Way back in April of 2015, we launched the DFW Urban Wildlife Facebook Group. Over the years our members have contributed an astounding array of interesting anecdotes and beautiful wildlife photographs. Between the Facebook group and its sister project on iNaturalist, we have collected an amazing amount of new and important urban wildlife data. This
Continue Reading >>
It was an ordinary, but small, Paper Wasp nest. Construction of the nest had begun only a week or two prior. At any given time there would never be more than three adult wasps present. The nest had about a dozen cells—with only six containing growing larvae. The other cells were either empty or contained
Continue Reading >>
This cell phone picture has generated some level of debate. Many people believe this picture—taken right here in the DFW Metroplex—is of a Mountain Lion. Others disagree. Because of this contention, I wanted to present a full analysis to show what kinds of things we look for when we get a Mountain Lion report like
Continue Reading >>
On 6th June I shot some video of Wasps feeding on Dill in the garden. When I viewed the footage I spotted something I hadn’t noticed at the time – a tiny, quarter inch long caterpillar was also on the Dill. I discovered that this was a Black Swallowtail. Caterpillars go through different stages of
Continue Reading >>
I have three videos of nesting birds to share, all filmed between April and early June. Purple Martins are North America’s largest Swallow and they arrive in North Texas in the Spring, to breed. One of our friends lives near Justin and Purple Martins have made use of her nest boxes and gourds for several
Continue Reading >>
I am not a bird feeder guy. I am not well informed the different type of feeders, or the different types of feed, or any of that stuff. But, a couple of times a year—usually when I have a little extra time away from work—I will fill the bird feeder with seeds, just to see
Continue Reading >>
What a difference two months can make! Our last visit to John Bunker Sands Wetland Center in Seagoville was in early March – it was cold and the skies were overcast. Apart from Bald Eagles, Herons, and Egrets the only wildlife we saw was migratory waterfowl. The Eaglets had hatched a few days before our
Continue Reading >>
We see an incredible diversity of insects and arachnids in North Texas. At the time of writing the latest statistics from the DFW Urban Wildlife iNaturalist project are as follows : Insects – 50,941 Observations of 2,289 species Arachnids – 4,559k Observations of 194 species Many of these are hard to photograph because of their size.
Continue Reading >>
One of my earliest recollections of experiencing exciting and unique urban wildlife occurred when I was a young boy. I grew up in Lewisville at a time when it was still a very small town. In the mid 1970s, Lewisville still had significant areas of undeveloped land and a number of unpaved dirt roads. One
Continue Reading >>
Whether they are calling, fussing, humming, begging for food, or singing to find a mate, birds can make an amazing variety of sounds. Some bird song is considered to be a beautiful sound that can be compared to music, while other birds produce what can only described as “noise”. Other birds are masters of impersonation.
Continue Reading >>
Dateline – February 24, 2017 How Do You Pronounce the Word “Pyrrhuloxia?” Oh, its a hard question, to be sure. But to me the actual pronunciation of the word “Pryyhuloxia” is of secondary importance. I am just glad to finally have the chance to see one of these rare-in-the-metroplex birds. Traditionally this bird’s range has
Continue Reading >>