an important ecosystem. Personally, the prairie is not my favorite ecosystem; I, like many others, prefer trees to grass and large mammals to small mammals. It is difficult to explain why this is so. Is it because green represents life, or that to live in such an open area is unnerving? I'm not quite sure. However, these lectures enabled me to gain more knowledge about the prairie ecosystem and more respect for it, but I still do not view this region as one of my favorites.

Along with the prairie we also learned about the bodies of water that are a part of this biome. The Yellowhouse Draw is a key component of this ecosystem and the L^3 is located in it. In the 1930s the Draw had numerous springs but when irrigation became terribly popular, the springs began to dry out. The Clovis Point was discovered in the 1930s as well. This arrowhead is extremely important because it is evidence that people lived in this region over the last 5 periods or for the past 12,000 years. That's another reason why the Landmark is important, it is a major archaeological site. The Landmark's mission is to make the land they own as it once used to be before white settlement without disturbing the archaeological sites. It takes true dedication and perseverance to be a member of the L^3 team but they make it seem effortless. With the use of prescribed burning and ridding the land of non-native vegetation, they are slowly allowing the land to become what it once was hundreds of years ago and to reach its full potential.

Weather was another topic that we covered in class and oh what a joy our weather was this past winter! There were very few times in our class that the weather was actually enjoyable; it has only been in these past couple of classes that we have not been freezing to death or been brutally assaulted by the wind. Learning about the weather in West Texas was helpful because now I can predict whether or not straightening my hair would be wise.

Preparing for and actually attending the Lesser Prairie Chicken Festival was quite an experience. As far as preparation goes, getting a tour at the Texas Tech Museum in the Natural Science Research Lab was quite a treat. I truly enjoyed seeing all of the birds and learning about the preservation efforts exerted at the lab. The actual Festival was much more interesting than I had anticipated. All of the movements and calls that the male chickens preformed amazed and astounded me; they are quite a dedicated bunch of birds.

The past few class periods we have been studying and classifying wildflowers at the Landmark. It has been a lot of fun because not only has the weather been relatively nice, the flowers have been beautiful and in full bloom.

I would have to say that the Introductory to Fieldcraft course has been a very enlightening experience for me. In this class I have learned about multiple species of birds and wildflowers and how to identify and classify them. I have also become much more appreciative and aware of the prairie ecosystem and its necessity in the world. Dr. Tomlinson was the perfect professor for this course because she is so knowledgeable and passionate about all that we have learned this year. I would highly recommend this course to anyone passionate about the prairie and birds, especially if Dr. T is teaching it.

Wildflowers at the Landmark

April 28, 2010

L^3

2:20-5:00

The following week, we went back to Lubbock Lake Landmark to identify and learn about even more wildflowers. This time I remembered to bring my camera so I was able to take pictures of all the flowers!

Evening Primrose (pg 172)

"butter cup"

yellow (4) petals

hairy stem
8 stamen

WWP: Appears shrubby and can range between 4 and 18 inches in height. The stems are stout, hairy, and many-branched from the ground. The sepals are streaked with red in the bud stage but upon blooming, the petals are bright yellow.

Feather Dalea (pg 136)

long stems

multiple leaves

small purple flowers

WWP: It is a shrub that stands 1-3 1/2 feet tall. The branches have bark that is a dark gray coloring. The flowers grow in clusters on short spikes (2-10 in a cluster). The calyx has feathery lobes 1/4 inch long and grayish-white in color. The corolla is a vivid rose-purple. Feather Dalea is a shrub that usually grows in colonies on hills.

Threadleaf Groundsel (pg 90)

14 yellow slender petals

almost looks like a bush

lots of stems

stems look "squishy"

numerous leaves

WWP: Perennial with several spreading stems from the base that branch towards the top. It grow 1 1/2-3 feet tall. The stems are covered in numerous small hairs. There are 6-8 slender yellow ray flowers per flower. The Threadleaf Groundsel prefers drier areas of the Western Plains.

Spiny Aster (pg 81)

multiple, yellow, pointed petals

orange center

small "spiny" leaves

max of 20 inches tall

WWP: Another member of the Compositae family, Spiny Aster is a rough plant, branched in the upper part and covered with minute hairs. Each leaf has a bristle tip on each tooth. Both the disc and ray flowers are bright yellow and there can be 20-30 ray flowers per flower.

