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Please Mark your Calendar!
Our Spring Garden sale is scheduled for April 16, 2022 from 9 to 2
March 2022 Newsletter
After the dormancy of winter, March is our month of “re-birth”. As we enter into spring on March 20, our plants come back to life, and most of us are eagerly awaiting them. March is the time to prune your natives, particularly if you left the stalks and stems over the winter. Plants such as Blue Mistflower and Turk’s Cap should be clipped to the ground as they both come up from their roots every year. Plants such as Flame Acanthus should be pruned back as much as one-third to one-half, depending on your plant.
Look for some of our early spring plants as you’ll begin to see green appearing. Keep on eye out for some of our early bloomers such as the Ten Petal Anemones.
We hope you’ll join us at the Acton Nature Center for Featherfest.
Please join us for the 5th annual Feather Fest a celebration of birds and spring and welcoming the wildflower season.
Acton Nature Center
6900 Smoky Hill Ct.
(817) 326-6005.
Activities FREE to All!
Live raptors!
Wildflower walks by Dr. Billy Teels 10:30 & 12:30
Crafts for children
Seed ball crafting 11:00 and 1:00
Educational booths
For more information on the Rio Brazos Master Naturalists https://txmn.org/rbc/
Directions to Acton, Texas on Lake Granbury and neighboring Granbury.
The Acton Nature Center street address is 6900 Smoky Hill Ct., Granbury, TX 76049.(817) 326-6005.
Please turn out all non-essential lights from 11 pm – 6 am every night from March 1 to June 15, especially during the peak migration period of April 22 – May 12.
HISTORY of Lights Out Texas
This effort was originally launched in 2017 by Houston Audubon and American National Insurance Company following a major bird collision event involving 400 birds in Galveston. Right around this time, Cornell Lab of Ornithology developed their BirdCast migration forecast maps using historical radar data. Later, Lights Out Texas took hold in Dallas-Fort Worth, led by Texas Conservation Alliance, The Perot Museum of Nature and Science, and Dallas Zoo. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Colorado State University supported these efforts and Texan by Nature helped with outreach in fall 2020. In 2021, Texan by Nature (TxN) collaborated with these organizations to lead Lights Out Texas at the statewide level in order to standardize the approach to messaging, communication, and volunteer efforts across all Texas organizations.
Keep Your Eyes Peeled, Thousands Of Hummingbirds Are Headed Right For Texas
Click above for article posted in Texas Nature February 14, 2022 by Katie Lawrence with maps
The Hummers are on their way. Are you prepared? Its a seasonal occurrence! Most Ruby-throated Hummingbirds arrive in Texas between mid-March and mid-May and breed from early April to early September. These birds depart for their wintering grounds from late July to mid-November.
Directions for making safe hummingbird food:
- Mix 1 part sugar with 4 parts water (for example, 1 cup of sugar with 4 cups of water) until the sugar is dissolved.
- Do not add red dye.
- Fill your hummingbird feeders with the sugar water and place outside.
- Extra sugar water can be stored in a refrigerator.
Plants that Attract Hummingbirds to Your Texas Garden…
- Hummingbird Bush (Hamelia) …
- Salvia. …
- Trumpet Vine. …
- Cuphea. …
- Butterfly Weed. …
- Lantana.
Ruby Throated Hummingbird from All About Birds
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**ARCHIVED POST AUTHOR: prairierose