The Harper News (Harper, Tex.), Vol. 8, No. 6, Ed. 1 Friday, January 21, 2011 Page: 3 of 10
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page 3 The Harper News
Cedar Waxwirms
Strikingly handsome and
a nice guy as well - what’s
not to like about the Cedar
Waxwing? One of our regu-
lar winter residents, the
sleek bird with a crest and
dramatic black mask is usu-
ally heard before being
seen. They typically travel in
flocks of varying sizes, emit-
ting a high-pitched, thin
buzz or drawn-out whistle.
4t’s rare to see just one of
these very sociable birds.
The Cedar Waxwing is a
little smaller than a cardi-
nal, with a pale brown head
fading into a pale yellow
belly. Tail feathers normally
have yellow tips, but they
can take on a reddish color
if the bird has been dining
on imported honeysuckle.
The secondary wing feath-
ers have hard, red, wax-like
tips, which accounts for the
“waxwing” part of their
name. There is little dis-
cernible difference between
males and females of the
species.
The “cedar” part of the
name comes from the habi-
tat in which they are fre-
quently found: across their
range, they gravitate to
areas with juniper species,
by Phyllis Muska
such as the Texas Hill
Country. In recent years,
their numbers have
increased in residential
areas, probably thanks to
the various ornamentals in
the landscape which include
berries and fruits, a major
part of their diet. Their
short, broad bill is well
adapted for munching on
the berries from pos-
sumhaw, hackberries,
grapes, cherry trees, and
viburnum. They eat insects
as well, particularly during
the summer.
A large flock of Cedar
Waxwings can quickly
deplete an entire fruit
orchard in a matter of days,
and in 1908 fruit growers in
Vermont lobbied to get a
bill passed to allow them to
shoot Cedar Waxwings as an
agricultural pest. But when
it reached the state Senate,
opponents of the bill
brought in specimens of the
bird to show the legislators,
who were so impressed by
the Cedar Waxwing’s beauty
that they defeated the bill.
Today, the Cedar Waxwing
has federal protection as a
migratory species.
The Cedar Waxwing win-
ters in Texas and as far
south as Mexico and Central
America, but heads north to
breed, traveling as far as
Alaska. Their breeding sea-
son is late in the year, coin-
ciding with the seasonal
availability of summer-
ripening fruits. Their
courtship ritual includes
passing a small tidbit back
and forth until one of the
pair finally eats it - usually
the female. Even outside of
courtship, these social birds
will pass berries or blos-
soms from one bird to the
next. After feeding, the
birds often show their
affection for each other by
touching bills or ruffling
each other’s breast feath-
ers.
They tend to mate with
individuals their own age -
judged by the number of
red appendages on the sec-
ondary wings - and form
monogamous pairs. Nest
building begins in June, with
second broods in August.
Cedar Waxwings are fairly
successful in defending
themselves against brood
parasitism by cowbirds.
They typically eject or
pierce cowbird eggs. The
late nesting season and
predominantly fruit diet
also help to minimize loss
through parasitized nests.
Cedar Waxwing popula-
tions have increased
throughout North America
over the last several
decades. Their success is
probably due to the cre-
ation of edge habitat con-
ducive to their preferred
fruiting trees and shrubs,
and the elimination of the
use of DDT. These sweet
birds do occasionally exhibit
problems with alcohol,
however. They have been
known to become intoxicat-
ed by alcohol in the fruits
they consume, sometimes
falling to the ground and
suffering fatal trauma from
the fall.
When they don’t overdo,
we can appreciate this
lovely bird not only for its
looks, but also for its part in
dispersing the seed of fruit-
ing shrubs and trees,
Comments? Questions?
Suggestions? Contact
TheNaturalState@wind-
stream.net
Harper 4-H Clubs Receive $500 Checks
■; Pedernales Electric Co-Op made a $500 donation to each 4H Club in Harper. Members of
Headwaters 4H and Harper 4H were there to accept the checks.
Pictured in back row are Josh Moore, Triston Schubert and Charlie Clark.
