Godwin Ranch abuzz with visitors and newcomers this spring.
On fours legs: Nature Trackers' cameras spotted a nursing coyote whose pups we hope are growing up on the preserve. A very round fox makes us hope there is also a group of blue-eyed kits sniffing about the tract, but it may have just been a well-fed individual.
No doubt the preserve's resident ringtails, possums, striped skunks, cottontails, deer and other raccoons are also having broods of their own.
On two legs: A resplendent roadrunner graced the cameras with a strut so galant it must have known it was being recorded.
Migrant birds are more camera shy but have also made a home on the preserve. Every week we see and hear dozens of bird: Tennessee Warblers, Blue and Red-breasted Grosbeaks, Summer Tanagers, Bell's Vireos, Easter Wood-Peewees, Yellow-breasted Chats, Lesser Goldfinches, Painted Buntings, Indigo Buntings...
On Wednesday we may even have heard a Lazuli Bunting, a bit off course, possibly pushed East by the string of storms we've been having in Texas. We will know more in the next few days as data from an acoustic bird monitoring device comes back.
Speaking of acoustic monitoring and two-legged winged creatures, Wednesday marked the installation of a bat detection tower as part of a collaborative project with Parks and Wildlife who are loaning the device to Nature Trackers.
On no legs: We have increased our herp habitat thanks to donations of unused metal sheets and wood boards from the Underground Texas Grotto. Time will tell if these prove satisfactory homes for our elusive reptile population.
As always we are very thankful to the Goodwater Master Naturalists, led in this effort by Mike Farley, without whom we would not know as much about the preserve users as we do today.
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