The
Pine Warbler
April 2004
A Ndumo Adventure: Part II
By David Henderson
(Continued from the March issue of The Pine Warbler)
And so it was. There across the laughing Usutu, half hidden
deep within a sycamore fig was the object of our quest — the Pel’s
Fishing-Owl. Not everyone in the group was able to see him right
away. Situated as he was below the rest of us, Philip sat, gazing
intently in the owl’s direction. “Line up your sight with the center
of my head.”, he said. It worked, at least for some. Fortunately
this was a young bird, still tied to its mother. Instinctively hunkered
down deep inside the protective foliage, it began to cry in low
tones reminiscent of a screech-owl’s. Philip called back, and it
answered! Due to the thickness of the vegetation on both sides of
the river, one had to crouch or even lay in the gritty, fluvial sand,
strewn with thick grasses and hidden wild animal feces, to see
the bird from the upper bank. Even with our high-end binoculars,
the most we could get was a large lump of brown, the top half or
more of which was literally hidden in the fig’s copious leaves.
Again, the Usutu seemed to laugh, now tempting us to walk across
its ankle-deep waters for a better view. Philip, however, was
adamant; we would not set foot into this international border. “My
rifle’s no match for the AK-47’s that may come up from nowhere!”
he quipped, only half-joking.
The owl kept calling. Was the mother still here on the South
Africa side, waiting for us to leave? “Pel’s are very weak birds”,
Philip said, “Crowned Eagles and Gymnogenes will eat them”. As
if on cue, a Gymnogene alighted in an adjacent tree! Suddenly, we
all wished the owl would shut up now! Finally, after a tense few
minutes, the harrier-hawk, its long naked, normally yellow legs
suffused with pink, took flight and sailed back beyond the pitiable
object of our arduous quest. A collective sigh of relief - no one
wanted that sort of predation on their conscience!
Time now to take our leave and let this poor young bird find
its mother and rest up for the night. We were quietly departing
the area, when after hiking a score of meters or more, Philip, a
wry smile on his face, turned and stated flatly, “There he is - in
the clear.” So we stood - most of us splattered with mud, smeared
with the extracts of exotic plants and with the excrement of wild
animals - now with a perfect, clear, standing view of this beautiful
cinnamon-brown docile-eyed creature! It sat, returning our gaze,
occasionally giving us a profile view. Despite its immense size, the
pale downy feathers betrayed its young age. The Usutu continued
to laugh along its way.
(see Ndumo Adventure on page 2)
Published September through May by
The Piney Woods Wildlife Society, Inc.
Vol. 24. No. 4
April 20 Program — Africa’s Creatures
Great and Small: a South African Safari:
Part II
Presented By David and Ednelza Henderson
“The morning rains had ended at Ndumo, bringing a celebratory
mood to the vast pan stretched out before us. In front of our
safari tent, the resident covey of White-faced Whistling-Ducks
and Purple Swamphens were redoubling their vocal efforts. A
four meter long Nile Crocodile sprawled lazily along the bank,
its opaque stare belying the violence by which it rules this, its
watery kingdom. Yellow-rumped Tinkerbirds and Dark-capped
Bulbuls called loudly from the trees above, and Lesser SwampWarblers chattered from the reeds below - it was time to explore,
for this was Africa.”
Come join fellow PWWS members David and Ednelza Henderson
as they recount a few of their many explorations and adventures
they engaged in while on an extensive birding safari across South
Africa last June. As students of all of nature, they explored many
aspects of South Africa’s incredible natural wonders. Their
presentation, “Africa’s Creatures Great & Small: a South African
Safari” will show some of the unique birdlife, butterflies, and of
course the incredible mammalian fauna that inhabit this underside
of the “Dark Continent.”
If this appears to be a repeat of our March program information, it is. Due to technical difficulties, David and Ednelza
were unable to complete their presentation in March so they
will again be our program presenters in April.
Date: Tues., April 20
Time: Social 7:00 p.m.
Meeting 7:30 p.m.