• The middle row from left, Hallie Boatright, Halli Lovell, Hailey Doyle and Elyse Giedeman.
The front row from left includes Baylee Walker, Marti Lumpkins, Ranee Roberts of PEC,
Kaylee Kramer and Jaycee Harper.
• Kennedy Lowe, 14-year-old niece of Dan Behringer and Phyllis Muska, harvested her first
l deer last weekend. Kennedy and her father were visiting from the Fort Worth area.
r
‘Girl Talk’ provides answers
j The eleventh annual Hill
Country Memorial “Girl
talk” seminar is scheduled
tor Tuesday, Feb. 15, at
Fredericksburg Elementary
School Cafeteria, 1608 N.
Adams Street, beginning at
§30 p.m.
* Mothers and daughters
iare invited to attend the
free, interactive seminar
£ed by obstetrician and
gynecologist Jennifer
pulaney, MD. The seminar is
Resigned for young women
ages eight and older and
their moms, or other female
jearegivers, as an educa-
tional session on basic
female anatomy and
pygiene.
* A member of the HCM
medical staff, Dr. Dulaney
has practiced in
Fredericksburg for twelve
years. She received her
medical degree from the
University of Texas
Southwestern Medical
School at Dallas, and she
completed her internship
and residency in obstetrics
and gynecology at Parkland
Memorial Hospital in Dallas.
She is certified by the
American Board of
Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Discussion topics will also
include hormones, the men-
strual cycle and changes
that come with puberty. At
the end of the presentation,
Dr. Dulaney will offer an
open forum for questions
and answers.
For more information on
the event, call 830-990-
6627.
January 21, 2011
Hidden Springs Golf Course
Mon -Thurs. - $28 Fri. Sat. Sun. - $38
Seniors /Military/College Rates: $24.50 Mon-Thur • $29.50 - Fri,Sat., Sun.
Twilight (After 2:00 p.m.) Specials:
Mon-Thurs--$19.50 • Fri, Sat, Sun — $21.50
Tuesday Specials - All play for $20.
All prices include cart. Golf lessons available.
Harper Jr. High and High School Team members play free.
Come out and support your Harper Longhorns!
Phone: (830) 990-4122
Crime of the Week Elected
Gillespie County
Crime Stoppers
Jan. 10, 2011
Crime Stoppers could use
your help in solving the fol-
lowing crime.
On Jan. 7,2011 at 159
a.m., a Deputy from the
Gillespie County Sheriffs
office on patrol in the
Harper area checked the
Harper Community Park and
found that vandals had obvi-
ously returned since the
original felony criminal mis-
chief call on Dec. 10,2010.
This time the suspect(s)
did additional damage to the
water truck by breaking out
both side windows of the
vehicle and more damage to
the screens and windows of
the building referred to as
the barbecue shack.
If you know anything
about this crime or have any
information regarding any
other crime, call our local
Crime Stoppers hotline at
997-TIPS or (997-8477).
Remember: WE DO NOT NEED
YOUR NAME, but if your
information leads to the
arrest and charges filed on
the persons responsible for
this crime, you could be eli-
gible for a possible reward
up to $1000.00 cash.
Remember, only through
YOUR involvement in this
program can Crime
Stoppers, citizens, law
enforcement and the media
make our community a safer
place to live, so if you saw
anything, please call.
Crime Stoppers does not
use Caller I.D.. ^r69. or anv
other device to Identify a
caller.
Gillespie County Crime
Stoppers is now available
online. Go to www.
tipsubmit.com. Click on
submit a new tip, enter
“USA, Texas, Fredericksburg”
and send us your tip.
ATTENTION HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
(IN THE CTEC SERVICE AREA)
WIN A TRIP TO WASHINGTON D.C.!
Three youths from the Central Texas Electric Co-op service area will be
selected to take part in an all-expense paid trip to Washington D.C.
Participation is open to high school students that have completed their
sophomore year of education by May 2011, and whose parents or
guardians are members of Central Texas Electric Co-op.