Unknown

long stems

5 yellow petals (maybe 6)

sporadic leaves on stem

multiple leaves around flowers
flowers have tubular bases
resembles a Puccoon but petals are different

Notes

To try and figure out what this was, I first looked in the Solanaceae family because of the discription of 5 fused petals but I was unsuccessful. Next, I checked in the Snapdragon family and found the Pink Plains Penstemon which appears to closely resemble the plant we found but the coloring is white and pink, not yellow. I still am unsure of this wildflower's classification.

Fleabane Daisy (pg 62)

daisy family

yellow center

thin white numerous petals

4-12 inches tall

buds and bottoms of petals have magenta coloring

WWP: Short-lived perennial. Many narrow oblong to lance-shaped leaves, less than 2 inches long. Numerous flowers heads each with 30-70 white ray flowers, very straight and narrow. Fleabane Daisy prefers sandy soils and open plains.

Purple Ground Cherry (pg 208)

potato family

flat, purple flowers

4 connected petals

low growing

WWP: The stems and leaves are sparsely covered with microscopic bubbles that have a crystalline look and texture. The flower petals are a blue-purple shade and are flat and wheel-shaped. The flower has 5 stamens and yellow anthers atop purple filaments.

Studying flowers again was fun but my favorite part was seeing the baby Horned Lizard as we were walking back to the class. It was adorable, and as I said before, I love animals so it made it all the more exciting. Also, I have never gotten to see a Horny Toad before and am therefore truly ecstatic about this siting. We were able to capture multiple shots of it and I was even able to touch it. Yay!

Wildflowers Galore!

April 21, 2010
L^3
2:20-5:00

I am absolutely loving this weather! It was 74 degrees with clear skies with some and a light air. Any whoos, WiLdFlOwErS!

Notes:
Wildflowers are tied to the region in which they reside
It helps to have a check list to classify different characteristics of the flowers
Books can categorize the flowers by colors or family
Family categorization is the best way to classify wildflowers because it narrows the list down by specific characteristics

Dr.T had us look at two different types of wildflowers before we went off on our own. They turned out to be a Prairie Verbena (pg 214) and a Bladderpod (pg 107).


Prairie Verbena
small purple flowers in a cluster
fanned leaves
close to the ground

According to Wildflowers of the Western Plains the Prairie Verbena is a characteristically a low, much-branched, hairy perennial wildflower. The flower petals are umbrella like and range from pink to purple. It is a very abundant flower.


Bladderpod
4 petals
long stem
long thin leaves
close to ground
early blooming annual spring flower

WWP: It is an early-blooming annual spring flower and has horizontal stems that curve upward. The leaves alternate on the stem. The petals are in clusters of 4 and are characteristically yellow. It is a part of the Mustard Family (Crucuferae (Brassicaceae)).

From there we went on to find a multitude of other wildflowers some of which were difficult to identify.


Tansy Mustard (pg 106)
4 yellow petals that make a cross
small flower petals
tall stem
thin, multiple leaves

WWP: An annual with several stems growing from the base and branching above. The stems and leaves are grayish-green in color with small hairs. There are 6 stamens and 4 petals forming a cross-shaped structure. Blooming period: February-June.

Notes
The Daisy is an iconic flower of the Compositae Family that consists of Daises, Sunflowers, and the Aster Family. Compositae means that the flowers are made of more than just one flower. the petals are ray flowers and the center consists of disc flowers.


Wild Onion (pg 148)
long stems
white petals pointing upwards (6)
yellow in middle- 6 stamen

Notes
Closely resembles "Crow-poison" but when observed at a closer range one can tell the differences. The Crow-poison can range in height from 4-15 inches and the Wild Onion from 4-9 inches. The W.O. produces an onion smell when crushed whereas the Cp. does not have a distinct smell.

WWP: The Wild Onion is a part of the Liliaceae or Lily Family. Each bulb (usually found in pairs) produces a solitary hollow scape that has an umbel of 10-25 flowers. Each flower in turn has 6 stamens, 1 pistil, and 6 spreading petallike perianth parts. Color ranges from white to a deep pink.

Side note
I always used to see these flowers around the elementary school that I would ride my bike around. My parents taught be that they were called "Onion Flowers" and that when you broke them that they would smell like an onion-very true. Needless to say, when we saw them at the Landmark, I was pleased to be able to identify at least one wildflower on my own that day.


