Meetings / Programs

• The main feature of the monthly Piney Woods Wildlife Society meetings is a presentation about a wildlife, bird or another nature topic.  These programs happen on the third Tuesday of each month (Sept thru May) starting at 6:30 p.m. with social time beginning at 6 p.m. These meetings are in-person meetings only.
• Occasionally, we have to move the meetings to the second Tuesday or another day because of conflicts.  Our upcoming 2023 meetings are scheduled for Sept 19, Oct 17, Nov 14 (2nd Tues) and Dec 12 (2nd Tues). Make sure to keep an eye here, on Facebook, or on the newsletter for exact dates & location.
• These meetings are held in person at the Big Stone Lodge at Dennis Johnston County Park located at 709 Riley Fuzzel Road in Spring.  This park is just east of Old Town Spring 0.2 miles east of the Hardy Toll Road, before you get to the Spring Creek Bridge.  Click the link to Google Maps above or see additional directions and map at the bottom of this page.

Upcoming Programs & Topics

• October 2023 – For the October program for Piney Woods, Paul Gregg will be presenting “Timing & Location when Birding including Lower Rio Grande Valley Bird Photos”. Paul will share strategies on how to be successful birding and ultimately taking photos. He’ll be showing many of his bird photos from his and Carol’s November 2022 trip to various locations in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) area to search for birds. Birding the Rio Grande Valley is claimed to be where the Lone Star State’s birding is at its best. The area is a major migration corridor and an excellent location for tropical species extending their range beyond Mexico. Paul will show photos of various birds they found during the 4 or 5 days they were there. The program takes place on Tuesday, October 17th, at 6:30 p.m. with social time at 6 p.m.

The October program will be ONLY in-person and will take place on Tuesday, October 17th, at 6:30 p.m. (snacks & social time at 6:00 p.m.) at Dennis Johnston’s Big Stone Lodge. We have decided beginning February 2023 that we are going back to in-person meetings only. Please join us at the Big Stone Lodge located in Dennis Johnston County Park at 709 Riley Fuzzel Road, Spring, Texas 77373.

• November 2023 – Local wildlife artist, Doug Hiser, will give a presentation on Tuesday, November 14 2023, entitled “Painting Heron Sculptures to Promote Conservation”.  More info available closer to November.
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• December 2023 – American Bird Conservancy’s Chloe Dannenfelser will give a presentation on Tuesday, December 12 2023, entitled “Conservation Efforts with Birds on the Gulf Coast as well as Marine Debris Clean Up Efforts and How It Effects Birds”.

Past Presentations & Topics of Interest Available Online

• Why Conservation Matters – The November 2022 program for PWWS was a presentation from Mary Anne (Weber) Morris from the Houston Audubon Society where she took us on an Avian Adventure.  If you missed the presentation, a recording is available online.  [You will be prompted for the passcode of 5vtvDj4? (including the “?”).]  She told us all the reasons that birds matter in our world, why their conservation is so important and how Houston Audubon works for bird conservation on the upper Texas Coast. From eagles to gnatcatchers, we talked bird!  Join Mary Anne Morris, Education Director of HAS, along with two of her feathered friends for an evening for the birds!
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  Mary Anne Morris (formerly Mary Anne Weber) the Education Director of Houston Audubon Society since 2000, has been teaching about birds for over 30 years. She travels with “feathered” teaching ambassadors who are the “spokesbirds” for the avian world during the more than 300 programs she delivers annually. She graduated with honors from Virginia Tech with a degree in Forestry and Wildlife Biology and a minor in Geography. She was a full-time educator and rehabilitator for the world renowned Raptor Trust in New Jersey where she cared for over 3,000 injured and/or orphaned birds each year and taught thousands of school children. During an eight year period in Montana, she taught bird conservation, presented teacher workshops on migratory birds at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, and served as summer bird educator at Zoo Montana. She served as President of the Montana Environmental Education Association, and is a member of the North American Association for Environmental Education and the International Association of Avian Trainers and Educators. Mary Anne runs Houston Audubon’s Raptor and Education Center in southeast Houston and became a grandma this spring to a beautiful little girl named Adelina.
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• Mountain Lions in Texas:  If you missed the very interesting November 2021 PWWS Program on the current status of Mountain Lions in Texas, you can view the recorded program at the link below.

  

  We heard all about Mountain Lions in Texas from Monica Morrison, the founder of Texas Native Cats. This is an organization dedicated to providing education, outreach, and advocacy for Texas’ five species of native wild cats: mountain lions, bobcats, ocelots, jaguars, and jaguarundis.

  These beautiful animals persist mostly in west Texas with scattered sightings documented. Texas mountain lions face incredible odds. Hunting and trapping remain unregulated and unlimited as habitat shrinks across the state. They are classified as imperiled (S2)/threatened (S3) by TPWD. Learn how the Texas Native Cats organization is building an effort to help our apex predator, through education, collaboration, and strategic partnerships. Their web site is: https://texasnativecats.org/

  If you missed the live presentation, you can watch the YouTube recording if you wish.

  

  

• PWWS monthly meetings take place at the Big Stone Lodge at Dennis Johnston County Park.  Directions to meeting location for Tuesday meetings (709 Riley Fuzzel Road, Spring, Texas):

• Aldine-Westfield dead ends into Riley Fuzzel Road just northeast of Old Town Spring so there are several ways to get there:

  1. Take the Rayford/Sawdust exit and go east on Rayford Rd. After about 4 miles, take a right (south) onto Grand Parkway Frontage Road / Riley Fuzzel Road.  Drive 1.4 miles to the Dennis Johnston Park (on the right before Hardy Toll Road and after the Spring Creek Bridge).  Turn right into the park & drive all the way around following the curve to the left until you reach the Old Stone Lodge.

  2. From I45, take Spring-Cypress Road exit east and follow it across the railroad tracks to Aldine Westfield passing through Olde Town Spring.  Turn left onto Aldine Westfield and then right onto Riley Fuzzel for a short distance to get to Dennis Johnston Park.  It will be on the left just after Hardy Toll Road and before the Spring Creek Bridge. Turn left into the park & drive all the way around following the curve to the left until you reach the Old Stone Lodge.

  3. From Mercer Arboretum, take Aldine Westfield north until it dead ends into Riley Fuzzel. Turn right on Riley Fuzzel, go under the Hardy Toll Road freeway and turn left into Dennis Johnston Park (before the Spring Creek Bridge).  Drive all the way around following the curve to the left until you reach the Old Stone Lodge.

  Watch for a sign for the Park on the north side of Riley Fuzzel. You will need to drive all the way back to the Big Stone Lodge and the parking next to it.