Place: Mercer Arboretum
22307 Aldine-Westfield
(Ndumo Adventure from page 1)
So now we had to find our way back to our boat—a seemingly
simple task, given Philip’s skills. However, this was still an
overcast day in an African wilderness, so anything could happen
- and it did.
First, there was the easy walk back along the old road, where
the birds, so quiet before, now burst into a frenzy of activity.
Golden-tailed and Cardinal Woodpeckers busily worked the
branches of the fever-trees above us. Arrow-marked Babblers
loudly lived up to their name. Seemingly playing their own game
of “catch-me-if-you-can.” Little Bee-eaters continually remained
in front of us. Finally, the sinkhole lay before us, and it was time
for us to turn into the brush.
Slowly, with great care, we tunneled our way back through the
stiff, thorny vegetation. Suddenly, Philip stopped dead in his tracks
- he motioned towards the ground to some fresh prints. “The Cape
Buffalo is now just in front of us,” he whispered, “We need to be
extremely quiet, and we must turn back - find a clearer way. “
So back we went to the nearest opening in the brush. Trudging
through the thick clay of this grassy, open forest, we all added
several centimeters to our height - but this made for difficult
walking. The forest grew silent again, but for the irreverent
quarreling of Samango Monkeys, and the clear rushing sound
of a.... waterfall? “Fishladder Falls”, Martin whispered, “We
are taking the long way around.” Then - yet more thick, thorny
underbrush stood in our path. We had come to an impasse and the
sun was beginning its downward trek - what to do? “We must go
through this brush,” Philip said, “but we cannot use machetes! The
noise may incite a lone bull on the other side, with nowhere to go!”
So quietly as we could, we ducked and scraped our way through
the morass of vegetation, until we could go no further. The thick,
sticky shrubs hemmed us in on all sides. Back out again we went.
We could see the clear sky over Banzi Pan before us, so close - so
frustratingly close. Finally, Philip dodged into some shrubbery, we
followed, and there was a loud crashing of something large hurling
itself through the green wall, our hearts leapt into our mouths.
Philip stood there in the clearing, grinning—the boat not twenty
2
The Pine Warbler
feet away. “Nyala,” he said soothingly, “It’s nyala.” Indeed, some
of us caught a glimpse of a graceful deer like creature, its beautiful
russet-brown pelage broken up by a liberal sprinkling of white
stripes and spots, as it disappeared into the vegetative labyrinth.
Our hearts now back in their proper places, it was time to
scrape off the accumulated mud off our shoes, sit ourselves down
in the watery skiff, and struggle to get the boat back into navigable
water. While we were doing this a two-foot long catfish peered up
from just below the surface of the murky black water. Clearly, the
owls would eat well tonight!
Back out across the vast pan, chasing the setting sun, we
paused to gawk at African Fish Eagles that stared back at us in
their turn. African Jacanas, with their incredibly widespread feet,
almost walked right up to our boat, while a shy and retiring Whitebacked Night-Heron faded deep into the bush. A pod of hippos
bobbed effortlessly in the murk, their scenic repose completed
with attendant Cattle Egrets perched on their backs or heads. One
hippo went under, its path through the water easily discernible by
the air bubbles comming up every few meters. We watched until
the bubble path began heading our way - Philip then gunned the
motor, and we were off, into the fast-fading light of this short but
ever so eventful day, At the Ndumo landing, amarula and port
awaited us, warming our cold insides.
Later, after showers and a change of clothes, we sat refreshed
as a full moon, upside-down to northern eyes, shone its pale
light over the Ndumo lodge. We gleefully recounted our trip
to our willing audience. As longtime birders and general nature
enthusiasts, we could not remember a time we had become so dirty
in pursuit of a tick on our life list- but then again never before had
we been in such a thoroughly wild place, where big game still
lived large. In quest of a rare and unusual bird, we had entered
into this watery wilderness realm, where the crocodile and the
hippo still rule the marsh, and the rhino and the buffalo still roam
across the vast forests. We had taken on this wilderness on its own
terms, and we had explored a few of its secrets. Indeed, this was
Africa.