Scarlet Globe Mallow (pg 161)
Mallow Family
pale orange petals (5)
relatively large petals
clusters of buds

Note
It was very difficult to decide if these flowers were Scarlet or Orange Globe Mallows. The way we finally figured it out was to compare the pictures and descriptions in our books to the actual flower we were looking at. We decided it was the Scarlet because the stamens form a column through which the 5 (or more) styles emerge. Also, the leaves are shallowly lobed at the basal end with a much longer mid lobe and they range from 3/4 inches to 2 1/2 inches long.


Scrambled Eggs (pg 114)
tubular flowers
4-14 inches tall
leaves are pinnate
bright yellow flowers

WWP: Scrambled Eggs are a part of the Bleeding Heart Family which characteristically have 2 tiny sepals, 4 petals, and 6 stamens. The S.E. have 2 minute sepals about 1/8 inches long. The upper petal has a saclike spur at the base and is slightly incurved and blunt on the end. The flowers grown in a spikelike arrangement.


Puccoon (pg 15)
pale yellow flower
5 petals
thick, tall stems
flowers have a "feathery" appearance
base of flowers are tubular
multiple stems

WWP: The Puccoon is a member of the Boraginaceae Family also known as the Borage or Forget-Me-Not Family. The basal leaves usually dry up before the plant blooms. The stems can reach 1 foot tall and the leaves get smaller as they come up the stem towards the flowers. There are 5 united sepals and 5 petals united to form a 5-lobed tube that flares at the end. These plants bloom twice in a season the first time with a pretty yellow that "shows all but won't grow" because the blossoms are sterile and the second time with "no show but will grow" tiny blossoms that produce fertile seeds. In my opinion, we saw the flowers in their first bloom because of the size of the blossoms.


Wreath Aster (pg 49)
small white flower petals (lots)
Compositae family
small leaves
stems covered with minute hairs
appearance of a daisy

WWP: Stems are much branched and can either be erect or bent over. The plant can reach a height between 1 and 3 feet. There are many crowded smaller leaves at the base of the longer leaves. There are numerous flower heads on the upper portion of the stalks with each flower has 15-18 white ray flowers about 3/8 inches in length. This type of wildflower lives in grasslands and dry lands-perfect for Lubbock.


Yellow Daisy (pg 78)
tall, thin, redish stems
yellow petals (around 12)
orange center
thin green leaves at the base
3 notches in each petal

WWP: The leaves on this perennial plant alternate up the stems and are crowded basally and are also linear in position. Each flower has 12-25 yellow ray petals and each is 3-toothed. The disk flowers are also bright yellow and fertile. The Yellow Daisy grows best in rocky/ gravelly hillsides and canyon breaks in the Western Plains.


Bitterweed (pg 78)
almost exactly like the Yellow Daisy just the petals are more spread apart
it categorized with the Yellow Daisy and therefore the notes above apply to this wildflower as well


Pink Paintbrush (pg 200)
member of Snapdragon family
grows in clusters
shaggy hairs

WWP: The Pink Paintbrush is perennial herb that grows from 4 inches to 1 foot in clusters. The shaggy hairs on the leaves give the plant an almost woolly look. The flower is subtended by 3-5 lobed floral bracts which are broader and shorter than the leaves. The bracts are tinged with pink or red and are covered in fine hairs. The flowers are in dense spikes standing out from the bracts.


Unknown
thin stems
thin leaves
tiny flowers (5 petals)
white/blue coloring on petals
relatively short

My guess
The Dwarf Senna (pg 145) because the description says: it is a small flower that grows only 3 inches tall at its maximum. There is only 1 flower per stalk and each flower has 5 petals. It blooms in May and June on rocky hillsides and pastures. The only thing that made me unsure if this was the right flower was that the flowers we saw had blue and white coloring yet it never mentions that and the description says that they are a pale yellow.


This was a good introduction into the world of identifying wildflowers and I enjoyed it more than identifying birds. Most likely because I am more of a mammalian-liking kind of person and therefore birds do not hold my interest as much. They are very majestic and entertaining to watch and I admire most of the species but I have enjoyed learning about wildflowers.

The Festival

April 17, 2010
Llano Estacado
Milensand, New Mexico
5:00-8:00 am

The Lesser Prairie Chicken Festival

Wow, what an experience! I will mainly focus on the actual LPC portion of the trip and not so much on all of the other activities. However, I must award credit where credit is deserved. I was unsure about the trip, how great the courtship performances would be, would the people there be nice, and where the hell was Milensand? Well, I have to say, one could easily overlook the "town" of Milensand if they sneezed too hard, but the people there were delightful, and the LPC displays were amazing.

