Pine WarblerThe

Published September through May byThe Piney Woods Wildlife Society, Inc. Vol. 25. No 5May 2005

Date: Tues., May 17

Time: Social 7:00 p.m. Meeting 7:30 p.m.

Place: Mercer Arboretum 22307 Aldine-Westfield

May 17 Program—“Life and Paintings of Bird Artist

Rex Brasher”Presented by Connie Blakley

East Texas NatureBy Diane Cabiness, Texas Master Naturalist

In our three-year relationship, Junior has only had one accident

(see Cornsnake on page 2)

Junior— the Cornsnake

“The earth is more to be admired than to be used.”—Henry David Thoreau

Almost three years ago, a dear friend called and asked me if I would like to have her son’s seven-year old cornsnake named Bob. Christopher had a part-time job and was heading off to college the following year. When asked to present a plant lecture, I often bring one of the wild critters from my woods, such as box turtle, copperhead snake, black widow spider, etc. A light bulb went off above my head. A pet corn snake would mean I would not have to try to catch wild critters that did not want to be caught. A win-win situation. So as not to confuse my husband Bob with my pet snake, I renamed my new reptile friend, Bob Junior. That was shortened to Junior to cut down on the ribbing my husband was receiving from friends and family. Junior goes with me on most lectures. He earns his keep by reminding everyone about garden safety—such as look before you put your hands in a pile of leaves, etc. Wild cornsnakes (Elaphe guttata) have one of the widest natural ranges in the U.S. They can be found in deciduous forest, pine barrens, rocky hillsides and farm areas over a broad area of the southern U.S. from Eastern Utah to Virginia. They have also been reported in Mexico and the Cayman Islands. Stowaways in exotic plants exported from southern Florida are likely the source of the cornsnake’s introduction and establishment on Grand Cayman in the Caribbean and New Providence Island, Nassau in the Bahamas. Corns do not take up a lot of room. They are easy to care for and are known for having different personalities. I change Junior’s water once a week, feed him twice a month and take him outside one to three times a week to get exercise, and

Two years ago, Connie and fellow ONC member Wanda Smith put together a program about the history of the Outdoor Nature Club. In the course of their research, they learned of the club’s role in acquiring one of Rex Brasher’s 12-volume sets of bird paintings, which now reside in the collection of the Houston Museum of Natural Science. With permission of the museum, Connie and Wanda photographed numerous of the paintings and Connie will share these along with a brief biography of the artist and how ONC acquired and donated the paintings to the city of Houston.

Connie and Wanda became friends through ONC and they share many of the same interests. Both are long time members of the Piney Woods Wildlife Society, joining in 1986.

Wanda is a native Texan whose hobbies include birdwatching, native plant gardening, nature photography, and genealogy. She is also a history buff and served as ONC’s Historian for several years, which led to her interest in the club’s history.

Connie is a Texas transplant who also enjoys birdwatching and native plant study but not necessarily gardening! Her hobbies include graphic arts and desktop publishing. They have both served as editor of ONC’s newsletter Nature Notes and Connie was editor of The Pine Warbler for six years.

Please join us on May 17 for Connie’s presentation “Life and Paintings of Bird Artist Rex Brasher.”

2 The Pine Warbler May 2005

(Cornsnake continued from page 1)

