September 16-18 bioblitz at Riverby Ranch
A Fall bioblitz is planned for September 16-18 at the Riverby Ranch Mitigation Area (iNat project page), 95 miles NE of DFW. Brandon Hall, on-site restoration ecologist (@bhall002), will be hosting us. Facilities at Riverby Ranch include a restored cowboy bunkhouse sleeping 17, two restrooms with showers, and a kitchen. There's also plenty of room for car or tent camping. Electricity is available for moth lights, but bring battery powered lights also in the event that they may be useful. For comparative purposes, folks can also visit the nearby Bois D'Arc Unit of Caddo Nat'l Grasslands 5 miles to the south of Riverby Ranch (a wooded upland area with a couple of ponds). As we leave Riverby Sunday morning, we can spend some time at the Bois D'Arc Unit.
Bunkhouse reservation list (reply to post or message to be added). Bring your own bedding.
This map shows the Riverby Ranch property boundaries in black with the red pin showing location of the bunkhouse (which will serve as our headquarters; 33.837521, -95.883909). Within the black polygons, orange and green lines are roads. The portion of the Bois D'Arc Unit of Caddo Nat'l Grasslands that some folks may wish to explore is outlined in purple.
Brandon describes the conditions at Riverby Ranch: “Much of the site, particularly forested and grassland restoration areas, are still in early successional stages, but are progressing well. Those areas that were able to remain resilient through past agricultural activities such as the mature forests and wetland areas are nearly fully recovered and are the real backbones of biodiversity on the site. Many of the wetlands have permanent groundwater influence that offer unique (and very muddy) habitats. The site is certainly lush, and both the quantity and quality of wildlife here has surprised everyone – I’ve found a number of what I think are state first or rare plant species, aquatic areas are rife with every swimming and crawling thing you would hope for, and the higher tropic levels are responding better than hoped. There has been an explosion of beaver, otter, bobcats, raptors, snakes, and even a black bear siting. Over the past few years we’ve encountered a number of species of note including a western burrowing owl, LeConte’s sparrow, grasshopper sparrow, quail, upland sandpipers, and large numbers of breeding ducks, shore birds, and innumerable dickcissel.”
More information about the Riverby Ranch Mitigation Area:
https://res.us/projects/bois-darc-lake-prm/
https://res.us/home/restoring-at-scale/restoring-at-scale-docuseries/
Tag others that you'd like to invite:
@alisonnorthup, @amzapp, @annikaml, @aprilsee, @bacchusrock, @baxter-slye, @benjamindurrington, @birdsandbugs27, @bosqueaaron, @brentano, @butterflies4fun, @catenatus, @centratex, @charley, @clairesorenson, @cmeckerman, @connlindajo, @cosmiccat, @currenfrasch, @elytrid, @gcwarbler, @gwaithir, @henrya, @inhat83, @jcochran706, @jwn, @k_mccormack, @k8thegr8, @kimberlietx, @knightericm, @lorimalloy, @lovebirder, @megachile, @melissa_duron, @mikef451, @nanofishology, @pynklynx, @rlhardin, @rymcdaniel, @sambiology, @squaylei2000 , @tadamcochran, @williampaulwhite17
pfau_tarleton,
26 de junio de 2022
Usá ArgentiNat con app iNaturalist
Comentarios
Wow, that sounds great! It will be nice to visit a place that has that liquid stuff that I haven't seen on any of my recent hikes here in central Texas...
Sounds good! I will plan on being there.
Interested and following!
Yep! I'm in. IIs there a way to get an address or GPS point for the building so Ic an use Waze to get there?
Coordinates added in description.
Don't jinx it @jcochran706--may be dry there also come September!
I'm damn curious about the black bear sighting. Herp guy that I am, that's just intriguing. Any photos of tracks or scratches?
I tried to get on the bunkhouse list but I get an access denied when I try to sign in? that may be my google accounts being messed up too though
Fig. 2, p. 7 in this TPWD document shows Fannin Co. to have confirmed bear sighting
https://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_pl_w7000_1046.pdf
Texas doesn't yet have a stable breeding population, so I've read, as all the sightings are of single juvenile or subadults--most likely roaming from the established populations E and NE of TX
The forest between FM 2155 and 2175, does that have a stream or permanent water source? or is that on Caddo National Grassland's property? Then the Bois D'Arc Creek of Farm Road 79 is on property? And a pond near the bunkhouse?
Wondering if I should bring minnow traps/dip net
It looks like there's a lot of unpaved access roads on property; do you know if it'll be OK to drive on them or do they want us sticking to paved roads?
And I'm assuming I need to bring my own bedding/sleeping bag for the beds?
I plan on participating!
I will put on calendar and plan to be there. Not sure about a big bunkhouse. More people to annoy with snoring. So will have to think about that.
Tagging a few other folks...@beschwar @ryan697 @kaylakwest
I edited the post a bit to add detail. Anything within black polygons is Riverby. As September approaches, we'll have Brandon report on status of bodies of water as those vary seasonally. We're also going to have folks let us know in advance what taxa/habitats they'd like to focus on so Brandon can point each of us in the directions most likely to have what we're looking for (I'll send out a survey in August). There's some benthic sampling equipment available for use. Feel free to bring any collecting gear of your own. Some roads are passable with regular vehicle, others by UTV. Brandon can chauffer as needed to get folks to the best places.
Looking forward to it!
Please add me to the bunk list.
Interested and following... looking forward to it!
Tentatively attending, contingent on schedule. Sounds like a great site!
I'm a definite maybe! It's on my calendar. Let's hope we get some rain between now and then. :)
Looking forward to it!
Sounds great to me! I'd like a bunk spot please.
Hey all! Looking forward to hosting all of you out here. If you have any site specific questions don't hesitate to shoot me a direct message on here. I'll be coming up with tentative spots to take everyone to.
Since this is a very very large privately owned work site and there is some liability associated with having a large group out here over the weekend there will likely be a series of guided wanderings where another on-site ecologist or I will take you to any number of spots around the property. Minimized risk AND you get to go to hard to access areas most people will never have access to.
I’ll be there!!
@cosmiccat Re-tagging you on this one. Hope you can make it.
I'd love to go and be added to the bunk list.
@wwrauscher @jasonpike1980
@royaltyler want to come with us?
@pfau_tarleton I work on Fridays, so I'll be there either late Friday evening or Saturday morning, depending on when I get off. Also what size sheets do I need to bring for the bed?
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