Author: mhorvath

During our Costa Rican field course we were able to see a large number of beautiful tropical birds, especially since we explored various rainforests types at multiple elevations.  Last week, I was walking around the hike and bike path and look over to see a bunch of what I thought were parakeets.  I was taken back to those birding tours we had in Costa Rica!

After I took the picture I did some research on these birds because I did not think Central Texas was in their range.  I found out that these were Monk Parakeets (Myiopsittla monachus) and even have their own Facebook page!! The Monk Parakeet, also known as the Quaker Parrots, are native to Central and South America and live in dry open habitats. These birds are gregarious (as can been seen in the picture) and can often be heard before they are seen.  The Monk Parakeets are the only species of parrot to build a stick nest, either in a tall tree or manmade structures.

The Austin flock supposedly were first seen in the 1970’s after a few escaped their pet enclosures and have grown in number since. In 2015, the parakeet colony had to find a new home.  Many had nests in the lights of UT Austin’s Whitaker Intramural field, which underwent a renovation project. The removal of the nests was done carefully and humanely.  The question is…where are the parakeets now?  I’ll have to keep up with them on social media!

I grew up in Pelham, NY, a little suburban town bordering the City.  I decided to go undergrad in Virginia to get out of New York and get to know another part of the country.  While I was going to school in Virginia, my parents moved to Austin, Texas.  At the time I imagined Austin to be full of cowboys and pick-up trucks but gladly I was proven wrong and ended up moving here.  On my way to visit my parents one night I encountered an owl in the middle of the road.  I was pumped! I immediately stopped and got my camera out.  When I got home I immediately went to identify it. Luckily I was able to get a couple good pictures before the owl flew off.  I put the most identifying characteristics and let google do what google does best. The results showed that it was a Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus).

The great horned owl has long, ear-like tufts, and a cool yellow eyed stare. Like most owls, the great horned owl is nocturnal, and are generally seen at dusk sitting on fence posts or tree limbs at the edges of open areas , or flying across fields or roads. I saw the owl on this residential road, with one side opening up to a large natural property, where it was probably hunting. The powerful owl can take down birds and mammals even larger than itself, but it also feeds on smaller prey such as scorpions, mice, and frogs. It is one of the most common owls in North America across a variety of habitats such as; deserts, wetlands, forests, grasslands, backyards, cities, and almost any semi-open areas between the arctic and the tropics. The owl like particularly young woods interspersed with fields or other open areas.

 

Source- https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Horned_Owl/id

Where I grew up in New York, if you were a kid who liked to play outdoors, you were aware of Poison Ivy.  Either you or someone you knew had dealt with the itchy rash symptoms that come from accidentally brushing into it.  Poison Ivy is the weed that no one wants, not that anyone wants weeds on their property.  There is a common rhyme to help identify and avoid an encounter, ‘leaflets of three, let it be”. Unfortunately it is native throughout the United States and much of Southern Canada in variety of habitats including wet or dry woodlands, thicket valleys, clearings, fencerows, roadsides, and waste grounds.  It can thrive in disturbed areas. It mainly appears as a bushy, erect or trailing shrub or as a woody climbing vine. The rhyme comes from the stems which have leaflets of three that are smoothed or toothed, rounded or pointed, glossy or dull.

All the parts of the plant contain a toxin plant oil called urushiol which can cause significant short and long lasting skin irritations (allergic dermatitis) in most human beings.  The infections can occur from direct contact with the plant, indirect contact, or from breathing smoke from a fire of the plant material. Luckily some humans are immune, and I am one of them!

On days we have class Lexington and I always walk together.  It’s kind of a routine type-of-thing; meet up in the lot by the parking garage and walk to class.  We usually discuss homework from the night before or quiz each other before an exam.  Since we started doing the biodiversity blog, we have become much more observant of what is around us.  Whether it is a bird, tree, or insect, we try to get a picture and attempt to identify it.  The other day we spotted a butterfly flying around a shrub.  I immediately took out my camera and tried to get the picture, which proved difficult.  I thought of my wildlife photography days and just snapped pictures until the butterfly was too far away.  It was a success!

Next came the task of identification.  Neither of us are very good with our etymology, so I googled it.  By identifying the wing type and colors of the butterfly, I figured out it was the Western Giant Swallowtail (Papilio rumiko).  The Western Giant Swallowtail is found from the Southwest of the United States through Mexico and Central America.  The best way to ID this butterfly are the two maize-yellow bands on the forewings, and a central band of spots.  Its forewings grows to be quite large reaching 50-58 mm.

Insect identification has always been difficult for me.  Walking back from class I saw this guy (girl – I should just say male/female) hanging out close to the parking garage, and I think it’s a Katydid.