Now, for what we have all been waiting for, the event we all came to see, the thing that our entire class has been working towards...male LPCs strutting their stuff for a bunch of chicks (well technically hens)! To describe this account to you, I will be telling it as I wrote it in my journal with inserts of my current thoughts.

Thoughts on our way there:

Where is this place? I really hope it doesn't rain while we are there. Jenny and Eileen are crazy for eating that Mexican candy! Why must I be so tired? Hopefully this will be fun.

Thoughts on the drive to the leks:

This ought to be interesting. Why is our driver leaving the rest of the vans? Where are we going? Oh Lord, he got turned around. I hope this doesn't make us late to see the LPCs and mess everything up! Phew, we're here and the chickens are out yet. Now, to sit and wait.

Notes from journal:

5:40 am-1st LPC calls heard

5:55 am-1st LPC seen (male)

The noises that these chickens make is almost indescribable. There are so many calls that these males make! They use their air sacs to make one noise, use their feet to make a scratching noise, and (I am assuming) use their mouths to make a cry that almost mimics a gull (and yet also sounds a bit like "bock, bock" to me)

Movements:

The most common is to bob their heads up and down in short, precise movements while the inflate their air sacs. When they do this, their behinds are in the air and they fan out their tail feathers which make a rattling sound that to me, closely resembles a Rattlesnake's rattle. Their Pinnae feathers are also up and in full display. They will rotate their bodies every couple of "puffs" (of their air sacs) or strut a few steps.

2 males that are close to us are constantly getting too close for the other one's comfort. When this happens, one of the males will crouch down preparing to jump. They make different noises at each other and once they have off, they go about "puffing" again.

6:20 am - some females have shown themselves

It is very difficult to to see the females because they are so well camouflaged. It is interesting to me because unlike many other animals, the male LPCs do not appear aggressive to either the females nor towards other males. They will certainly assert themselves when there is a female around but otherwise do not try to approach or mount her. I suppose it is because the female gets to choose and therefore all the males can do is display themselves as best as possible when she's around. Now the lack of aggression towards other males surprises me. When one male gets too close to another male they merely have a standoff; no physical contact is observed. Violence is the case for many animals but for the LPC, it seems unnecessary.

Side note:

I did at one point see two males actually come in contact with each other but other than that, I witnessed no physical contact what so ever.

Topography:

The area in which their leks are is very open and exposed with most of the shrubbery not more than 1/2 a foot tall. There are some thin grasses sporadically that stand at probably 2 feet but nothing taller. The ground is hard and covered with rocks. This area was once used for an oil derrick.

6:45 am

Everything has been relatively quite for the past 10 mins. Either some have left or they're all hunkered down.

Movements Cont'd:

They will run in straight lines

Jump up in the air and flutter their wings

When courting a female they will bow (Never got to witness)

They will hop/jump around

They will also remain entirely still

I see one pruning his feathers

I think these LPCs are not very happy because there is not a great turnout of females. I wonder if it is due to all the rain and windy weather we've been experiencing lately. Thank goodness it's not raining now.

Colorings/Markings:

Brown bodies with white striping

Yellow/orange sections around/one the head

Orange/Red sacs

Questions:

Do the males come back to the same place every year?

Do the males have the same lek as the year before?

How long does this event go on? (Months, days?)

What defines a lek? (I see no physical boundaries)

Why can I not put what is in my head on paper??? (Referring to my lack of drawing skills)

And there we are: the Prairie Chicken courtship as I experienced it. I had a great time and it was definitely worth the wind and the rain to see these males strut their stuff. I do wish however that we had been able to see more displays which I think would have occurred if more females had shown up. Oh well, it was a great experience and I now understand what Dr. T meant when she said that the LPC's call was almost unworldly.

Are you down with the LPC?

April 14, 2010
2:20-5:00
Museum of Texas Tech University-
Natural Science Research Laboratory

I'm not sure how to begin recounting the experience I had this past Wednesday. It was absolutely amazing to be inside the NSRL with Dr. Nancy Micntyre educating our class. I suppose I should start by explaining why we were there. The museum's NSRL has an extremely important duty, to catalog a vast number of animal species and to preserve their "representations". Our main target was to view the area that stores the bird representations. All the specimens are organized in very sterile white containers that contain multiple trays with numerous bird representations. A representation is what they term anything that identifies with the bird, it could be a bird that has been stuffed and preserved, a skeleton, or perhaps just a portion of a skeleton. All of these "rep.s" are preserved to near perfection so that, if stored properly, they can last an eternity. Each specimen has an ID tag which usually states the name of the bird species, the scientific name, and the date which it was either found or brought to the laboratory (I'm not sure). For the skeletons to be cleaned, the lab employs flesh-eating beetles whose handy work perfectly cleans the bones.

