Winter Texan Times

Camo is my happy color

Details: Published: Tuesday, 12 May 2020 00:00

By Colleen Hook, Executive Director at Quinta Mazatlan

One of the most near-perfect camouflaged birds is the Common Pauraque. The Pauraque has an understated beauty marked in brown-black and grey patterns and can just “disappear” on the Thornforest floor. While Pauraques are an adaptable species, they need forests to live and will leave areas that are heavily built up. Forests are important for many reasons from providing homes, to providing food, medicines and helping us breathe and keep cool.

Pauraques are unlike most other birds, as they really don’t construct nests. They make a scrape in the ground and lay eggs on the Thornforest floor on fallen leaves. A clutch consists of 1-3 eggs which are pink colored with buff spots. Incubation takes about 20 days and is carried out by both parents.

In celebration of momma birds

Details: Published: Monday, 11 May 2020 14:36

Colleen Curran Hook, Executive Director of Quinta Mazatlan

Springtime means new baby birds and celebrates rebirth and motherhood. Mother birds take parenting very seriously from building the nest to incubating the eggs and to finding food for her young. To quote Proverbs 31:10-31, “A mother’s work is never done”.

Bird nests are fascinating and as a general rule, the mother is the skilled builder designing the nest for support, shelter and camouflage. Some nests are intricately designed and others are scrapes in the ground. Let us look at the seven styles of Avian Architecture!

Stinging caterpillar season has arrived in Texas

Details: Published: Monday, 11 May 2020 14:15

Written by Susan Himes, Susan.Himes@ag.tamu.edu

AgriLife experts warn stinging caterpillars can cause contact rashes, painful reactions

As the weather warms up and people begin spending more time in their yards, parks and forests, more people will be coming home with a rash or bug bite.

However, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service experts say before you blame a flying insect or a poisonous plant for a skin ailment, you may need to consider another culprit – stinging caterpillars.

The Century Plant—It’s Time to Bloom

Details: Published: Monday, 20 April 2020 20:06

Colleen Curran Hook, Executive Director of Quinta Mazatlán

The Century Plant only blooms once in a lifetime every 10 to 25, years so the century thing is an exaggeration, but a quarter of a century is still a long time. The plant is monocarpic in that it flowers, sets seed for pups and then dies. But it leaves plenty of pups or small plantlets at its base to begin a new life cycle.

Life is Like a Cactus-Prickly but Beautiful

Details: Published: Friday, 17 April 2020 17:43

Colleen Curran Hook, Executive Director of Quinta Mazatlán

There is a saying, “Life is like a cactus, prickly but beautiful” and the Strawberry Cactus is like Life. They flower in April with purple-pink-red flowers with whitish centers. They are synchronous bloomers in that they bloom at the same time to attract pollinators.

Students, faculty and staff at STC team up to study and find solutions to deadly bird to glass collisions

Details: Published: Wednesday, 08 April 2020 17:03

Collaborators Hummingbirds In 2017, a new architectural gem named the North Academic Building, also known as Building P, was built on the South Texas College Pecan Campus. With its modern design, impressive three stories, and welcoming atmosphere, it became a popular hub of campus activity. However, its substantial iridescent plate-glass windows and impressive height began to attract an unexpected type of attention.

Seemingly without explanation, birds, sometimes more than a dozen a day, were striking the tall windows and dying upon impact. This phenomenon was alarming, to say the least, and especially concerning for those who worked and studied in the building on a daily basis.

The Retama Tree is full of life in the Spring

Details: Published: Wednesday, 08 April 2020 12:59

Retama Flower Colleen Curran Hook, Executive Director of Quinta Mazatlán

Seen throughout South Texas, the Retama is truly a stunning tree. At Quinta Mazatlán we describe it as a “Tree of Life” providing food and shelter to many a wild creature. In addition, the Retama can live on 12 inches of rain a year, a true native survivor in the Rio Grande Valley.

In the spring, the tree is covered in yellow flowers, and will bloom into the summer months. The flowers are unique in that they have five petals each, four yellow and one orange. The orange petal is known as the honey petal, providing nectar for bees and butterflies.

McAllen's Sunset Live outdoor music series - Must go on

Details: Published: Friday, 03 April 2020 17:22

MCALLEN, TX- In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and the adaption to our “new” reality, the Sunset Live Music Series has joined a number of concerts and artist who have taken the approach of the show must go on-line.

Sunset Live Music Series main objective for this season is to support the local music community who are among those affected by the spread of COVID-19 and continue to spread the happiness of music and health through livestreaming services in the comfort of your own home.

Spring Bouquet of Flowers in the Valley

Details: Published: Wednesday, 01 April 2020 08:44

Wild Olive Tree on River Written by Colleen Hook, Quinta Mazatlán

Flowers bring joy—and your backyard can deliver flowers to you daily when you plant a Wild Olive tree, also known as the Anacahuita (pronounced ANA-COW-EAT-A). The citizens of Nuevo Leon, Mexico, honor this beautiful tree as their state flower.

Respect nature, property, others when taking wildflower photos

Details: Published: Tuesday, 31 March 2020 14:30

Editor's Note: For when you are able to get out and about, there might still be some wildflowers to take pictures of. We wanted to share this with hope that our shelter-in-place orders don't last too long that we still get to enjoy Spring and what Mother Nature has given us to enjoy. These are guildelines to follow when taking pictures of wildflowers. Always remember to respect nature and, if you are out and about, social distancing.

By Paul Schattenberg, Texas A&M Agrilife Communications

With wildflowers sprouting up all over roadsides throughout Texas during springtime there are ample opportunities to take photos. But shutterbugs should be careful, as well as respect private property and nature, when trying to find the right spot for that perfect shot, said Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service experts.