April 2004
Sabine Woods Area Field Trip
Date:
Time:
Place:
Leaders:
Saturday, April 24
8:00 a.m.
TOS Sabine Woods Sanctuary
John Laneri and Pat Collins
Upcoming Nature Events
FeatherFest 2004 Birding Festival
April 1-4, 2004
The Texas Ornithological Society’s Sabine Woods Sanctuary
includes an isolated stand of live oaks that is among the most
productive migrant traps along the entire upper Texas coast.
During spring migration, the trees and shrubs is this small
sanctuary attract thousands of migrant land birds. We plan to have
lunch at the Sea Rim State Park picnic area so pack your lunch and
insect repellant.
It is just over a two-hour drive from Houston but it is well
worth the effort. Please join us there for a day of easy birding in
one of the premier spring birding areas in the country.
Galveston Island has long been recognized as one of the
top locations in the United States for birding. With a wide
variety of species visible year-round, the Island is considered
a central location for novice and expert birders alike.
On April 1 - 4, 2004 the Island will host its second
annual birding festival, FeatherFest 2004, to coincide with
spring migration when the Island sees more than 300 species
as they travel through the area.
The schedule includes eleven seminars and workshops
plus twenty field trips to all of the area hot spots. Online
registration is available at: www.galvestonfeatherfest.com.
Directions: Take I-10 East to Winnie. From Winnie take TX 73
to Port Arthur then TX 87 south to Sabine Pass. From Sabine Pass
continue on TX 87 west for 4.2 miles to the parking lot on the
north side of 87.
Chappell Hill 2004 Bird Fest
Twitchers Watch Robin Served Rare
Excerpts from a recent BBC News article
Birdwatchers from all over Britain who gathered in Grimsby to
catch sight of a rare American robin were horrified to see it eaten
by a passing Sparrowhawk. They were still setting up their cameras
when the predator swooped down from a row of drab factories and
warehouses on an industrial estate.
The young bird, from the southern US, “didn’t really live to
enjoy her moment of fame,” a twitcher told the Guardian. The
robin’s vivid red breast made it an obvious candidate for a lunch
date.
“It was a terrible moment,” Graham Appleton, of the British
Trust for Ornithology, which had spread news of the bird’s arrival,
told the newspaper. But the trust’s migration watch organiser
Dawn Balmer was more philosophical. “Most of these rare visitors
eventually succumb anyway to cold weather or a lack of food, if
not predation,” she told the paper.
The robin, whose scientific name Turdus migratorius derives
from its long-distance travels within America, was probably
blown across the Atlantic after being “caught up in a jetstream”,
Mr Appleton added. A member of the thrush family, with oilyblack wings and tail, the American Robin is as big as a British
Blackbird.
April 2004
April 30 – May 2, 2004
The first Annual Chappell Hill Bird Fest (Washington
County near Brenham) will take place from April 30th
through May 2, 2004. Featured speakers will include John
and Gloria Tveten, Gary and Kathy Clark and Fred Collins.
Field trips will include the private Clarann Estate (led by
Darrell Vollert) as well as other locations. Live birds of prey
will be on exhibit as well as many vendor nature-related
booths. This will be a fun and informative event for any level
of birder or naturalist. This is a great time of the year to enjoy
beautiful native wildflowers as well.
Call 979-277-1122 or 1-888-273-6426 for additional
information, or visit www.chappellhilltx.com.
Fifth Annual Nature Quest
April 13-18, 2004
Nature Quest is held near Concan in the beautiful Texas
Hill Country River Region of Uvalde County. Seminars,
workshops and field trips for birds, bats, butterflies,
wildflowers, native plants, big trees, and nature photography
are featured throughout the week.
To register, call 1-800-2110-0380 or visit their web site
at www.therr.com.