change his bedding once a year. Junior waits for me to take him outside to use the restroom. In our three-year relationship, Junior has only had one accident and that was when he first came home to live with me. Even if they soil their cage, it does not smell. Corns grow about 4 to 5 feet. The record is 72 inches. The normal coloring is red or orange, although some are brownish—especially from upland areas. Dorsal spots and blotches are boldly outlined with black. The belly is boldly checkered with black on whitish, and the underside of the tail is usually striped. Breeders can offer an amazing array of color morphs. But there is a whole host of health problems with the morphs that have been developed due to intense inbreeding. The corns current prevalence as the world’s number one pet serpent species is having negligible impact on wild corn snake populations, an important factor as many other organisms are declining due to the pressure of mankind’s domination of the planet. If you decide a corn is for you, please do not try to keep a wild cornsnake as a pet. Corns have an average life span of 10 years, although one was documented to be 21 years old. Wild cornsnakes are most active at night or in the hours of dawn and dusk (crepuscular). Elaphes feed on everything ranging from fish to frogs to rodents to mammals to birds, killing their prey by constriction. They start off feeding on small invertebrates and vertebrates, such as crickets. Cornsnakes lay eggs, becoming sexually mature at around two years of age. The genus Elaphe means deerskin; the species guttata means speckled or spotted. Some folks see the patterning of the belly as looking like maize. Another story about how corn snakes got their name comes from our European ancestors. They often found these snakes in their cornfields and corncribs, and thought they were eating the corn! In fact, corn snakes were, and remain, very helpful to farmers as they help keep down the rodent population. Initially when the Bodrons bought a corn from the pet store (bred in captivity) he was fed live pinkies but as the lady of the household was a bit squeamish, Junior’s diet became frozen mice and eventually frozen rats. Oh yummy. I continued the food routine for my cornsnake till that first winter. Even though I knew Junior would not eat if he became dormant I still had difficulty accepting that fact. When Junior started rejecting his food I decided to bring home live rats in hopes of perking up his appetite. Because of the chance he could be bitten by a live rat I started giving him two live feeder mice every two weeks. Junior had no problem converting from thawed, dead food to live prey. During his first spring I got quite busy at work and I started bringing home frozen rats and mice for Junior. He was not buying this. I tried not feeding him for a month, as recommended by a herpetologist. Junior had more patience than I…he stubbornly refused and won the battle. He is still getting live feeder mice. Snakes are vertebrates, like us, which means they have a backbone consisting of numerous vertebrae that provide their bodies with flexible support. Snakes belong to the class Reptilia, meaning they are cold-blooded, have skin covered with scales and lay eggs (oviparous). Some snakes retain the eggs within

their body until they hatch, thereby giving birth to live young (ovoviviparous). Snakes are kissing cousins to lizards. In Texas, we can boast 68 species of snakes with a large majority being non-venomous and completely harmless. Only 15 percent are venomous and these are grouped into four basic categories—coral snakes, copperheads, cottonmouths (also mistakenly called water moccasins), and rattlesnakes. There is a single endemic species snake, the Harter’s water snake, which consists of two subspecies, found only within the state of Texas. Before you reach for that shovel and destroy one of our Creator’s finest reptiles, please, think about the good they do and let the snake go on his merry way. If snakes are critters you wish to discourage, remove their choice of homes. Get rid of rock piles, brush piles and areas of tall grass. Put lumber, woodpiles and other litter several feet above the ground. Controlling insect and rodent populations will get rid of their food supply. Be sure and seal off all entry points to your home and other buildings on your property. That includes sealing water pipes, electrical outlets, doors and windows. Snakes are a natural and important part of the ecosystem. As predators, they are invaluable for their role they play in the balance of nature by helping to keep populations of their prey in check. Snakes that consume rats and mice are critical in the control of rodents.

“As age comes on, one source of enjoyment after another is closed, but Nature’s sources never fail. Like a generous host, she offers her brimming cups in endless variety, served in a grand hall, the sky its ceiling, the mountains its walls, decorated with glorious paintings enlivened with bands of music ever playing.”—John Muir

Diane Cabiness with Junior

May 2005 The Pine Warbler 3

Attack of the English SparrowsBy Jack Gorman

I remember last century when I was just a little boy my mother would throw stale bread out the back kitchen window to feed the birds. What would appear? English Sparrows! To those who now call them House Sparrows, let me say that for over 50 years I have called them English Sparrows and still think of them in that context. However, about 15 years ago some anonymous group somewhere in birdland decided that they were really Weaver Finches. Thus, I now strain to remember to call them by their renamed name, House Sparrow, even though my European field guide lists four related species as Italian Sparrow, Spanish Sparrow, Tree Sparrow and House Sparrow. In any case, these creatures are ubiquitous to all heavily populated parts of the world. Visit any city in the USA, South America or Europe and (except for Rock Pigeons) the most frequent birds you will see are English, Spanish or Italian Sparrows. In China they eat sparrows so the chances of seeing Weaver Finches are very slim (except in chop suey). English Sparrows are pugnacious little fellows as well as being hogs. Every time I fill my feeders, they descend into the feeders, wallow on top of the seeds and eat and eat until most seeds are devoured. They stubbornly chase away all other birds such as cardinals, Carolina Wrens, titmice, Inca Doves and chickadees. Thus, I don’t fill my feeders very often any more. So you see I don’t hold English House Sparrows in high regard and sometimes I forget to list them on my birding runs. Their latest offense is not only discouraging but also downright maddening to resolve. For English Sparrows have attacked one of my red brick walls. Talk about eating a person out of house and home, some of these ornery birds have gone crazy. Early last summer my wife and I noticed that we would flush English Sparrows from somewhere on the red brick wall that separates our driveway from our patio. At first we thought little of it. Later we noticed that the mortar between the top bricks was worn away to the depth of an inch or more. We wondered WHY? As the hot summer days passed by, the mortar between the top 12 or 14 bricks was slowly disappearing and some of the bricks were falling off.

