Wildlife

The Christmas Bird Count is the longest-running citizen science survey in the world, contributing invaluable data to scientists studying bird population trends. Our kids’ version of the count gives children just a taste of the real deal. Ages 5 years and up. $5 per person, in addition to the regular gate fee ($5/vehicle, cash or check only). Registration is required: go to bit.ly/COLsplash to register. Plan ahead, as registration will close at 12 pm on Dec. 23. For help with registration, contact the Frederick P. Herring Recreation Center at 972-219-3560.

Visit the LLELA Nature Preserve’s prairie restoration area to explore the wonders of the night sky. For ages 5 and up. $10. Registration required: bit.ly/COLsplash. 

Dallas resident Scot Miller will give a multimedia presentation about creating the photographs for Emerson, Muir, Thoreau: A Photographic Trilogy of American Wildness, the first book to visually connect the philosophies of Ralph Waldo Emerson, John Muir and Henry David Thoreau. He will emphasize the interconnectedness of these three writers/philosophers/activists and the role that their intertwined orbits played in America's environmental coming of age.

Enjoy a two-mile hike along the Riverbottom Trail by the West Fork of the Trinity River. Capture the sights of giant cottonwoods and willow trees. Explore the area that is home to beavers, herons and armadillos. Free (with paid admission).

Interested in learning more about the wild turkey? Join us as we explore their preferred habitat, their infamous history and their notable adaptations. Free (with paid admission).

Derek Broman, a biologist from Texas Parks and Wildlife, will offer a primer on the iNaturalist website and how to record wildlife observations to provide a living record of wildlife and nature in North Texas.

Learn about two closely related eastern Cross Timbers sites, their similarities and differences. Jeff Quayle will lead these hikes with Native Prairies Association of Texas-Fort Worth Chapter.

Hike 1

9-11:30am at Southwest Nature Preserve

5201 S. Bowman Springs Rd, Arlington, 76017

Hike 2

11:45am - 1:30pm at Thora Hart Park

3510 W. Green Oaks Blvd, Arlington, 76016

(~1 mile N of I-20 on W side of Green Oaks Blvd)

Both sites are home to a number of unusual to rare plants. Join the group for both or either.

North Texas Master Naturalists are accepting applications now for the 2016 class of volunteers. If you are interested, please attend this Open House informational meeting.

Coastal Prairie Partnership (CPP) and Native Prairies Association of Texas (NPAT) are excited to announce the 2015 Southern Plains & Prairies conference (formerly the State of the Prairie conference).