The Pine Warbler 3
East Texas Nature
By Diane Cabiness, Certified Texas Master Naturalist
Spring calls to nature lovers in many ways. For many of us it
means spending time in our yards — pruning, planting, etc. What
a wonderful way to bond with your children, grandchildren or
other young friends. Remember to gently remind your young
friends to wear gloves and watch where they put their hands and
feet. Some of our critters can bite or sting causing distress and
on a rare occasion a hospital visit. Even our nocturnal critters are
sometimes out during daylight resting under a pile of leaves or
under a piece of lumber. Be cautious. Be safe. And enjoy.
While doing your garden chores take a break with your young
friend and read a few of these poems and prose for a bit of oldfashion entertainment. This will be a good time to go over the
garden safety rules.
From Aesop’s Fables “The Gnat’s Sticky End”
Little Miss Muffet
Sat on a tuffet,
Eating of curds and whey
Along came a spider
And sat down beside her,
And frightened Miss Muffet away.
— Mother Goose
Whether it is spider, scorpion, bee, snake, or wasp be safe first
and than have fun. Before you stomp one of these critters out of
existence remember what a wonderful job they do trying to keep
our world from being over run by insects and other critters. W.
S. Bristowe of England estimated that spiders consumed in one
year the total weight of insects that equaled the human population.
Maybe one day there will be a spider hothouse just as there is a
butterfly hothouse for humans to visit.
“Will you walk into my parlour?” said the spider to the fly;
Tis the prettiest little parlour that ever you did spy.
The way into my parlour is up a winding stair,
And I have many curious things to show when you are there.”
“Oh no, no,” said the little fly, “to ask me is in vain,
For who goes up your winding stair can ne’er come down
again.”
— Mary Howitt, “The Spider and the Fly”(1821)
Incey Wincey spider
Climbing up the spout;
Down came the rain
And washed the spider out;
Out came the sunshine
And dried up all the rain;
Incey Wincey spider
Climbing up again.
— Mother Goose
A gnat settled on a lion’s ear, saying, “I’m much stronger than you
and I can prove it, I’ll fight you.” The gnat landed on the lion’s
nose and bit him. The lion tore at his face to knock off the gnat but
his paws were too big and clumsy and he was defeated.
The triumphant gnat gave a victorious cry and flew away
delighted. But he was instantly caught in a spider’s web, and as
the owner of the web crept up to claim its meal, the gnat cried, “Oh
isn’t life unfortunate. Here I am fresh from defeating the strongest
creature in the animal kingdom and now I’m about to be finished
by nothing bigger than a spider.”
The moral of the story: Victory is often short-lived.
Please share your nature experience with me at dianecabinessplan
[email protected].
More Old Names for Birds
In light of Jack Gorman’s recent book review on bird names,
here are ten more old bird names that Cliff Shackleford, with
Texas Parks and Wildlife, came up with. He found them in a
small booklet by Ralph Hoffmann called “Common Birds”
published in 1930 by the Massachusetts Audubon Society.
In that publication the author used some very old common
names for birds—all of which occur in Texas.
Look over this list and see if you can come up with the current
names for these ten birds.
Former common names:
(1) Crow Blackbird
(2) Bay-winged Bunting
(3) Chebec
(4) Chewink
(5) Cardinal Grosbeak
(6) Indigo-bird
(7) White-bellied Swallow
(8) Brown Thrush
(9) Golden-crowned Thrush
(10) Wilson’s Thrush
(Answers on page 7)
4
The Pine Warbler
April 2004
How Birds Fly
By John K.Terres
Review and Comments by Jack Gorman
Like most bird watchers, I often marvel at the flying skills and
acrobatics of the many different bird species. Until recently I had
taken the aerodynamics of bird flight for granted. When I saw
this book about how birds fly, a small thought entered my mind,
“Maybe there are some intriguing technical aspects to bird flight
that I have overlooked.” There sure were! I found that there are
six different types of bird flight —flapping, soaring and gliding,
hovering, dynamic soaring, helicoptering, and underwater flight.
To understand the technical aspects of these differences one must
first understand some rudimentary aerodynamics.