We also noticed that English Sparrows were very often clinging to the brickwork. HELP! Our wall was in the midst of an attack by English Sparrows. But Why? My best guess is that they wanted to supplement their diet with extra minerals found in the mortar. At first we just chased them away. That was useless. I sprayed the wall with bug spray to discourage them. Didn’t work! The sparrows smiled, chirped a little song, disregarded the odor and kept right on munching. We needed a different approach to save our wall. Talking to other Piney Woods members I found that they had different problems with English sparrows (even though they called them House Sparrows). We took their advice and borrowed a see-through, wire-mesh bird trap from a past victim of feeder depletions. Trapping was something new to us but our wall was in peril. Thus, I set the two trap compartments with water and seed and placed it at the bottom of our wall. Birds entering the compartments could step on a triggering mechanism that would close a giant steel mesh door behind them.

Day 1 - I set the trap at night and waited. Jumping up early in the morning I found the right side trap sprung and a giant mouse (or maybe a young rat, who cares) was all we got. How I disposed of the mouse I leave to your imagination. I then reset the trap but nothing more happened that day.

Day 2 - My morning check found another mouse. Not what I expected but I figured “What the heck, getting rid of a few rodents is an added bonus“.

Day 3 - One side was closed but nothing in it.

Day 4 - Nothing! This was exasperating. So I moved the trap to the top of the wall.

Day 5 - Nothing found in the a.m. but about 4 p.m. my wife calls out, “Two sides of the trap are full”. I rushed to find that one side had caught a Carolina Wren that I quickly released to go free. The other side had a male English Sparrow. Since it had feed and water I left it there until later, but nothing more happened that day.

Day 6 - I removed the sparrow and took it to a place way far away, hoping to see it no more. We noticed no further action on the wall. Could it be that this male sparrow was the attack instigator and his gang of chomping tyrants had stopped their attacks upon seeing him in a jail cell?

Day 7 and onward - It rained and then the weather turned a bit colder. When fall and winter set in no further sparrow attacks were seen so I gave away the trap.

April 4, 2005 - English Sparrows are back feeding at our feeders.

April 8, 2005 - Today, I spotted an English Sparrow clinging to the wall. Is this a sign of troubles to come? Only time will tell if new attacks will come and we will need the sparrow police.

House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)

4 The Pine Warbler May 2005

Social FlycatcherAnother New Bird For Texas

Mark Lockwood, Secretary of the Texas Bird Records Committee of the Texas Ornithological Society (TOS), recently announced that the committee has accepted this winter’s record of a Social Flycatcher that was seen and photographed by many at Bentsen State Park in South Texas. This brings the Texas list to an impressive 628 species — the highest for any state in the U.S. So, for you lucky ones who made the trip to the Rio Grande Valley to see the Flycatcher, you can now add another tic to your list. This last fall and winter featured one of the greatest ever invasions of Mexican bird rarities into the Lower Rio Grande Valley with the Social Flycatcher being the cream of the crop. This bird is somewhat similar to the Great Kiskadee — one of the specialties of South Texas, but it is smaller, has a smaller and shorter bill and has no rufous on the upper plumage. And of course, it doesn’t scream “Kiskadee.” It is not in the North America field guides but can be found in Mexico and Central America books. The following is a list of Mexican vagrants seen in the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas during the past several months:

Black-headed Nightingale-ThrushGreen-breasted MangoRose-throated BecardSocial Flycatcher Dusky-capped Flycatcher White-throated Robin Golden-crowned WarblerGray-crowned YellowthroatCrimson-collared Grosbeak Blue BuntingBlue MockingbirdElegant TrogonRoadside Hawk

The Black-headed Nightingale-Thrush has not been seen for a few months but surprisingly, many of the others on the list are still being seen today.

Social Flycatcher (Myiozetetes similis)

Whooping Crane Status Report

Whooping Crane (Grus americana)

This update is a follow-up to the March presentation by Jack Gorman and an article submitted by Anne Neuens. On the April 13 aerial census of the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge and surrounding areas, Tom Stehn, Whooping Crane Coordinator with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, reported a total of 34 Whooping Cranes. This number included 27 adults and 7 young. The current estimated size of the Aransas-Wood Buffalo population is 182 adults and 33 young for a total of 215. So, 181 cranes have started their long spring migration to the Wood Buffalo Preserve in Canada, and those remaining at Aransas are expected to leave within a week or so.

