Juniper Hairstreak

One of the Desert Rat campers at Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center took this photo, and their Education Coordinator wrote us with this:

"Desert Rat campers found this Juniper hairstreak (Callophrys gryneus) on one
of the beargrass flower stalks."

We're seeing more butterflies in the region....have you seen any? 

Birding and Butterfly Festival at the Gage Hotel!

Scott's Oriole by Matthew York

Mark your calendars now to attend the Gage Hotel’s inaugural birding festival, ‘Birds and Butterflies of the Big Bend’, July 19^th through 22^nd in Marathon, Texas. The Gage will kick off its first year by hosting Kenn Kaufman, renowned birding expert, naturalist and author, who will present a lecture at the Ritchey Building in Marathon on July 21^st at 4PM.  Other notable guests include Gerald Sneed, the well-known nature artist, who will be exhibiting his work on birds of Texas.

 Birds and Butterflies of the Big Bend will feature a high caliber list of trip leaders:

• Kelly Bryan, a hummingbird biologist focusing on the West Texas region

• Long time regional birder and guide, Mark Flippo of Birding Big Bend

• Cameron Carver, President of the Llano Estacado Audubon Society and prominent regional birder

• Steve Gross, President of the Texas Ornithological Society

• Matt York, ornithologist and co-author of the bigbendnature.com blog

• Heidi Trudell, researcher of human impacts on birds, co-author of

bigbendnature.com blog

The Bird Watchers Package includes all meals, the registration party, two birding workshops, Maravillas Tour, Kenn Kaufman lecture as well as special room rates at the Gage. Guests purchasing the value package will also receive a VIP badge, tote bag and t-shirt as part of their VIP registration packet. Cost for the Birdwatchers Package is $350.00.

Events that can be purchased al a carte include the Hummingbird banding workshop for $20 per person, Butterfly Walk for $10 per person, Kaufman lecture $30 per person and Gage Gardens Dinner $75 per person (wine, tax and gratuity included). The Maravillas ranch tour is restricted to inclusive package members and spaces are limited.

The schedule for the event is as follows:

Thursday July 19^th - registration at 5pm at the White Buffalo Bar.   

Friday July 20^th – 10 am Hummingbird workshop with Kelly Bryan at the Gage Gardens

-       10 am The Ritchey Building will be open to the public to  view exhibits and visit with local vendors and regional nature organizations.

-       2pm Butterfly Walk at the Gage Gardens with Matthew York.

-       7pm Fiesta Dinner and mixer with Kenn Kaufman at the Gage Hotel.

Saturday, July 21^st – 7AM Birding tour of the Maravillas Ranch, a privately owned ranch south of Marathon. Participants will have access to private land with the opportunity to view the abundance of bird species living outside the national park. 

4pm - Kenn Kaufman will present his lecture at the Ritchey Building.  Mr. Kaufman is the author of Kaufman Field Guides, A Field Guide to Advanced Birding, as well as his memoir, Kingbird Highway. He is also the field editor of Audubon Magazine as well as the editor of American Birding.

7pm - Dinner at the Gage Gardens

For more information on the event or to print out a registration form, visit gagehotel.com.  To register for the all inclusive package call Michelle West at 432/ 386-4205 ext 263. To book hotel reservation call the Gage Hotel at 432/386-4205.

Juniper Hairstreak

Taken last March at Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center, near Fort Davis.

Monarch Butterfly at Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center and Botanical Gardens

Some folks might think our region was all dried and burnt up if they just followed the news, but they'd be terribly wrong!  Sure, we're experiencing drought like most of the rest of Texas, but we're also alive and flowering (as you can see in the video), and even Fort Davis, where this was shot (at the botanical gardens at Fort Davis' Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center) is greening up nicely.  To see it for yourself, just page down to see Saturday's entry.

The garden's flowers were full of butterflies and insects, busy pollinating yesterday morning...take a look! 

The area's hiking trails are all open, as are the parks and other regional attractions....plan to take a visit to the Texas Mountains soon!

For travel information, visit www.texasmountaintrail.com

Butterfly Count Day at Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center

A Juniper Hairstreak butterfly spotted during the Butterfly Count at Fort Davis' Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center, March 12

Saturday, we had the pleasure of accompanying Dr. Cathryn Hoyt, Director of the Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center and volunteers on a Butterfly Count.  Dr. Hoyt explained the goals and areas to be observed, and the group worked together on the grounds of the Nature Center before splitting off and tackling other observation areas around Fort Davis.

The goal of Fort Davis' Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center's Butterfly Count is to document the number and species of butterflies within a specific circle around Fort Davis.

You can participate too!  Learn more about future count days, July 1 and September 17, here!

The Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center is a wildlife/birding site on the new Far West Texas Wildlife Trail Map.  Read more about it here!