The aerodynamics of bird flight are similar to how airplanes
fly, but the parts involved are strikingly different. To sustain flight,
planes and birds need to get lift and have a method of propulsion
that forces air over their wings. Wings provide lift. Their upper
edges taper from front to back while the lower edges are flat from
front to back. This design causes the air flowing over the top of
the wings to have a longer flow path than the air flowing across
the bottom of the wings. Consequently the air pressure above
the wings is lower than the air pressure below the wings. This
pressure gradient pushes wings upward and thus gives them lift.
Airplane wings have a fixed shape. Unlike airplanes, birds’ wings
are flexible and have two independently functional sections. The
inner section typically consists of the first 40-70 percent of their
wing length. Starting from the body it extends to their wrist bones
where the primaries start. This inner wing section is primarily used
for lift. For propulsion, planes use propellers or jets. Birds use
the outer part of their wings, consisting mainly of their primary
feathers, for propulsion. The primaries, which are shaped like
propeller blades, are individually control by birds as deftly as
human control their fingers. At the start of each downward flap
the primaries are positioned at a right angle to its flight path for
a fraction of a second. These feathers are moved downward and
forward on the down stoke and reversed on the upstroke to move
upward and backward. The combination of these two motions
provides propulsion similar to that of an airplane propeller. Tails
are used for maneuvering and for braking. Each different bird
species has a specific wing and tail design which dictate its mode
and speed of flight.
FLAPPING FLIGHT - Most passerines, sparrows, finches,
cardinals, thrushes, warblers, woodpeckers, etc, as well as most
sandpipers, ducks and geese have wings designed for flapping
flight. Small birds like sparrows and finches have relatively wide
wings that allow them to maneuver through thick brush and trees.
This design gives birds good maneuverability but limits their
speed. However, all birds have the ability to make short bursts at
accelerated speeds when danger arises. The average speed for a
sparrow is about 20 mph. Larger birds with similar width to wing
length ratio such as crows, fly at slower wing speeds and average
about 40 mph. Ducks and geese have medium wing width to length
ratio and fly at speeds of 40-60 mph. Sandpipers and plovers have
relatively narrow wings. Thus Black-bellied plovers cruise along
at about 50 mph but when migrating in a flock can reach speeds of
over 100 mph. Swallows and swifts have very narrow wings that
are adapted to continuous flight at over 100 mph and easily travel
April 2004
500-600 miles in a day. The fastest bird at level flying is the Spinetailed swift of India that has been clocked at 218 mph.
SOARING AND GLIDING FLIGHT - Large birds with wide
wings, including vultures, eagles, and buteos such as Red-tailed
and Broad-winged Hawks are built for soaring and gliding. They
depend on thermals of hot air to carry them high up into the sky
where they search for food. By gliding from thermal to thermal they
cover long distances using a minimum amount of energy. They are
relatively slow fliers except when diving after prey. As for ocean
birds, gulls, shearwaters and petrels often use the air currents that
bounce up from waves to sustain an almost motionless method
of gliding. Shearwaters fly merely inches above the water as they
whiz by without flapping. Sinking low into the wave troughs they
pick up lift and propulsion from the air pushed ahead of wave
fronts. Their thin wing design allows them to travel at speeds up to
70 mph.
HOVERING - Birds can maintain a set position at the same
height by controlling the pitch (angle) of their wings along with
wing speed. This allows hawks like the kestrel and most terns to
hover over an area before striking their prey. I have seen a Say’s
Phoebe hunt insects using this same technique.
DYNAMIC SOARING - In the southern reaches of the
Atlantic and Pacific Oceans there exists an almost constant
westerly wind of 30 to 60 mph. Albatrosses take advantage of this
meteorological condition to scour the oceans for food. A prime
example here is the Great Wandering Albatross. Weighing in at
26 pounds they have a very narrow wing design with a span of 12
feet. They spend almost their entire lives over the ocean searching
for food, touching land only to mate and raise young. By taking
advantage of the prevailing winds they climb high into the air.
Then, aided by the pull of gravity they dive toward the surface of
the ocean at speeds up to 80 mph. Using the momentum of the
dive they soar up again into the sky without having to flap. In this
manner they cover hundreds of miles a day in search of food using
a minimum amount of energy.