Meanwhile, East of the Mississippi River, twelve juvenile whooping cranes from the ultralight-guided 2004 fall migration have returned to southern and central Wisconsin wetlands, completing their first unassisted spring migration. The birds returned after spending 103 days at their winter home on Florida’s Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge. A thirteenth juvenile crane remains at his wintering location in Florida. During last summer’s ultralight-training period, several of his primary feathers became infected and fell out. Once the flight feathers regenerated this young crane was placed with the older whooping cranes at the reintroduction site and he followed them for more than 1,200 miles to Florida. With this success, they plan to use this “supplemental release” reintroduction method in the coming years to complement the ultralight-led migrations. After four years of ultralight-led migration, there are now 45 migrating whooping cranes in the wild east of the Mississippi River ranging in age from four years to less than one year. These, added to the Aransas NWR – Wood Buffalo group of 215 give a total of 260 migrating Whooping Cranes. A non-migrating flock of approximately 70 birds lives year-round in the central Florida Kissimmee region so in all, there are some 330 Whoopers living in the wild. That’s pretty amazing when you consider that they were near extinction in the 1940s.

J Jones

May 2005 The Pine Warbler 5

The Master of Flight—The Black SkimmerBy John Jones

The February 2005 Bulletin of the Texas Ornithological Society had an article about the Black Skimmers at Rockport Beach Park. The article chronicles the trials and tribulations of the small skimmer colony that has nested there since the early 1970s. The timing was interesting for us since we had just returned from Rockport where we saw the skimmers. The Black Skimmer is a bird that Gloria and I have been fascinated with ever since we started birding and have spent long periods observing them foraging for food and hanging out on the beach. Our first opportunity to study this unique bird was years ago in the Everglades National Park in the area of the Flamingo small boat marina. It was in February and there were groups of hundreds of skimmers on the sand bars and mudflats—constantly churning the air on a whim or whenever a boat passed. There were always a few foraging in the waterway near the marina and their favorite place to loaf was the large paved boat ramp at the marina. Of course they would take to the air whenever a boat came in or went out. Their flight is very impressive — flying in unison similar to shorebirds—wheeling from one direction to another—showing either the jet black of the wings or the snow white of their underparts. Then, they would always return to the boat ramp. When feeding, they skim the surface for small fish, with the tip of the lower mandible slicing through the water— usually one bird or two at a time but sometimes in a small group. In flight, the wingbeats are mostly above the body so they can easily fly just inches above the water while skimming. Skimmers are unique among birds in that their lower mandibles are longer than their upper mandibles. When the lower jaw contacts prey, the head snaps downward to grab the prey, which is then tossed up and swallowed. We sat on a bench at the marina and watched the show until almost dark. On land, this graceful flier becomes almost clown-like in its formal black and white attire, extremely short red legs, and a bright red-and-black oversized schnoz with a severe under-bite. The beak, which looks massive when viewed from the side, is actually very laterally compressed and knife-like when viewed from the front and therefore, offers little resistance when slicing through the water. At rest, they will normally line up in a compact group, facing into the breeze—like a group of weather vanes. There are three skimmers in the world—the Black Skimmer in North, Central and South America; the African Skimmer which occurs in Africa, and the Indian Skimmer of southern Asia. All three look very similar.

The breeding season for the Black Skimmer begins in early May and lasts through mid-August. They usually nest in colonies on beaches or sandy islands along with other terns. The nest is a simple scrape created by both the male and female. The female usually lays four eggs that both adults incubate for about three weeks. The young are semi-precocial and are cared for by both adults for about three weeks after hatching. It is interesting that the mandibles of the young are of equal length, so they can more easily pick up food from the adults. When they are old enough to forage on their own they gain their unequal mandible length. Our first exposure to nesting skimmers was at the Dow Chemical plant in Freeport. In 1968, several Black Skimmers were attracted to a parking lot because it was covered with crushed oyster shell. Since the site also was well drained and located near salt marshes and the beaches of the Gulf of Mexico, it was the perfect site for building a nest, or scrape. Later, the company fenced the lot to keep predators out and set it aside for the skimmers. Starting in 1984, they host an open house each year to allow the general public to enter the plant and observe the nesting skimmers and their chicks. Gloria and I were two of the early visitors. Today the colony occupies a four-acre site—two acres are covered with crushed oyster shell and another two acres with crushed limestone. The Black Skimmers and Gull-billed Terns make their scrapes in the oyster shell, while the Least Terns prefer the limestone. Now, some 1200 skimmers and terns nest here from April through August.

