NEWSLETTER

ROLLING PLAINS

CHAPTER

Vol. 2, No. 8 August 2010http://grovesite.com/tmn/rpc

LOCALE V E N T S

August 3: Rolling Plains Chap-ter monthly meeting will be held at Msu, Bolin room 209. Dr. Fred Stangl will be talking on “Cats in Texas” with an emphasis on the Ocelot found near Jack County. time: 7:00 p.m.

August 7: Deerfest. Location: MPAC. time: 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. A volunteer sign up sheet will be at the Aug. meeting.

sEPtEMBER 11: Sikes Lake Cleanup. Location: Sikes Lake time: 9:00 a.m. We will meet on the east side of the lake. Hot dogs will be served after the cleanup. School groups are welcome to participate.

OCtOBER 9: Eco-Fair Loca-tion: River Bend Nature Center, 2200 3rd Street, Wichita Falls, Texas. time: 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

OCtOBER 10: Big Sit Location: Wild Bird Rescue time: 7:00 a.m. The Big Sit is what it implies. Par-ticipants count birds seen and heard from a 15 foot circle.

OCtOBER 21-23: TMN State Convention. State is due to release info at the end of the month on their web site.

ROLLING PLAINS CHAPTER — 1 — TEXAS MASTER NATURALIST

“Cats in Texas”The Jack County Ocelot

The topic for this month’s meeting is “Cats in Texas” with an emphasis on the Ocelot found near Jack County. As background for this meeting’s discussion, below is a brief article about Ocelots from the National Geo-graphic web site.

Twice the size of the average house cat, the ocelot is a sleek animal with a gorgeous dappled coat. These largely nocturnal cats use keen sight and hear-ing to hunt rabbits, rodents, iguanas, fish, and frogs. They also take to the trees and stalk monkeys or birds.

Unlike many cats, they do not avoid water and can swim well.

Like other cats, ocelots are adapted for eating meat. They have pointed fangs used to deliver a killing bite, and sharp back teeth that can tear food like scissors. Ocelots do not have teeth appropriate for chewing, so they tear their food to pieces and swallow it whole. Their raspy tongues can clean a bone of every last tasty morsel.

Many ocelots live under the leafy canopies of South Amer-ican rain forests, but they also inhabit brush lands and can be found as far

The ocelot has dappled fur that serves as camouflage in the jungles of South and Central America. Photograph by Annie Griffiths Belt

Fast FactsType: Mammal

Diet: Carnivore

Size: 28 to 35 in (70 to 90 cm)

Weight: 24 to 35 lbs (11 to 16 kg)

Protection status: Threatened

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TPWDE V E N T S

August 14, 2010 — Govern-ment Canyon SNA — Hike the Canyon — Join the Friends of Government Canyon Volunteers for a guided hike on one of the many trails at the natural area. Dress ap-propriately and wear sturdy hiking shoes; bring two liters of water and a snack. Meet at the Visitors Center by the rainwater harvesting tower; Note new start time 8:00 a.m. - noon; subject to cancellation; for more information, call (210) 688-9055, ext. 291

August 21, 2010 — Fort Rich-ardson SP & HS/Lost Creek Reser-voir State Trailway — Cowpokes ‘N Country Folks with Doc ‘N Hal — Renowned Cowboy Poets “Doc and Hal” will perform on the steps of the Fort Richardson Hos-pital. Time: 7:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. For more information, call (940) 567-3506

August 28, 2010 — Palo Duro Canyon SP — Birds, Bats, & More Hikes & Walks— Interested in birds? Want to know which spe-cies are in the canyon? Bring bin-oculars and meet at the Palo Duro Trading Post parking lot. No pets, pleaseTime: 8:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. For more information, call (806) 488-2227, ext. 106

ROLLING PLAINS CHAPTER — 2 — TEXAS MASTER NATURALIST

Don’t Forget! Turn your hours into Jane Mcgough. A form for keeping up with your hours is available on the web site. Hours needed for recertification are: 40 hours of public service and 8 hours of advanced training. Advanced training MUST be approved in advance. Fill out the form and submit along with any other information about the class to the Executive Committee at least one week before the event.