I did not catch the number, but the museum's collection of avian and insect specimens was nothing in comparison to the collection of mammalian specimens. However, that is not to say that the bird collection is small, in fact, the NSRL has the 2nd largest bird collection in the entire state of Texas, second only to Texas A&M. One of the first things that Dr. Micntyre explained to us was that they collect more than just one specimen of every species because, like humans, each individual is different and it represents the biological diversity of this world. The birds are all organized according to taxonomy, not by alphabetical, which means that they are categorized in groups such as: song birds, owls, birds of paradise, etc. The NSRL's collection dates back to approximately 1866, that is some good preservation work!

Some of the birds that we got to see were: Golden Eagles- absolutely enormous creatures with huge talons, apparently a lot of Indian headdresses used to be made from the Golden Eagle's tail feathers, we also saw a Toucan- who's bill was actually quite lite, and a Quetzal- very beautiful and the national bird of Costa Rica (a country to which I will be traveling to this summer so hopefully I will be able to see one alive and in full display :) ). And of course, we saw the Prairie Chickens.

There were 2 Lesser Prairie Chickens and 1 Greater Prairie Chicken which had been stuffed in 1878 and was still in remarkable condition.
Notes about the LPC:
~The "barring" fades from the top of the chest to the bottom
~The Pinnae feathers are the feathers around the ears and males use those as display during courtship
~Their feet have a slight webbing between the toes (much like humans do)

Note of interest:
~The Audubon Society's symbol is the egret because during 1800s, the women's hat industry claimed the lives of so many of the birds that they almost went extinct.

It was a great experience and I feel very privileged that Dr. Micntyre was able to provide us with such a great tour. Now on to the Lesser Prairie Chicken Festival!

Planting Trees

March 31, 2010
L^3
2:20-5:00

Last Wednesday we had the privilege of planting trees at Lubbock Lake Landmark. There were around 22 trees but because of our time limit we were not able to plant all of them and will hopefully be able to plant the rest this coming Wednesday. The Girls' Team and Nick planted 4 trees. :) All of the trees we planted seemed to be in a different soil composition. One was extremely rocky, one was regular soil underneath grass, one was semi rocky, and the other was very rich (I'm assuming it was because it was located where a burn pile had been). After we had dug the hole big enough to accommodate the roots we would fill the hole back up with dirt and then create a rain ring around the tree so that whenever it rained, the trees could get as much of the water as possible. Once they were planted and the ring formed, we would soak the ground with water; we were told that no matter what kind of tree or shrub or bush it is, for the first year, they should be watered diligently. The trees we planted were Soapberrys and Hackberrys. According to thearborday.com the Soapberry is very well suited to Lubbock; it tolerates wind, drought, and infertile soils easily and is also native to this region. The Hackberry is also native and can exist in a wide variety of soils and temperatures. The Landmark definitely did their research with these two trees and I hope that 20 years from now I can come back to the L^3 and see these trees in their full glory.

Weather Predictions

This past Wednesday we were out at Lubbock Lake Landmark observing and learning about the weather.

March 24, 2010
2:20-5:00
L^3

Notes about weather:

When a front is coming in, the winds blow from the Northern region
When a front is leaving, the winds blow from the Southern region
Before the front comes in, the barometric pressure increases, the temperature gets colder, the winds are light, and there are cumulus clouds
When the front the comes in, the barometric pressure fluctuates, the temperature gets steadily colder, the winds shift and come in gusts,there is rain, and cumulonimbus clouds
After the front has left, the barometric pressure steadily decreases, the temperature increases, there are light winds, and cirrus clouds
Some people will feel joint pain or sinus pressure the day before the weather changes because of the drop in barometric pressure

Wednesday: Cumulonimbus, cumulus, and cirrus clouds were all seen in different regions of the sky. It was sunny. The winds were in the low 20s but were so gusty that it felt as though they were constantly in the 30s. They were coming from the Northwest which to me meant that the front had already arrived and was on its way out. The clouds were moving quickly. The wind was shifting.
Thursday: My prediction was that it was going to be sunnier, warmer, with calmer winds and cumulus clouds.
Thursday: It was sunny with very light winds and no clouds in the sky. It was also quite nice out temperature wise and I was actually able to wear shorts.