HollyWild

06/02/2026

Thanks to everyone that joined our joint spring migration hike with the Memphis chapter of TN Ornithological Society (MTOS) and HollyWild last month at Wall Doxey. A great spread of backgrounds and ages (across 8 decades) explored the Marshall County treasure of Wall Doxey State Park.
While we’re saddened the park was unable to open for this years annual firefly tours, we’re looking forward to more guided hikes and programs in partnership with the wonderful Wall Doxey mangers when the park fully reopens.
We had over 54 species, including: yellow-billed cuckoo; eastern wood peewee; eastern phoebe; Acadian and great crested flycatcher; eastern kingbird, white-eyed, red-eyed, yellow-throated, and Philadelphia vireo; blue-gray gnatcatcher; orchard and Baltimore oriole; worm-eating, Prothonotary, northern yellow, Swainson’s, Tennessee, Kentucky, hooded, pine, blackpoll, and yellow-throated warbler; northern parula; summer tanager; eastern bluebird; grey catbird; brown thrasher; northern rough-winged, barn, and cliff swallow; pileated, red-headed, and red-bellied woodpecker; northern flicker and more.

06/02/2026

Biodiversity in Progress!
Ophelia and our community conservation crew was quite busy over the winter, getting a few more properties downtown setup with our pollinator scorecard designed seed mixes using historic Marshall County species.
If you’re interested in converting your ornamental turf to habitat using our designed HollyWild mixes, email us HollyWildMS at gmail. We have mixes designed for all the Delta, hill county and central MS ecoregions.
Stay tuned for more updates soon as we’re planning for summer garden tours as well as an education day at the Marshall County Farmers Market as we move into our summer bloom season!

05/20/2026

Some of the Marshall County Master Gardeners met at Byhalia Town Hall to add pine straw to the trees that were planted last November. Way to help beautify Marshall County! 👏👏

05/09/2026

Where else can you get local grown produce, beef, and crafts and hear live music from the late, legendary Junior Kimbrough’s acclaimed son Robert Kimbrough Sr? Only in Holly Springs!

Come out today to the Marshall County farmers market on the historic downtown Holly Springs square! Say hey to our friends John Heineke and our old pals Robin and Bill Hampton and their stunning fresh cut flowers!

05/08/2026

We won’t be able to make it over toward the Blackbelt Prairie and New Albany to join the festivities at Pollinator Palooza but encourage EVERYONE to stop by between 10-3 Saturday, May 9 to experience this charming and warm event.
The Ballard’s family-owned operation is a MS gem and the best selection of native plants in the state, bettering our collective landscapes and habitat connectivity one yard at a time.
Many of our favorite friends will be present exhibiting and answering all you questions. Don’t leave before visiting with and hear her remarkable community conservation story; be sure to ask all your burning native plants questions to ; and give a kind hello to Holly Springs own, Sandy, the butterfly lady, a Hill Country host plant fanatic that donated many of the first plants to our Marshall County Public Library public gardens last year.

05/08/2026

Wall Doxey managers have given permission for another birding hike with our partners, Memphis Chapter of TN Ornithological Society and MS Ornithological Society SATURDAY, MAY 9TH 8 AM - 10 AM.
The park is still closed to the general public, so DM us or email HollyWildMS at gmail to share access details and more!

04/26/2026

04/26/2026

Another fantastic outing, the 2nd of our 4-part Beginning Birding Series with and at Wall Doxey State Park. Thank to everyone who came out to share, learn, and explore one of north Mississippi’s true jewels.
We were delighted by lovely views of prothonotary warbler, eastern phoebe, yellow-rumped warbler, great blue heron, Mississippi kite, barn swallow, and great-crested flycatcher, as well as many serenades from red-eyed, white-eyed and yellow-throated vireo, wood thrush, summer and scarlet tanager, indigo bunting, northern parula, yellow-throated, hooded, worm-eating, Swainson’s and Kentucky warbler, common yellowthroat, orchard oriole and more.
Huge thanks to and Wall Doxey managers and staff for letting us use the park as they work diligently to reopen to the public.
We’re hoping for more guided bird hikes this summer and bringing it to downtown Holly springs at Spring Hollow in Ida B. Wells Park. Stay tuned!

04/24/2026

Feeling grateful to our community showing up today to help clear the remaining trails at Wall Doxey State Park, which is still closed due to Winter Storm Fern. Partnering with park managers, who have been working tirelessly since February, we were able to completely clear all of the Spring Lake Trail, just in time for our Beginning Biding Series with and tomorrow!

Louisiana waterthrush; Swainson’s, prothonotary, hooded, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Nashville warbler; red-eyed, white-eyed, blue-headed and yellow-throated vireo; wood thrush; northern parula; red-breasted grosbeak and more were all serenading and inspiring our labors.

While there’s still much work to be done, including repairing the foot bridge near the source springs,🤞🤞🤞we hope the park will be fully open to the public for our annual Firefly Tours in late May - early June, but it’s a day to day decision at this point. Those annual tours feature our seven species of fireflies, including the famous synchronous fireflies, Photuris frontalis, and local celebrity, the cypress firefly, Photuris walldoxeyi, a new species discovered by Lynn Faust’s team in 2017 and named after the park.

We’ll keep you posted on any updates for the fireflies this summer

10/02/2025