This week at the Stiles Farm, we began dove trapping and banding at the locations that we prepared last week. I started the week off by building dove traps using 1-by-2-inch welded wire and hog rings. Then, I spent some time going through the photos on the game cameras to see what time of day that the doves are most active at our feed stations. After concluding that the doves are most active at the feed stations during the early morning and evening, we set out to begin trapping.

 

On our second night of trapping, we caught this young mourning dove. We were able to determine this bird to be a young-of-the-year by the presence buffy-tipped covert feathers. We also recorded which primary feather had most recently molted to determine a more precise age since hatching. After recording all of this data, and equipping each dove we catch with a leg band, we will submit this data to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to use in conjunction with the US Fish and Wildlife Service to help in mourning dove management nationwide.

This week at the Stiles Farm started out with a much-needed rainy day. Moist conditions, like the ones we experienced earlier this week, are perfect for finding amphibians! Animal Science intern Taylor Burrell and I found this Gulf Coast toad and Western narrow-mouthed toad under a board in the horse pen.

Throughout the rest of the week I spent time monitoring dove stations via game camera and baiting them with milo in order to prepare for our upcoming dove trapping and banding efforts. In addition to seeing several doves on our dove station cameras, we also captured some black-tailed jackrabbits and eastern cottontails taking advantage of the germinating milo.

 

This week on the Stiles Farm, I helped AnMarie, the wildlife intern, put up a game camera in the southside hay barn. We put one in there so that she may get some footage of the barn owls that live in it. After putting the camera up, we explored the barn further and found owl pellets that contained various animal skulls, such as birds and rats. We also discovered a raccoon and an opossum skull among the pellets.

 

 

Tuesday, Ryan and I scouted the Bitner cotton and the East Bitner and Fletcher sesame fields. I learned that cotton has white blooms that turn pink when they are pollenated. Once they are pollenated, the flower falls off and the cotton boll forms from where the flower was. The sesame plant has a capsule that it keeps its seeds in, and in my opinion looks like a very small jalapeño.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Thursday, Jimmy and I moved six bales from the southside hay area to the headquarters, as we were out of hay for the heifers. I gained more confidence using the manual transmission long bed Dodge by using it to move hay. 

As a part of my duties, I checked the cows every morning, including Monday morning when it started to rain!

 

This week, Jimmy and I checked each herd every morning to look for new calves and to make sure they were where they were supposed to be. We had to move the southside herd into a new section because they had grazed down the forage that was available. While we moved the herd, I checked to make sure that their body conditions were improving. Along with the southside herd, we moved and refilled the molasses tank and mineral tubs to help supplement their forage diet. When checking on the headquarters herd, we found two new calves!!

Taylor Burrell-Intern

Last week, I got up early to check all the herds while it was cooler. I had to check the main herd’s molasses and mineral bins and how much pasture, and the northwest and headquarters herd for hay and their molasses-mineral tubs. While checking the northwest herd, I caught the neighbor’s bull using his vomeronasal organ (underneath the upper lip of most mammals) to sense the pheromones in our cows across the fence.

 

This week at the Stiles Farm, I learned how to set up vegetation transects and sample vegetation by using a Daubenmire frame. We conduct these surveys to determine the composition, quality, and diversity of plants on Stiles Farm, especially in areas where we are managing for native plants. After building the 1m² frame and choosing my survey points, I conducted my first vegetation survey. It took a while, but I learned several new plant species along the way! I also learned how to bait and deploy minnow traps in order to sample fish populations in our various ponds. We found largemouth bass, green sunfish, and even this white river crayfish! At the end of the week, we went spotlight searching for wildlife at dusk and came across various wildlife, including this young Virginia Opossum.

Last Friday, we worked the main herd with the help of cowboys and Dr. John Tomecek. We ear tagged and vaccinated the calves, and the cows got their booster vaccines.

 Monday, Jimmy and I bought molasses and bagged minerals for the main herd, and tubs of molasses-mineral mix for the other three pastures. As soon as we put the tub down here at headquarters, the heifers were all over it!

 Tuesday, I learned how to load and unload hay with the hay tractor and trailer. With the help of Jimmy, we moved six bales from the hay field right inside of Thrall to the headquarters hay barn

Every morning, as a part of my duties, I check each herd and fence line to make sure they are where they are meant to be. Last week, in the southside herd, we had a new calf, Peanut, the headquarters herd gained Milkshake, and the northwestern herd gained Domino!    Written by Intern Taylor Burrell

 

 

   

 

 

 

This week at the Stiles Farm, I continued to practice using a circular saw by making cover boards for our upcoming reptile/amphibian surveys. I continued baiting dove banding stations in preparation of our trapping season. I also continued the plant and vertebrate animal inventory of the property, where I enjoyed practicing my animal and plant identification skills. I checked and maintained our remote camera grid.  At the end of the week, I assisted in working the farm’s main cattle herd and learned how to administer vaccines and put in ear tags.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AnMarie Ulery Wild Life Intern

Weekly blog post:

 This week at the Stiles Farm, I began setting up meso-mammal scent and camera stations around the property. I learned how to drive a t-post as well as set up a scent station and then traveled around the property looking for wildlife travel corridors and tracks to determine where to place my stations. This week we also began the process of fermenting corn for hog bait. For our corn container, we used an old barrel and had to make a lid out of plywood and lumber. During this process, I learned how to use a circular saw and power drill. This week I was also able to get more comfortable being in close proximity with cattle by assisting animal science intern Taylor Burrell and farm manager Ryan Collett with sorting cows in the working pens.

    

 

 

Monday, we fixed a gap in the fence line where a wash out occurred. We patched the gap so that we could move the main herd into this pasture for grazing, without having to worry about cows getting on the neighbor’s property.

Monday afternoon we tried to move the main herd to a new pasture from the hay field by coaxing them with some cottonseed. While most of the main herd was disinterested, the cows and heifers in the northwest pasture were more than happy to follow the hay seed into the corral so we could sort them out on Tuesday.

Tuesday morning, I moved the northwest pasture herd into the working pens to sort them. We moved the pregnant heifers to the headquarters pens to keep an eye on them and moved the others to new grazing.

Wednesday morning, we tried to move the main herd once again, and this time it was successful! Thanks to the help of Dr. John Tomecek, his horse, Shiner, and a little bit of cottonseed, we got most of the main herd to move towards the pasture we want them in.

By: Taylor Burrell