Black Skimmer (Rynchops niger)

Head-on view shows the razor-thin lower mandible

In late August last year, we were driving the auto tour loop at Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge where some fifteen Black Skimmers were skimming a lengthy canal-like pond beside the road. They would skim down to the end, whirl around in unison and skim back toward us—time and time again. The birds would occasionally land on a small sandbar near where we were parked for a short rest or a quick bath, then, they were off skimming again, either in twos or threes or the entire group. We marveled at their flying skills and their ability to snap their head down, come up with a fish, and continue skimming with the group—never lagging behind. We watched until almost sundown, allowing just enough time to get out of the refuge before the gate closed.

6 The Pine Warbler May 2005

Piney Woods Society Field Trips2005

Rated for degree of difficulty * Exertion level: 1 - easiest, 5 - hardest

Saturday, May 14 Montgomery Trace Wilderness

Leader: April Proudfit Spring butterflies, nesting neotropicals

*4-trails poor to nonexistent; possibly rugged relief

All Piney Woods field trips are free (with the exception of en-trance 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.

May Field TripMontgomery Trace Wilderness

Saturday, May 14, 2005Led by April ProudfitBy David Henderson

Palmettos rise majestically over your head, as do rare water-elms and champion oaks. Nesting warblers, thrushes, vireos and other neotropicals complain of your coming, while at your feet, satyrs and pearly-eyes bounce along unconcerned. Nowhere can road sounds be heard, yet this wilderness is the very last in what is one of the most explosive growth areas in the nation. It is a wild place, in desperate need of friends.

On Saturday, May 14, come get acquainted! Our tour of the Montgomery Trace Wilderness will begin at 9:00 a.m. We will meet with nearby resident and longtime wilderness guardian and advocate, April Proudfit, at the Kroger at Honea-Egypt and FM 1488. Just drive west on FM 1488 toward Magnolia and the Kroger is on the right at the intersection with FM 2978. Bring lunch, footwear appropriate for swampy conditions, and have bug repellent handy. This is a wilderness — trails are few and primitive. The beauties you will see, however, are well worth the extra effort! We look forward to experiencing this special place with you!

A Reminder About the Owl Prints

As many of you know, Piney Woods charter members Floyd and Dorothy Stigler recently moved away to be closer to fam-ily. They gave PWWS two prints which they had acquired years ago at Audubon fund raisers and asked that we auction them to raise funds for Piney Woods. One is a limited edition 160/320 print of a Great Horned Owl by Linda Miller Feltner. The other is a print of two Elf Owls by Ray Harm. Both have documentation on the back. Both are matted and framed. Although the frames do show some wear, they are in pretty good shape. The prints will be on display at “Just for the Birds” store in Old Town Spring at 209 Main Street, and at the May Piney Woods meeting at Mercer Arboretum. “Just for the Birds” is open 10-5 Tuesday through Saturday and on Sunday 12-5. You can bid in person at “Just for the Birds” or by phone at 281-288-9019. Or, you can make an offer at the May meet-ing. You can see the latest high bid at the store or at the meet-ing. If you bid by phone, Kathy Coward will inform you of the latest high bid. And of course, you may bid as often as you like. As of April 20, the top bid for the Great Horned Owl was $80 and for the Elf Owl, the top bid was $100. At the May 17 meeting, the person who has offered the highest bid for each print will be awarded the print. If the winner is not there to receive his or her print, it can be picked up from Kathy Coward at her store. The society will benefit from your generous donation and you will receive a nice print for your donation to a worthy cause.

Pale Male a Papa?

According to the Pale Male website, Saturday April 16, 2005 was the 39th day since Lola spent the first night on the nest—although this may not necessarily represent the actual incubation time. That afternoon, Lola began shading the the contents of the nest from the sun. This (mantling) is a very strong indication that there is at least a first hatching. So Pale Male, the Red-tailed Hawk that has nested on the ledge of a swank apartment building overlooking Central Park since 1993, just may be a papa to his 24th chick.

Lola mantling her nest - Photo from Pale Male website

Check out the Piney Woods Wildlife Society’s Internet page, located in Yahoo Clubs at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pineywoodswildlifesociety. 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.