(See How Birds Fly on page 6)
The Pine Warbler 5
(How Birds Fly from page 5)
HELICOPTERING - Unique only to hummingbirds,
helicopter like flight enables these little gems to fly forward,
backward, straight up, straight down or just hover in one spot.
Hummingbirds’ wings have almost no lift section. Almost their
entire wing is “hand wing”. Unlike other birds, hummingbirds’
wings are designed to rotate in a figure eight movement. This
provides them lift and momentum similar to that of a helicopter.
By changing the pitch of the blades (wings) they can move in
any direction. However, since their propellers (wings) are their
only means of lift, their wings have to beat at an extremely fast
rate. While a crow beats its wings about twice a second and
mockingbirds beat at 14 times a second, hummingbirds have
to beat their wings 60 to 80 times a second to maintain flight.
This gobbles up enormous amounts of energy. Even though
hummingbirds have the highest metabolism rate of any animal,
they need to eat about half their weight in sugar each day to
maintain their life style.
UNDERWATER FLIGHT - Birds use two different means to
propel themselves underwater in search of fish and other marine
Piney Woods Society Field Trips
2004
Rated for degree of difficulty
* Exertion level: 1 - easiest, 5 - hardest
Sat. April 24, 8:00 a.m.
Sabine Woods Area
Leaders: John Laneri/Pat Collins
Focus: Spring migrants
*2 - fair trails
Sat. May 15
Sabine & Angelina NF
Leaders: Ro Wauer/Peter Loos
Focus: Spring butterflies, nesting neotropicals,
Virginia Stewartia
*4 -trails poor to nonexistent; possibly rugged relief
Sat. July 17, 9:30 a.m.
Piney Woods Parklands Butterfly Count
Leader: David Henderson
Focus: NABA Butterfly Count
*4 - extremely high temps, long walks over good trails
All Piney Woods field trips are free (with the exception of entrance fees at some sites) and nonmembers are invited to attend.
You should bring binoculars, spotting scopes, insect repellent,
water and lunch. Please wear appropriate outdoor footwear and
clothing.
Thanks for Your Generous Donations
Piney Woods Wildlife Society appreciates the thoughtful and
generous gifts from the following members:
Scott Bucker
Sarah and Brian Spencer
Floyd and Dorothy Stigler
foods. Cormorants and some species of ducks and grebes paddle
with their feet to push them through the water. Other species such
as penguins, puffins, murres, and auklets literally fly through the
water using repeated strokes of their stubby wings. Penguins have
been clocked swimming underwater at 25 mph. Some have the
ability to stay under water for up to two minutes.
Along with a good touch of aerodynamics this book was filled
with many other facts and stories about bird flight. I hope this
summary will whet your appetite to explore the marvelous range
of birds’ flying abilities.
6
The Pine Warbler
Correction to 2004 Membership Directory
The new membership directory is hot off the press but with
at least one error. Please change the office e-mail address for
Mike Beathard to:
[email protected]
April 2004
HEART Happenings
The February 28 sea turtle workshop for volunteers in Galveston
was a great success with 50 people attending, some from the city
and county government, beachfront property owners, teachers and
students. Sea Turtle Restoration Project/HEART co-sponsored the
Saturday training with the National Marine
Fisheries Service, which taught beach visitors how to identify
nesting turtles, their tracks and hatchlings. Of course, the first
thing to do is call 1-866-TURTLE5 and let the property authority
know what has been sighted and where it is located.
The shrimping season will begin in earnest as the weather
warms so beach goers need to watch for injured or dead sea turtles
caught in a net that did not have a Turtle Excluder Device.
A strong rumor that funding would not be provided for the
Gulf sea turtle camps in Mexico that have been a cooperative
project of the U.S. And Mexico over 25 years may not be correct.
Word has come that the US has found a piggy bank full of coins
(and other money) for the sea turtles. The operation in Mexico
to protect the beaches where the Kemp’s ridleys nest and then to
incubate their eggs is a key to the recovery of the species. The
camps are located 200 miles south of the border with the U.S. on
the Gulf side. A formal agreement between the two countries has
never been signed.
