Bambi's Close Calls

I had a couple of close encounters with two white-tailed fawns this week. By close, I mean that in each case, I was able to approach within two feet. This is rare indeed.

The first one happened earlier this week as I drove onto our driveway/road on my way home. I saw a white-tailed doe and a small fawn with her. The fawn's legs were rickety and I think it might have been only a few hours old. They were both standing in the middle of the road and didn't move as I drove up.

I think the fawn couldn't move quickly and the doe wasn't leaving her. I stopped the car and got out. The doe moved off about 20 or 30 feet but did not run away. The fawn walked about 4 feet and into a prickly pear cactus patch and laid down!

I took this photo with my cell phone camera. The fawn is lying still and trying to look inconspicuous. I don't think the prickly pear needles are poking it because its fur offers protection. I also don't think it walked into the prickly pear because it would prevent a predator from going after it. I think it was just the first place it could try to hide.

I've seen fawns do this before. It's their only defense mechanism. It reminds of a line in the movie A Christmas Story, after Ralphie and his brother Randy encounter some bullies - "Randy lay there like a slug! It was his only defense!"

The second close approach happened this morning. It all happened very quickly so I didn't get any photos. I walked into the kitchen and looked outside. Gus, our Doberman Pinscher, was at the fence and had something in his mouth. He was thrashing his head about. I thought it might be a rabbit but it looked bigger. I guessed it was a fawn and ran outside and shouted at  him to drop it, which he did. Good dog! Mary helped me by taking all our dogs inside.

I walked up to the body with dread, thinking I would find a bloody, dead animal. As I got close though, I could see the fawn was breathing hard and its eyes were open. I couldn't see any wounds or blood on it or on the ground. I wasn't sure what to do and was about to pick it up to examine it, when it jumped up and ran off. It ran to the fence and went through the mesh in the field fence. I hope it finds its mother and makes it.

Gus is known to jump our fence and wander our property, but I don't think he would have brought the fawn back inside. I think the fawn came into our fenced area and Gus got it. It must have happened just immediately before I saw him, because if he had been thrashing and shaking it for long, he would have broken it's back or neck.

I know fawns are killed by predators all the time and it's not like there's a shortage of white-tailed deer, but I feel responsible when my dogs are the killers. I'm glad this one got away and might make it.

Intrusion Of The Cowbird!

Last week it was a red katydid outbreak. This week we have a cowbird intrusion. Nature is endlessly fascinating and this is another example.

When we checked our nestbox #4 last week, it was empty except for a lone bluebird egg which had not developed from the previous brood. We only recently learned that you should remove the old nest so we had left the nest and egg alone. This week, during a bird species survey with my friends and bird experts, Jesse Huth and Jaci Kroupa, we checked the box as we hiked past. The old blue bird egg was gone and in its place were five small, whitish eggs. Jesse identified them as cowbird eggs. He removed the eggs and destroyed them. We looked around the box to see if we could find the blue bird egg, but weren't able to.

Brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater) are nest parasites. They construct no nests of their own, but instead lay their eggs in the nests of other bird species. This behavior evolved because the cowbirds evolved to follow the large bison herds that roamed the prairies and would feed in the short grass left behind by the herbivores. The adult cowbirds would not remain in any area for long and left their eggs behind to be raised by others. The cowbird young hatch sooner and are larger than the host species young and either actively expel the other chicks or out-compete them for food.

The other bird species adapted to this periodic cowbird parasitism, but now the scenario is very different. The great bison herds are gone, replaced by fenced-in cattle which remain in one area. The cowbirds are doing what they’ve always done, but their constant presence is now a significant threat to other bird species.

Texas Parks and Wildlife has a cowbird trapping program which tries to address the problem. We may have to put some cowbird traps on our property if the situation gets worse.

In this case, the cowbirds did no harm, since the blue birds had already fledged and only an old egg remained. We may not be so lucky next time.

Red Katydid Outbreak!

It sounds like it would make a great horror movie - "Red Katydid Outbreak!". Maybe "Attack of the 50 foot Red Katydid!" would be better.

You may have seen these guys in your yard. The Hill Country is currently experiencing a major red katydid (Paracyrtophyllus robustus) outbreak. They feed primarily on oak trees, but not exclusively. You may notice them eating your roses and other garden plants.

Katydids are normally green but the red form predominates during an outbreak. Little is known about the causes of outbreaks which is defined as populations much higher than average.

They're very easy to spot when they're on the house, like this one. They're really quite beautiful. The tiny green eyes are very striking. This one is a adult female and you can see the ovipositor sticking out her back end.

Since these are the red variety, they're also easy to spot in the oak trees. This one was caught by a sun beam and stood out even more. You can see the damage it's done to the leaves. This one is an adult male.

They're very wary. As I walked around the oak tree, they would scurry to the other side of a leaf to hide from me.

This one is a nymph or juvenile and has a very different body shape from the adults. It also lacks fully-formed wings.

Here are a couple of links with more information:

• Texas Entomology web page
• The Bug Guide

A Cave With No Name

I went on a field trip last weekend with the Hays County Master Naturalists to the “Cave Without a Name” near Boerne. The cave is recognized as a National Natural Landmark.

The tour sizes are limited to 25 people and there was so much interest from our chapter that we had to split into 2 groups. Each group spent an enjoyable 90 minutes, in a constant 66 degrees, touring the 6 major rooms.

The guide explained how the cave was formed by underground flows from the nearby Guadalupe River and how the various formations (speleothems) including stalactites, stalagmites, columns, curtains, and other features are created.

Here's an ammonite fossil at the entrance to the cave. It's almost two feet in diameter.

Here's a fried egg formation, about 6 inches across.

The cave had many intricate and beautiful formations.

It also had several cave pool formations.

Our part of Texas is peppered with caves because of the geology. Most of them are probably undiscovered and most of the known ones are on private land. The Cave Without A Name is a  nice one and it's make a nice day trip from anywhere in Central Texas.