frog calls, march 2014

Frog CallsNewsletter of Crosstimbers Connection

Volume 2, No. 1 v March, 2014

As it flows into Benbrook, the Clear Fork of the Trinity River isshallow, pretty clear, and supports lots of fish, frogs, reptiles,and invertebrates. The river bottom gradually changes fromlimestone to gravel to sediment as it nears Benbrook Lake,with shallow areas of riffles and deeper pools. We thought itwould be a great place to walk and wade, and so we planned

to do just that on Saturday of last September 21st.

As it turned out, a mid-September cool front would dumpsome much-needed rain in our area, and so we worriedabout how deep and fast this rain-swollen river would get.Could we still do our walk? When it rains, the normally clearand easygoing waters of the streams in western TarrantCounty tend to get clouded with sediment, and they becomedeeper and fairly swift-moving. It can be fairly easy to lose

What’s That in the Water?Last September’s Trip to the Clear Fork, Trinity River

Frog Calls March, 2014

your footing and fall, and that hard limestone river bottom isonly a couple of feet below the surface.

After determining that the river was not too deep and wouldnot wash us all down into the lake, we got started with ourwalk. Nic was our expert on aquatic creatures, and rightaway he showed us the little ghost shrimp that prowled thebottom of the river. They are small freshwater shrimp, clearas glass except that some had green patches within the tail.These were the eggs carried by females.

Two fish species that Nic pointed out were red shiners andblacktail shiners, which are silvery minnows that easily dartaway from all but the most skillful predators. The blacktailshiner has a black spot at the base of the tail, while the redshiner may be a fairly plain-looking minnow for much of theyear. However, in breeding season, several of the male’s finstake on a red-orange hue. These include the pectoral fins(behind and below the gills), anal fins (along the undersideand toward the tail) and caudal (tail) fins. On the surface ofthe water, moving about in small groups, were mosquitofish,so-named because they can eat large numbers of mosquitolarvae. Males are small and slender, while the females are

larger and“chunkier.” Whilefairly plain-look-ing, they have asubtle but beauti-ful blue irides-cence.

Meanwhile, thekids did not waste

much time getting wet. Initially, most of us looked forshallower places to wade, but before long kids were sit-

ting in the shallows on the limestone river bed, feeling thewater flowing past their shoulders. Then a well-placedscoop with a net brought up a small red-eared slider forDominic to examine. Its cute green face was lined with yel-low, and there was a bright red patch on either side of itshead toward the back. After everyone got a look, we re-leased this turtle to swim off to some hiding place.

There were a cou-ple of reptiles seenalong the banks ofthe river. One wasthe little brownskink, a coppery-brown lizard with along body andshort legs thatseems to wiggle through the leaves like a snake as much aslike a lizard. Josh got a chance to hold it and get a goodlook before we released it. A second kind of lizard was thefive-lined skink, with its glossy dark scales and light stripesdown the body. This was a young lizard, with the bright bluetail that juvenile skinks of this species have.

What’s That in the Water? (continued)

White-footed

Little brown skink


As we waded back upstream and our walk neared an end,we seined several crayfish or “crawdads.” These crustaceanslook like miniature lobsters, with grasping claws in the frontand segmented tails. The tails are used for quick getaways,flexing rapidly under the crayfish to propel it backward.There are many kinds of crayfish, and the species we foundhad claws with bluish color ending in orange at the tips ofthe claws. We were careful to keep our fingers away fromthe claws, which can give quite a pinch!

We all went home wet and happy, after walking, wading,having lots of fun and seeing some great examples of thewildlife that lives along the Clear Fork of the Trinity River.

What’s That in the Water? (continued)

Five-lined skink

Want to Go For a Walk With Us?Some Upcoming Events

Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge On Sundays - April 6, May 4, June 1

Join us at one of our favorite places as we look for such species as green treefrogs, skinks, water snakes, and slider turtles andlearn about how they live. We will try to get close enough for detailed observation and photos, and we will talk about how tolook for them and photograph them. Best for ages 7 through adult. (While Crosstimbers Connection does not charge a fee,there is an entrance fee to the nature center-see their website, www.fwnaturecenter.org)

Meet us at the Hardwicke Interpretive Center by 2:00pm

Prairie Fest On April 26, 11am to sunset

Prairie Fest is an annual festival held at Tandy Hills Natural Area, a 160 acre remnant of the Fort Worth prairie. We will have abooth there and will lead some "HerpWalks” - hikes to discover the reptiles, amphibians, and other wildlife that live on theprairie. Participants look for these animals and learn about how they live. The ideal ages for this walk are 7 through adult.See the website, www.tandyhills.org/fest

Buffalo Boogie On May 10

Buffalo Boogie is a 1mile/ 5K walk and fun run held annually at the Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge, and there are alwaysexhibitors, other activities, and lots of fun. The onsite registration and sign-in is at 7am and the starting gun is at 8:30am.There is no gate fee on the day of Buffalo Boogie!

