We managed to squeak through the month without a single freeze.  In fact, we had several days in the 80’s with one day reaching 88.5 degrees.  The wonderful rains of January were a distant memory by the end of the month with just short of 1.5 additional inches in the gauge.

The unusually mild weather provided many opportunities for habitat restoration and continuing cleanup from last year’s ice storm and the Snowmageddon of 2021.  The arborists from Maas Verde returned for a final stab at getting down the remaining high canopy “hangers” and some large, toppled junipers that were taking down the high fence along Little Beaver Trail.  Following their visit, we spent many hours along the trails cutting up brush piles into smaller, manageable bundles in preparation for a much anticipated Stewardship Day with 10 Capital Area Master Naturalists volunteers and our hearty Docents, Sarah and Rafael.  This hearty crew cut and hauled out over 1400 cubic feet of slash (uphill!) now ready for chipping along with the large pile hauled out by Hays County Master Naturalists in January

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We did have one really cold morning where we woke up to 35 degrees and a stiff north wind.  Of course, this was the day Mikael Behrens was set to host his second Birding by Ear class of the year.  Many of those who signed up decided to opt out, but it was their loss.  We held the classroom portion inside around the cozy wood stove, and the steep canyon walls blocked off the worst of the howling wind during the walk.  In spite of the less than ideal birding conditions, we counted over 20 species of birds including some of the first Pine Siskins of the year.

Other notable bird sightings were a couple of Crested Caracaras circling high over the residence.  These were spotted by one of the Capital Area Master Naturalists during a break, and most of us got a good look.  Shortly thereafter, a Northern Harrier made a fly-by right over the Canyon heading south.  Both were new species for the year, and neither had been seen at the Canyon for decades.

Georgean worked a few days in her vegetable garden prepping the planting beds and getting her seed potatoes in the ground.  The spinach, kale and salad greens provided a daily harvest.  These cold-loving plants seemed surprising unphased by the warmer temps of this February.  Unfortunately, many of the undesirable plants like chickweed, beggars’ lice and sticky weed are also thriving.  We spent several hours trying to get large patches of these invasives pulled before they could go to seed.

With the help of volunteers over the past two months, the trails are looking good as we prepare for the start of events in April.  Check the Travis Audubon calendar  in mid-March to see what we will have scheduled.  We hope to see you at the Canyon in April!

Paul and Georgean Kyle
Sanctuary Stewards

All photos by Paul Kyle