Essays

Moseying: Exploring the Natural World

Sign up for the 2008 Master Naturalist class and explore the wilds of West Texas
December 5, 2007

The Master Naturalist trainee took a baby step, sneaking ever so slowly, camera in hand. She stopped, looked at the LCD screen and slowly zoomed, enlarging the image of the Cassin’s Sparrow. For ten minutes the trainee had stalked the bird as it performed its breeding display. Cassin’s Sparrows are special – their song is the essence of spring on the Llano Estacado. She took a series of pictures as the sparrow teetered on the top of a mesquite bush, twisting its head around to make sure its prospective mate had been watching. The female hopped up to perch beside him – this might be the duet flight – the moment of acceptance. The female quivered, fluffing her feathers.

Satisfied that her pictures were adequate to fulfill the requirements of the “fieldwork,” the trainee took a look at a card with a list of other organisms to photograph in the mesquite brushland habitat. “This is a scavenger hunt – where do I find a lotebush with an overwintering ovary? It has blue-gray bark. The bush is dense and compact. Oh – this could be one!” Not far away, a classmate was searching for his organisms to photograph.

The cool morning breeze of mid-March carried the sweet smell of honey daisies. “Next, I need to photograph three insects on the honey daisies.” The trainee sat on the ground in front of a patch of blossoms. During the five minutes it took before two species of bee and a moth came to her, the Cassin’s Sparrow performed its song over her head. When the first bee appeared, she snapped several shots. She kept pushing the button as a larger bee zoomed in and chased the first one away.

“Next, I have to find a mammal, or the evidence of a mammal.” The trainee found a packrat nest and took 20 pictures of it from every direction, with closeups of the gnaw marks on the mesquite above the nest, the dead yucca leaves on top of the sticks of the nest, and the “highway” that led to a dense patch of popotillo.

“Okay, the last part of the assignment is to find a reptile – or its evidence. Southern Prairie Lizards, according to the natural calendar, should be out moving around. It might be a little chilly, yet. The lizard likes to climb on mesquite bushes.” The trainee walked around for a few minutes and then found a place with bare ground. “Maybe the air temperature here will be a little warmer.” The trainee watched for several more minutes before deciding it was just too cool for a reptile.

At the previous class of the Master Naturalist program, the trainees had learned about the playa habitat, and had spent several hours on a field trip to a playa. Each of the classes focused on one of the eight major habitats of the Llano Estacado. Before each class, the student read twenty to thirty pages in the state organization’s handbook for background information about the Texas environment and answered five questions about the content (required before going on the field trip.)

The students also have to read four essays on the Sibley Nature Center website about the habitat of the day, and view one photoessay on the habitat, as well. Each student also is encouraged to do an Internet search on one organism of the habitat before the class, too. This “homework” takes about two hours. Another two hours are required for the team fieldwork, and maps to local examples of the habitats are provided.

Before the class on that specific habitat, the students must visit the habitat and observe and take field notes and (hopefully) photograph one bird, plant, insect, mammal, and reptile, and take a few pictures of the habitat in general. All of the students download copies of the photographs on a Sibley computer where some of each student’s photos are selected for a photoessay for the website on that specific habitat. During the group field trip to the habitat, students take more photographs for the photoessay.

Master Naturalists are required to take 40 hours of instruction, 8 hours of advanced instruction, and perform 40 hours of volunteer service. The team fieldwork counts as volunteer service, for the photographs and field observation notes will be utilized on the Sibley Nature Center website. Assisting the Midland Naturalists during their annual bird and butterfly counts also counts as volunteer service, as doing anything for Big Spring or Monahans State Park, helping Emmy Ulmschneider at the Carver Center Biodiversity Garden, or helping at the Sibley Nature Center in the greenhouse, at a public event, or even doing clerical work.

The program meets on January 5th, 2008 for two hours of orientation, and then meets all day once a month on eight more Saturdays over the next 10 months. (January 19th, February 23rd, March 22nd, April 26th, May 24th, July 12th (make up day), Aug 23rd, September 20th, October 25th, November 8th (makeup day), and December 8th, graduation. The “make-up” days are additional one-day seminars with professional biologists as guest speakers, for those that unavoidably miss a regularly scheduled class and for “advanced” training hours.

The goal of the statewide group is to provide volunteers for state parks and non-profit institutions that need extra hands to augment budget-stressed operations. Students join the group to learn more about the flora and fauna of their home – everyone should know the most common organisms of the natural world around them! Students also join for the camaraderie of being with people with similar interests.

It is recommended that interested applicants have a digital camera and Internet access. (There are four digital cameras available at Sibley for those that do not have them.) The program costs $75 for an individual, and $125 for a couple. Call 684-6827 and ask for Burr Williams to sign up. This is the second time the class has been offered in the Midland-Odessa region.

The Llano Estacado of West Texas is a fascinating region, full of incredible stories of survival and adaptability in a tough environment. Join the Llano Estacado chapter of the Texas Master Naturalists!