We will offer “Herp Boogie” walks to look for reptiles and amphibians (herps) and talk about how they run, hop, crawl, andgenerally “boogie” through their habitats.

http://www.fwnaturecenter.org

http://www.tandyhills.org/fest


So, your kids spend too much time on theiPad, you’ve read Richard Louv and worrythat they might have “nature deficit disor-der,” and you want to get them out to see apond and climb a tree. Wonderful! Now,what’s the best way to ease the kids awayfrom malls and gadgets, and steer them to-ward a love of nature? Just announce thatthere will be no TV today because we’re go-ing on a nature walk? That’s probably notthe recipe for success. Let’s consider a fewideas that might get the kids wanting tospend more time in nature.

Laying the groundwork

Unless your child already wants to get outside, you mayneed to lay the groundwork so that a nature experience isreally enjoyable for him or her. Here are a few ideas toconsider:

· Listen to your child’s interests – does she talk aboutthings that connect with the natural world, such asa memory of a favorite vacation or an animal thatshe likes (that stuffed tiger, perhaps)? If there is anature program on, does she watch a little of it?These are opportunities to spark an interest in na-ture, if you can start a conversation and expandthe nature theme just a bit while staying within thechild’s interest and attention. “Yeah, the beach wasreally fun – it was great to feel the sun and swim inthe surf. Do you remember that crab we saw?” Or,“big cats like that tiger are really cool – there’seven some big cats that live in parts of Texas.”

· Be an example – if you show an interest, curiosity,and pleasure in the natural world, the kids mayfollow. Notice things and comment about theirbeauty or about how they work. You might pick upan acorn and wonder whether it will become squir-rel food or get to grow into an enormous tree. Youcould comment on the hawk you see soaring nearthe roadside as you drive somewhere. Kids aremore influenced by what they see us do than whatwe say.

· Bring some of nature into the house – do you haveany photos of nature subjects on the walls, or sea-shells on the shelves? Any nature books lyingaround or a collage of leaves displayed some-where? Things like this may be “absorbed” a littlebit in the daily life of your child, when he noticesthe picture or maybe flips through the book. Ourhomes help establish a little of what is natural forus and help shape our sense of who we are.

Sharing the Natural World with Kids- Michael Smith


Crosstimbers Connection - Connecting People with Nature in North Texas

We take people out into the woods and prairies, looking for reptiles, amphibians, and other wildlife, learning andhaving fun. And we do it without charging anything (but we gladly accept tax-deductible contributions to keep usgoing). We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization - please visit us on the web at: http://crosstimbersconnection.org.

Michael Smith, President - [email protected] Pyle, Vice President - [email protected] Dorman, Secretary - [email protected] Smith, TreasurerNick Martinez, Board MemberRob Denkhaus, Board Member

P.O. Box 151882 v Arlington, Texas 76015

Planning an outing

If you are planning an outing with your child in mind, youshould continue to listen and be guided by his or her inter-ests and capacities. A more athletic child may enjoy somephysical challenges like climbing or canoeing. Those whothrive on social contact may want to take a couple of friendsalong. The quiet child who likes to be still and take it all inmay want few human distractions and a hike with lots ofplaces to stop and look at everything or listen to birds.There are lots of ways to experience nature, so don’t be toofocused on what you see as the ideal outing. You and yourchild can work together to come up with a great plan. To-gether you can think of fun and interesting ideas, and alsotalk about taking things you will need (like water), avoidingplaces or activities that are unsafe, and deciding how muchtime and money are available.

Have a plan for where the “boundaries” need to be for thisparticular trip. Do kids need to stay on the trail, or is somewandering OK? Do they have to stay where you can seethem, or can they explore and then meet back up at a par-ticular time? If there is water, can they swim or wade, orshould they stay out of the water? Is it OK for them to catchand handle wildlife like insects, lizards, or snakes, or do theyhave to observe from a distance. As much as possible, figureout the boundaries and be prepared to let kids have free-

dom within those boundaries. Your child should knowahead of time what the boundaries are, to a reasonable de-gree (but you cannot anticipate everything and should notover-prepare to the extent that it takes all the fun out of it).

Being outside with your kids

Once you are on your outing, follow your plan and havefun! Notice what is going on around you and be aware ofwhat the kids are noticing. Doing so will present some op-portunities to talk about things, or wonder about them with-out knowing the answers. For example, “I wonder if that is amoth or a butterfly?” and “Look at that hole with the egg-shells in it – I’ve heard that turtles dig nests in places likethis.” You could improvise games like, “Let’s see who canfind the most leaves from different trees.” There is a usefullittle book called Sharing Nature with Children, by JosephCornell, that contains many activities and games for outingsin the woods and fields.

Just remember that a love of nature is something built overtime through joyful, fascinating, and fun experiences. Once ittakes hold, it keeps itself going because the child seeks outeven more experiences which strengthen that love. Our roleis to create opportunities and to make room for the wonder,the play, and the fun in nature that should be every child’sbirthright.

Sharing the Natural World with Kids (continued)

frog calls, march 2014

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