Beginning With the River

Friday, March 1, 2013

San Antonio River, Roosevelt Park Trailhead, upstream along the Eagleland Reach

Today's: photos:

I began While on a Walk with a walk along the San Antonio River. It got the blog off to a very good start. I really couldn't think of a better location to begin the journey through the next 500 posts.

The Eagleland Reach from S Alamo St  to Lone Star Blvd was the "proving ground" for the Mission Reach restoration project downstream. This is where the initial feasibility studies were done to prove that the reconfiguration of the fluvial geomorphology of the river could be successfully accomplished within the constraints of the flood control channel. So this is where the entire River Restoration Project began.

• The first photo is a Cowpen Daisy. At least that's what I think it is. The yellow asters can be notoriously difficult to distinguish one from another. Not to mention, I really like the name "Cowpen Daisy." (Update, March 2, 2013, 11:15 PM: My go to person for plant identification tells me this flower is NOT Cowpen Daisy. He assures me this is actually (more than likely?) Slender Greenthread, Thelesperma simplicifolium Grey. I had a hunch when I took this photo I was about to learn a little more about plant identification. Though, I still really like the name "Cowpen Daisy." )
• The second and third photos are Guadalupe Spiny Softshell Turtles. It was a very good day to be out enjoying the sun.
• The fourth photo is a Pied-billed Grebe. (Update, March 24, 2013, 5:05 PM: I'm not sure how I missed this one when I originally posted this, but I had mistakenly identified this grebe as a juvenile American coot.)
• The fifth photo is an American Coot.
• The sixth and seventh photos are a Great Blue Heron.
• The eighth photo is an overview of the river channel as the river comes out of a bend. The low rock wall along the river bank on the outside of the curve is an example of one restoration technique that was used along the Eagleland reach. This wall minimizes erosion on the cut bank side of the river. Its design and use of material compliment the surrounding landscape architecture while fulfilling a specific hydrologic function.
• The ninth photo is a damselfly. There were numerous damselflies of a wide range of species active along the river. I have a lot to learn about identifying damselflies and dragonflies, but this appears to me to be a female Blue-fronted Dancer (Argia apicalis). I may not have the species correct, but I am reasonably certain this one is in the Genus, Argia.
• The tenth and eleventh photos are my friend, the Red-shouldered Hawk keeping an eye on me from a perch in a Bald Cypress on the opposite side of the river.