InvadersofTexasInvasive spotlight: Bastard-Cab-bage (Rapistrum Rugosum)

Bastard-cabbage is an annual, many-branched, herbaceous plant that grows from 1 to 5 feet or more in height and has a taproot that can become quite large. Leaves are

deep green, lobed and wrinkled, and sometimes have a reddish cast. The terminal lobe is larger than the lateral lobes, especially on the basal leaves. Younger leaves grow-ing higher up on the plant are less

lobed and more elongated. Annual bastard-cabbage typically flowers from early spring into summer, bearing clusters of small, showy yellow flowers at the tips of its branches, resembling those of broc-coli and cabbage. Annual bastard-cabbage can be identified more easily and certainly by its unusu-ally shaped fruit - a two-segmented seed capsule, called a silique. The seed capsule is stalked, with a long beak at the tip, and contains 1-2 seeds. The seeds are oval-shaped, dark brown, smooth, and tiny (about 1/16-inch).

Annual bastard cabbage is also known as turnip-weed, common giant mustard, ball mustard, wild turnip, wild rape and tall mustard-weed. It is designated a terrestrial noxious-weed seed in Texas.

Learn more about Bastard-Cab-bage and other Texas Invasives at texasinvasives.org/invasives_data-base

We had a good crowd. The kids got to see the difference in how a normal firefighter dresses to fight a structure fire as opposed to a wild fire firefighter. Smokey Bear got lots of hugs. Firefighters from Company 1 at Bluff Street brought out a hook and ladder truck and kids got to try their hand at handling the hose. Photos by Melody Duhane.

Smokey Bear Fire Safety EventHeld at River Bend

At the August meetingwe will order T-shirts for our chapter. The cost is

$10.00. We will have sample shirts available to pick your size. Remember to bring your

checkbook.

ROLLING PLAINS CHAPTER — 3 — TEXAS MASTER NATURALIST

Chapter Contacts:Terry McKee, President 766-4097; Dian Hoehne, Vice President 692-7234; Laura Gillis, Secretary 592-5319; Bill Setzler, Treasurer 692-4466 Committees Chairperson:Leslie Fernandez, RiverBend Liaison 767-0843; Paula Savage, Newsletter 691-0231; Martha Ford and Ev-elyn Staten, Social Committee; Patsy Petcoff, Grants/Fundraising 940-923-4478; Lila Arnold, Communica-tion Chair 696-2471Advisor:Mark Howell, TPWD Advisor 766-2383

RESOURCECO

RN

ERbirdology (adventures with a pack of hens, a peck of pigeons, cantankerous crows, fierce falcons, hip hop parrots, baby hummingbirds, and one murderously big living dinosaur)

By Sy MontgomeryISBN: 978-1-4165-6984-8Cost: $25.00

Domesticated turkeys can’t fly but wild tur-keys can. Wild turkeys fly at speeds of up to 55 mph for short dis-tances and can run on the ground at speeds up to 25 mph.

FUN

FACT

OID

S A mosquito has 47 teeth. Only female mosquitoes bite. The maxillae and mandibles (mouthparts) of male mosquitoes are deli-cate, tape-like structures, usually one part being longer than another and so unsuitable for piercing the skin. Although both males and females also feed on nectar, only females bite as they need blood for eggs to mature. Mam-

mals, from tigers to dolphins, bears, and one very special pig, have been Sy Mont-gomery’s specialty, but birds have always fascinated her, hence this gathering of stirring avian encounters. Montgomery assists a hummingbird rehabilita-tor in the delicate raising of two tiny orphans, and meets the “most dangerous bird on earth,” the enormous, razor-clawed cassowary in Australia, one bird whose dino-saur ancestry is blazingly apparent. She also writes from unexpected perspectives about falcons, crows, pigeons, chickens, and parrots, each intriguing tale illustrating one of the “seven essential truths about birds,” and all revealing fresh insights about birds, inter species communications, and environ-mental concerns. Inspired equally by all that we share with birds—similarities in intelligence, emo-tion, language, and music—and all that is mysterious (birds “remain fundamentally wild”), Montgomery expresses profound appreciation for the living web of life in a book that both bird lovers and readers new to bird lore will find evocative, enlightening, and uplifting.

There are white alliga-tors with blue or black eyes and dark blotches on their skin but true albino alligators are extremely rare. The only known collection of albino alligators with white skin and pink eyes is at Alligator Adventure in South Carolina.

north as Texas. These cats can adapt to human habitats and are sometimes found in the vicinity of villages or other settlements.

Ocelots’ fine fur has made them the target of countless hunters, and in many areas they are quite rare, including Texas, where they are endangered. Ocelots are protected in the United States and most other countries where they live.

Female ocelots have litters of two or three darkly colored kittens. In northern locations females den in the autumn, while in tropical climes the breeding season may not be fixed.

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Fun Ocelot Facts

Its name came from the Mexican Aztec word tlalocelot, which means field tiger.

During the day ocelots sleep on a branch, in a hollow tree, or in dense vegetation.