In Costa Rica we were able to see some amazing insects and see their special traits, but usually there was a field guide around to help ID.  The Katydid is named for its song that is usually made by the rubbing of its wings. The song is described to go “Katy-did, She-did”. The fore-wings are convex and oval, crossed by ‘veins’ that closely resemble the veins of leaves.  With its leaf green and brown coloration it has great camouflage and is usually disguised in the leaves.  I’m not sure which species of katydid this one is exactly, but it is in the family of long horned grasshoppers.  The katydid primarily inhibits crowns of deciduous trees in forests, parks, or yard – so keep your eyes peeled!

The Prickly Peary is a cactus in the Genus Opuntia.  The first time I came across this cool succulent plant was interning on a game reserve in South Africa.  We conducted a number of conservation management practices on the reserve. One of my favorites was invasive species management. The prickly pear is an invasive species in South Africa along with other species such as Lantana.  We used a variety of methods to remove these invasive such as chemical and mechanical (physical) removal.  The prickly pear was a good candidate for chemical removal.  We used large syringes to inject a herbicide into the fleshy pads of the cactus and allow it to die down.

When I moved to Texas and observed the prickly pear, I had instant flashbacks to the good times I had in South Africa.  I see them all the time when I am mountain biking out in the hill country, and I think nature is getting revenge as I fell on one a few months ago!  The Prickly Pear cactus represents about a dozen species of the Opuntia genus (family Cactaceae) in North America. The fleshy pads I used to inject are modified branches or stems that serve several functions such as; water storage, photosynthesis, and flower production.  Members of the Opuntia genus are unique because of their clusters of fine, tiny, barbed spines called glochids.  Another cool thing is both the pads (known as nopalitos) and the fruits (known as tuna) of the Opuntia are edible and have some medicinal value.

Recently I moved into a new apartment complex off South Congress. The location is great as it’s super close to St. Edwards and just a few minutes from downtown. I’m generally selective about where I park. I like to park away from other cars and try to avoid parking under trees where birds like grackles roost and defecate.   Last week after a quick rain I come out to find my car covered in these small pink/purple flowers.  I had to determine who the culprit was as soon as possible.  I figured out it was the Crape Myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica).  The reason I had all these flowers on my car is because this species is a beautiful summer-flowering deciduous tree-shrub.  The Crape Myrtle has been called the lilac of the south.  It is native to China and Korea but has naturalized to the southern US.

As I came to know, the Crape Myrtle is valued for its long period of striking papery crepe-like
flowers. In the summer these flowers my be shades of white, pink, red, or lavender. Bloom times can vary, but large clusters appear on the tips of new branches beginning in summer and into the fall. Interestingly, if you cut the fruits from the tree, you can stimulate more bloom in 30-45 days.   The Cape Myrtle is generally a shrub, but some side shoots and trunks can be clipped to train it into small tree.

When I first moved to Austin I always took my dog Jasper to the RedBud Isle Dog Park. Red Bud Isle is located on Town Lake close to the Lake Austin dam. It’s a cool off-leash dog park that has a main trail that loops around the isle and multiple smaller trails that wind around the denser wooded areas for dogs (and human) to frolic through.

 I never thought about where the name of the park came from until I started identifying trees with an app on my phone and found multiple Eastern Redbud trees along the trails.  The Redbuds have become popular for their pink-purple early spring flowers that appear on bare wood before the leaves emerge. The tree is perfect for Texas as it is drought-tolerant and thrives in limestone soils. Redbuds glossy, rounded leaves brings shade and its flowers attract pollinators such as butterflies, bees, moths, and insects.

The purple vetch (Vicia americana), is a flower that grabs my attention every time I pass by it in my friends apartment complex.  Even though it can be found in an apartment complex landscape, it has a history in agriculture.  The leguminous vetch plant has the ability to produce its own nitrogen (a limiting nutrient in the environment) through a symbiotic relationship between Rhizobium micro bacteria that colonize the roots of the plant.  The nitrogen production makes this an attractive cover crop for agriculture, and now has been used in gardens as a form of natural fertilizer. The purple vetch is also known to attract butterflies and other insects that prey on pests that may cause herbivory.

The purple vetch has also been used by Native Americans as food, as a treatment for spider bites, and an aphrodisiac.  An interesting fact is that Native Americans would get horses to smoke the plant to increase the horses’ endurance. It is a nice looking plant and has multiple benefits!

So, there are a few routes around Austin where you almost always see cyclists.  Usually it is on a road with a bike lane, large shoulder, or where there is less traffic.  Anyway, the reason I am saying this is because I always see different types of vegetation depending if I am going North, South, East, or West on a bike.  Going out west I always ride through Rollingwood, which has some nice houses with the manicured lawns and beautiful gardens.  One day I passed by this huge, I mean huge Agave.  The flower spike extends into the sky like 20 feet.  I always make sure to pass by this beast on my way out west.

A little more on this species of agave.  It is called the Weber’s Agave, Agave Weberi, part of the Agavaceae family It is found throughout the Southwest of the US and Mexico.  The impressive flower panicle can extend more than 26 feet and bears clusters of little yellow flowers.