A meeting of government officials and stakeholders who want
to comment on the revised Recovery Plan of the Kemp’s ridleys
will be held in Houston on April 13 and 14.
Answers to bird name quiz on page 4
Old common names followed by current common names:
(1) Crow Blackbird -- Common Grackle
(2) Bay-winged Bunting -- Vesper Sparrow
(3) Chebec -- Least Flycatcher
(4) Chewink -- Eastern Towhee
(5) Cardinal Grosbeak -- Northern Cardinal
(6) Indigo-bird -- Indigo Bunting
(7) White-bellied Swallow -- Tree Swallow
(8) Brown Thrush -- Brown Thrasher
(9) Golden-crowned Thrush -- Ovenbird
(10) Wilson’s Thrush -- Veery
New Members
Please welcome the following new members to the Piney Woods
Wildlife Society:
Steve Abbey
Don and Chris DuBois
Their contact information is in your new 2004 Membership
Directory.
Also welcome Nolan Guillot and enter his data in the back of
your 2004 Membership Directory.
Nolan Guillot
8914 Pine Lane
Magnolia, TX 77354
281-356-7636
The TOS Handbook of Texas Birds
Mark W. Lockwood and Brush Freeman
The most ambitious edition yet of the Texas Ornithological
Society checklist of Texas birds now includes range maps
and color photographs of the birds much of the world
comes to Texas to see. Based on the work of the Texas Bird
Records Committee over almost three decades, The TOS
Handbook of Texas Birds provides authoritative annotations
on the abundance, status, and distribution of all 623 species
of birds currently listed for Texas; lists rare, introduced,
and hypothetical species in the appendices; and offers a
comprehensive reference section.
The Book is available in cloth for $50 or paper for $24.95
with the author’s royalties going to benefit TOS. To order, or
for more information, go to the TAMU Press website at: http:
//www.tamu.edu/upress/BOOKS/2004/lockwood.htm
April 2004
Check out the Piney Woods Wildlife Society’s Internet page,
located in Yahoo Clubs at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/piney
woodswildlifesociety. Instructions for joining the club are in the
message section of the club’s page. Visitors to the site will find
information about upcoming PWWS club meetings and field trips
as well as other information of interest to local nature lovers.
Thanks to webmaster Dr. John Laneri, up-to-date- information and
last minute changes in activities are posted on our web page.
The Pine Warbler 7
Piney Woods Wildlife Society, Inc.
P. O. Box 189
Spring, TX 77383-0189
The Pine Warbler is published monthly, September through May, by:
The Piney Woods Wildlife Society, Inc.
P. O. Box 189, Spring, Texas 77383-0189
For membership information write to us at the above address.
Annual Dues: $15.00 per household.
Editor: John M. Jones
e-mail address: [email protected]
15215 High Springs Drive
Houston, TX 77068-1814
Submit articles by the 15th of the month.
Send address changes and corrections to John Jones
2004 Board of Directors
President .............................................................................. Kathy Coward
1st Vice President (Publicity)....................................................Carole Allen
2nd Vice President (Membership) ..........................................Jim Stepinski
3rd Vice President (Programs) ....................................... Carlos Hernandez
Secretary .................................................................................Sally Reister
Treasurer .....................................................................................Jim Lacey
Director (term expires 2004)............................................... Pam Weedman
Director (term expires 2005)............................................................Pat Lee
Director (term expires 2006)............................................ David Henderson
Past President ................................................................. Michael Beathard
April 2004
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April 20 program: Africa’s Creatures Great and Small: a
South African Safari: Part II (see page 1)
April 24 field trip: — Sabine Woods Area (see page 3)
Phone numbers of interest:
HEART Hotline ......................................................................281-444-6204
HAS Texas Rare Bird Alert ....................................................713-369-9673
April 20 — Africa’s Creatures Great and Small: a South African Safari: Part II
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The Pine Warbler