May 2005 The Pine Warbler 7

HEART Happenings

Sea Turtle Saturday was re-named Sea Turtle Super Saturday by the NOAA Lab Director at Galveston. Over 250 people came to hear a number of experts and visits with other “turtle people.” Pat Lee, Al Barr, Jane, Steven and Abigail Stones represented PWWS. A busload of teachers came from Aldine ISD and another bus full of Langham Creek High School students. Registration showed families from Port O’Connor east to Beaumont, north to Nacogdoches, Conroe and all around Houston and Harris County. Dr. Donna Shaver of the National Park Service at the Padre Island National Seashore was introduced by her boss, the Seashore superintendent Colin Campbell. Her report on the increase of nestings on the Texas coast was encouraging and after the meeting, they rushed back to the National Seashore to prepare for the first nesting ridley of the year. Dr. Joe Flanagan of the Houston Zoo described his medical work with sea turtles brought to Galveston including many cases of turtles swallowing fishing hooks. Dr. Andre Landry, Jr. of the Texas A&M University faculty at Galveston, started the presentations with an overview of the five species of the sea turtles in the Gulf. Later he introduced one of his former students, Ben Rhame, now an intern with the Texas General Land Office and working on issues that impact sea turtle nestings. Ben Higgins of NOAA Fisheries gave a fascinating review of the research projects he is working on and hoping to work on. The students in the audience enjoyed his animated sea turtles and marine life he used to illustrate Turtle Excluder Devices. The video, “Last Journey for the Leatherback?” brought a lot of questions about the devastating form of fishing called longlining which is killing millions of sea turtles, marine mammals, non-targeted fish and leatherback sea turtles. The meeting closed with a panel answering questions from the audience. One of the panel members was Ernie Ray representing Centex Development Properties who are developing on the west beach of Galveston. Centex also provided coffee, juice and pastries to the crowd. They are using natural dunes complete with sea oats and other vegetation to protect the beaches instead of artificial means such as “sand socks.” NOAA Fisheries staff presented back-to-back training sessions for those wanting to patrol the beaches looking for sea turtles, tracks or hatchlings. Tours were also given through the turtle house. The mayor and Galveston City Council proclaimed April 9 as Sea Turtle Saturday in the city and it turned out to be a great event! Now all we need are some exciting reports of Kemp’s ridleys nesting in the Galveston area.

Carole Allen, Gulf Office DirectorSea Turtle Restoration Project andHEART (Help Endangered Animals-Ridley Turtles)P. O. Box 681231Houston, Texas 77268-1231Phone/FAX 281-444-6204Websites: www.ridleyturtles.org www.seaturtles.org

New Member

Let’s all welcome new PWWS member: Marilyn Harbich 21702 Crescent Heights Spring, TX 77388 281-353-1169 mharbich@sbcglobal.net

Please add her data to your 2005 membership directory.

8 The Pine Warbler

The Pine Warbler is published monthly, September through May, by:The Piney Woods Wildlife Society, Inc. P. O. Box 189, Spring, Texas 77383-0189For membership information write to us at the above address.Annual Dues: $15.00 per household.

Editor: John M. Jonese-mail address: joneshou@swbell.net15215 High Springs DriveHouston, TX 77068-1814Submit articles by the 15th of the month.Send address changes and corrections to John Jones

2005 Board of DirectorsPresident .............................................................................. Kathy Coward1st Vice President (Publicity)....................................................Carole Allen2nd Vice President (Membership) .....................Jean and Mike Drummond3rd Vice President (Programs) .......................................Carlos HernandezSecretary .................................................................................Sally ReisterTreasurer .....................................................................................Jim LaceyDirector (term expires 2005)............................................................Pat LeeDirector (term expires 2006)............................................ David HendersonDirector (term expires 2007)....................................................Scott BuckerPast President .................................................................Michael Beathard

Phone numbers of interest:HEART Hotline ......................................................................281-444-6204HAS Texas Rare Bird Alert ....................................................713-369-9673

Piney Woods Wildlife Society, Inc.P. O. Box 189Spring, TX 77383-0189

May 10 — Board Meeting at Kathy Cowards home

May 14 Field Trip — Montgomery Trace Wilderness — led by April Proudfit (see page 6)

May 17 program — Life and Paintings of Bird Artist Rex Brasher — Presented by Connie Blakley (see page 1)

May 17 — “Life and Paintings of Bird Artist Rex Brasher”

May 2005 ACTIVITIESS M T W T F S

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