creature feature

Creature Feature: Samantha /  by Lori Bigler

This month’s Creature Feature takes a new twist. We’re introducing Samantha, a one year old female Pitt/Husky mix that we’ve been fostering for the past six weeks. Samantha (Sammy) is seeking a furever home and would prefer to stay in Woodland Heights.

Samantha was abandoned in Monte Beach Park in mid-February. Her former owner must have really cared for her. She was healthy, recently groomed and left where they could be sure she’d be found.

Our vet confirms that she’s healthy. We had her spayed and signed her up with a couple of rescue agencies, but have yet to have any inquiries.

She’s a great friend to Julio, our 3 year old Dogo/Setter mix. Less so to Gwen, our 10 year old Labrador, who finds all the puppy energy disturbing.

She’s smart and energetic. Walks well on a leash. Likes to ride in cars. Does well at the dog park, too. She’s been to Bill Archer Family Bark Park several times.

We’d love to keep her, but she’s aggressive towards our cats. We’ve not been able to dissuade her of that habit. As a result, she’s been crated in our garage apartment (my home office) overnights. She loves the dog door! She has the run of yard and office by day.

Sammy is super sweet. Julio would like his new friend to stay nearby, so they can have play dates.

We’ve accumulated a library of pics and videos to help Sammy find a great home. If you’re interested please contact communications@woodland-heights.org.

Creature Feature: 192 and Counting! /  by Lori Bigler

In November 2013, a Bald Eagle flew just overhead as Megan Freemantle and I walked our dogs Freckles and Hope along the hike/bike trail in White Oak Park. I became a birder that day, watching the eagle eat a fish it snatched from the bank of the bayou and remembering how eagles had almost gone extinct in the 1960s.

It may surprise folks to know that the Woodland Heights is a very birdy place, with 192 species reported in the neighborhood, White Oak Park, and Woodland Park during the past ten years. Bald Eagles are spotted periodically, with one having hung out along the bayou for two weeks in March 2018 to the delight of hundreds of people who watched for it.

The first photo shows an eagle who was working White Oak Park on February 9, 2020. The second photo shows the similar but much more common Osprey, which will continue to fish the bayou through April.

What to learn more about the birds of the ‘hood? Join Jason Bonilla and neighbors for the monthly Houston Audubon bird survey of Woodland Park. The surveys are free, with the next one scheduled for Saturday, March 14 at 7:30AM.

You can also go to the website of the White Oak Bayou Association and download the kid-friendly Bayou City Birding guides that feature birds of the Inner Loop. Now who wants to go find species #193?

- Wendy Wright

Creature Feature: Hummingbirds /  by Lori Bigler

Click to play.

I know this isn't seasonally appropriate. Consider it an attack on the potential for seasonal affective disorder. Hummingbirds always brighten the day.

As I pointed out in the final bits of the November newsletter, I've been sitting on some video of hummingbirds. This was shot in our yard in September as the wee-winged-wonders made their fall migration to South America. In the spring we saw only a few of the little birds, but in fall was saw perhaps a dozen. We keep six hummingbird feeders in the yard to attract the little creatures. We have also planted some of their favorite comestibles.

I'm interested in how to photograph and record the little birds. The video from which the above frame was taken was shot with a Logitech Rally 4K PTZ camera. It's a glorified webcam intended for video conference use. It did a decent job capturing the action at a feeder mounted on on front porch, at least until the afternoon sun overtook the image sensor. This 3 minute clip was extracted from about four hours of continuous recording.

When the little birds return in the spring I hope to have some way to record them at a high-frame rate, so we can slow down their movement for closer study.

If you share our fascination with the little birds, you might also appreciate the Cornell University Birdcams. They include a West Texas location that's known for its hummingbirds.

Creature Feature: Cooper’s Hawk /  by Lori Bigler

So… you’re walking down the street with your dog or stroller when a dark blur streaks by and a dozen doves explode out of a tree, with the jays who witnessed the event screaming JAY JAY JAY! What just happened? Chances are good that a Cooper’s Hawk is to blame and that he or she may now be enjoying a meal.

“Coops” are becoming increasingly at home within the Woodland Heights, with these woodland hawks moving into neighborhoods to offset impacts of habitat loss. Coops lurk from hidden perches in trees, swooping out to snatch birds, squirrels, rats, bats, reptiles and insects. All but the tiniest pets are safe, with Cooper’s Hawks weighing in at less than a pound and unlikely to tackle anything bigger than themselves.

Though we may feel bad for those who are eaten, the balance of nature requires these ongoing interactions of prey and predator, as is beautifully illustrated in the new movie The Biggest Little Farm. And the risks work both ways, with the Coops’ method of hunting resulting in injuries that give them an average lifespan of just one year – not good for a species that doesn’t breed until its second year.