The theme for this year’s essay contest is “Of the seven cooperative prin-
ciples, which one do you feel is most important and why”. Local win-
ners will join more Texas youths June 9th in Irving, Texas, depart on
June 10th, and return June 17th.
Additional details and information are available at www.ctec.coop , from
the local high schools, or from Patricia Stehling, Youth Tour Coordinator,
or Carlos Staudt, Manager-Member Services in Fredericksburg, Texas at
1-800-900-2832, (locally at 830-997-2126).
Entries must be in the Fredericksburg, Texas CTEC office by 5:00 p.m. on
January 28, 2011.
CENTRAL TEXAS ELECTRIC CO-OP
“The Home Team Advantage”
Dennis Land
Advances to Division
Dennis Land, shown above
with his teacher, Brennan
Vogel (left) and Legion
Representative, Dr. Emilio
Rendon, has advanced to the
division contest as well as
won a $300 scholarship.
The purpose of this
American legion High School
Oratorical Scholarship
Program is four-fold:
a. ) to develop a deeper
knowledge and appreciation
of the U. S. Constitution
b. ) to develop leadership
qualities
c. ) to develop the ability to
think and speak clearly and
intelligently
d. ) to prepare for the
acceptance of the duties and
responsibilities and the
rights and privileges of
American citizenship.
There are two parts to
this presentation: the ora-
tion and the assigned topic.
Toward this end, solid, well-
based research is a must,
and then the actual written
portion for presentations.
The ultimate award is
$160,000 in college scholar-
ships. This contest is open to
any high school student who
Is a citizen or lawful perma-
nent resident of the U.S.
The division contest will
be held in Ballenger on
Feb. 3. After division is the
state contest and then the
nationals. We wish him all
the best!
Officials
(Editor’s note: As critical
issues come before both
the state and national gov-
ernments, I have decided to
devote a little of the
paper’s space to contact
Information for our elected
officials. The closer we as
citizens stay in contact, the
better our officials can act
to protect our interests.)
President
Barack H. Obama, The White
House, 1600 Pennsylvania
Ave. Washington, D. C.
20500
www.whitehouse.gov
Vice President
Joe Biden, Executive Office
Bldg. Washington, D. C.
20501
vice_president@white
house.gov
U.S. Senator
Kay Bailey Hutchison, 284
Russell Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, D. C. 20510
(202)224-5922
www.hutchison.senate.gov
U. S. Senator
John Cornyn, 370 Russell
Senate Office Bid.
Washington, D. C. 20510
*(202)224-2934
www.cornyn.senate.gov
U. S. Representative '
Mike Conaway, Dist. 11
511 Cannon House Office
Bid.
Washington, D. C. 20515
(202) 225-3605
Llano office - (325) 247-
2826,
www.conaway.house.gov
Texas Govenor
Rick Perry
P. 0. Box 12428
Austin, TX 78711
(512) 463-2000
www.g o ve rnor.state.tx. us
State Senator
Troy Fraser, Dist. 24
P.0. Box 12068
Capitol Station
Austin, TX 78711
(512) 463-0124
State Representative
Doug Miller
doug.miller@house.state.tx
.us
P.0. Box 2910
Austin, TX 78768-2910
(512)463-0325
Countv Judge
Mark Stroeher
101 W. Main
Fredericksburg, TX 78624
(830) 997-7503
Countv Sheriff
Buddy Mills
1601 E. Main
Fredericksburg, TX 78624
Countv Commissioner. Pet 5
Billy Roeder
101 W. Main
Fredericksbug, TX 78624
(830) 997-7503
Copies of the
Harper News are
available
in these fine Harper
stores:
Waldos,
Behrends Feed at
Bode’s, Dauna’s, and
the Longhorn Cafe.
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Stevens, Martha. The Harper News (Harper, Tex.), Vol. 8, No. 6, Ed. 1 Friday, January 21, 2011, newspaper, January 21, 2011; Harper, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth844768/m1/3/: accessed July 9, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Harper Library.