HOBBS HAPPENINGS
Birds N Breakfast scheduled
Once again our feathered friends will be at center stage at Hobbs State Park — Conservation Area during our third annual program series: Birds N Breakfast. Come enjoy a cup of coffee or juice and have a muffin with the birds. Have you ever seen all the feathers of a goldfinch, chickadee or other songbird up close? Well, this is your chance. Don’t forget your camera.
From 9 to 10:30 a.m. the Wildlife Society of the University of Arkansas will be catching song birds, handling them so the public can really see them, and then releasing them back into the wild. Learn about how this type of research has taught us many things we now know about birds.
Where: Hobbs State Park — Conservation Area Visitor Center
When: 9-10:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 14
Cost: Breakfast and activities FREE — Registration not required.
Arkansas Fossils discussed
What is a fossil? It is simply the preserved remains of a plant or animal. In Arkansas, most of our fossils are of marine animals, which means that millions of years ago the land that is now Arkansas was once under shallow oceans.
The next time you see one of those limestone bluffs along the streams in north Arkansas, just think that what you are really looking at is a pile of fossil fragments all cemented together. A marine animal called a crinoid is the most common fossil found in these rocks and typically makes up 60 to 98 percent of the local limestone.
The types of fossils contained in the rocks reveals clues about the age of the rock and the different environments of the past. The fossils found in Arkansas range in age from over 500 million years ago to as recently as just 1,000 years ago. The latter have taken the name “young fossils.”
A new fossil
We have a state flower, a state tree, etc., and now we have a state dinosaur. The fossilized bones of our state dinosaur were found in Early Cretaceous Age rocks from approximately 146 to 100 million years ago. The Arkansas legislature designated Arkansaurus fridayi as the official state dinosaur in 2017 thanks to efforts made by student Mason “Cypress” Oury of Fayetteville High School.
Join John David McFarland, fossil expert, as he presents fascinating facts about fossils found in different parts of the state. He will also bring a collection of Arkansas fossils to view.
McFarland retired as chief geologist from the Arkansas Geological Survey after more than 30 years of service. During those years he published more than 60 abstracts, articles, photographs, guidebooks, and reports in various venues relating to diverse aspects
of the state’s geology.
Where: Hobbs State Park Visitor Center
When: 2 p.m. Sunday, April 8
Cost: Free — The public/ families are invited
This program is a continuation of the Friends of Hobbs Speaker Series.
Sallyann Brown to Head Fly Fishing Workshop
Those who wish to learn the basics of fly casting will want to attend the Fly Casting 101 workshop to be held at the Hobbs State Park — Conservation Area visitor center from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, April 29.
Two hours of instruction will be in the classroom, and two hours will be outside. Participants will learn four basic casts, the six basic types of flies, (lures) how to cast and “play” the
flies in the water, how to read water, how to wade, how to purchase and assemble your equipment, how to store your equipment, as well as how to tie the four basic knots used by fly fishers. All equipment will be provided.
The workshop will be taught by Sallyann Brown, past recipient of the “Woman of the Year” and the “Federation of Fly Fishers Educator of the Year” awards from the Federation of Fly Fishers, Inc.
When: noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, April 29
Where: The workshop will be held at the Hobbs State Park visitor center Minimum age is 12 years. Cost: $35 per person + tax. Reservations and prepayment required.
For questions, and to register call: 479-789-5000.