As a result, most of the Coops you’ll see are young birds, which have a brown back and wings, and brown streaks running down the white breast and belly. Adults have a slate gray back and wings, with orangey barring across the breast and belly. Coops of all ages have a very long tail with broad brown and gray bands. Photos taken in Woodland Heights and White Oak Park display the progression from nestling, to juvenile, to adult.

Want to learn more about the birds of the ‘hood? Check out the Bayou City Birding resources of the White Oak Bayou Association at WhiteOakBayou.org/resources-and-zines and take part in the monthly bird survey at Woodland Park.

- Wendy Wright

Creature Feature: NikKi Prochaska! /  by Lori Bigler

Nikki Prochaska #3.jpg

This month I'm exercising canine editorial privilege to acclaim Ms Niki Prochaska as the Creature Feature! Niki lives at 204 Byrne with Mike & Kamile Prochaska and Family. She just this past weekend reached her 14th birthday, which is a major milestone for a Labrador Retriever. In years past, she'd say hello to Shadow and I. Julio and I still see her regularly when we get down to Byrne Street. She's always ready to greet us and give us a wag.

According to Kamile, "Niki is a wonderful dog! Although she is 14 and weighs 80lbs. Her preference is to be a lap dog. She follows us around the house and lays her body as close to us as possible at all times, and if we do not pay attention to her, she commands attention by barking at us until we do. No one can be hugged in our house without her included. Her body may be slow, but she has the mind of a 2 year old puppy! She loves to play, bark at birds and garbage trucks, and chase cats!"

Niki is an inspiration. I hope I do as well at that age. - Gwen Espinosa-Graves

Your Canine Contributing Editor

Your Canine Contributing Editor

We call this the “Creature Feature” highlighting the fact that we’d welcome pics that are not pets. Birders! I’m talking to you! See an especially great turtle in the park, grab a pic with your phone. Send it along to communications@woodland-heights.org.

Pseudo Creature Feature: Dinosaur Spotting in WH /  by Lori Bigler

T-Rex and friends on a field of volcanic ash.

There are folks here in Woodland Heights who, for whatever reason, just don’t live their lives online. the internet is simply not an important thing in their lives. Nonetheless, they are important to us as neighbors. That’s why we continue to print newsletters a few times a year, when it’s important to get critical information widely distributed. It’s also why we use things like door hangers, just recently distributed, to promote the Constable Patrol Program. A hat tip to the Home Tour committee for pointing out that strategy.

The door hangers present a certain problem as well. When we take delivery they have been die cut to hang on the door, but there’s a paper circle that has to be popped out of every one. Since we print 2000 copies that’s 2000 little paper circles that might very possibly litter up the neighborhood.

However, block captain coordinator Andrea Gorney doesn’t let that happen. She broke down the box, counting out how many are needed for each block. In the process she popped out all those dastardly circles! They would not have a chance to litter the ‘hood.

Further, her kids took to playing with them. According to Andrea, “At the time they claimed it was make believe volcanic ash. I’ve since recycled said “ash”. It’s a valid concern - much better my living room than our neighborhood streets.”

Creature Feature #3: Milo /  by Lori Bigler

Milo came to join our family in February 2017. Someone in the neighborhood found him as a puppy wondering along the bayou and posted a lost dog alert. We responded that he wasn’t ours but we’d happy to give me a home! We spent a few weeks searching for his owners. Leads came in from other neighbors, we had him checked for a chip and called local vets but we came up empty.

We were more than happy to welcome him into our family though! Now he happily keeps watch on our corner. Every morning and afternoon Milo waits for Travis kids to say hello. If he’s lucky, a game of chase happens through the fence or someone reaches through to throw his tennis ball. He also loves playdates with his many four-legged friends in the neighborhood!

Christina DeHaven

Milo one of several dogs that comprise the NoMo Canine Mafia, which also includes Bear, Bo, Bruno, Duke, Lucy, Luna and Sam. We see at least some of them every day. - Editor

Creature Feature #2: Amelia Stowers' Menagerie /  by Lori Bigler

The Stowers family lives on Highland Street. Their daughter, Amelia, loves animals and has seven pets, including her new basset hound puppy, “Spots” and her bearded dragon, “Sunset”. “Spots has long ears that drag the ground”, Amelia explained. And her father Greg said, “And Sunset will ride on Amelia’s shoulder and not jump off.” These are some cool pets!

Amelia Stowers, Spots & Sunset.

A holiday Brontosaurus.

This editor, while out walking our dogs, recently observed the unveiling of their latest addition, a very bright Brontosaurus, just for the holidays.