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.

Continuous Adaptation, Celebrating the 500th Post, Featuring The Red-tailed Hawk at Elmendorf Lake

Thursday, February 28, 2013

One year, nine months and two weeks after beginning While on a Walk, this blog has reached its 500th post. I gather from my blogging friends this is something of a major accomplishment. It has certainly been a test of endurance and persistence.

I had know idea when I began the blog on May 15, 2011 how long it would last or where it would take me. Where it has taken me is on one of the most incredible journeys I could have ever imagined. As far as I can see now, the journey will continue for quite some time.

There is no "are we there yet?" The journey is about process, not destination. One thing I can say with relative certainty is that, as with life itself, the process is one of continuous adaptation.

While on a Walk originated from my simple need to remain active, physically and mentally, following retirement. As it has turned out, I am far more active now than I ever was when I was working. The blog has actually become something of a supplement to all those other activities. In this regard, it has also become a way for me to document the flora and fauna I encounter living in Bexar County.

More importantly, While on a Walk has been and will continue to be a celebration of life through a love of nature and the wildlife living here. If Austinites want to "Keep Austin Weird" that's fine with me. I would much prefer to "Keep San Antonio Wild".

I probably should have given more thought as to which photos to include in this 500th post, but I have to admit, it rather snuck up on me. I was thinking I would reach 500 early next week, but here I am already. Fortunately, I do have any number of series of photographs from previous walks that I have yet to publish.

Among all these photos are three or four more series of birds at Elmendorf Lake. Given my love of the raptors and especially my identification with red-shouldered and red-tailed hawks, I decided it would be particularly relevant to feature in this post the juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk* I photographed on my walk around the lake on Monday, January 7, 2013:

* Correction, May 27, 2016: In the original post this bird was incorrectly identified as a Red-tailed Hawk. The two species are very similar and, at times, easily confused with each other.

Just This Side of Heaven

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Salado Creek Greenway, Lady Bird Johnson Park Trailhead
downstream on the natural surface trail along the east bank
and back on the paved trail along the west bank

Today's photos:

Off the top of my head, I can't remember walking anywhere else since beginning While on a Walk where I am more hesitant to publish photographs than I am from this location. The area where the spring seeps out of this cliff and is surrounded by the Maidenhair Fern is one of the most fragile and sensitive habitats I have photographed in Bexar County.

The rock formation around the spring has taken a very long time to form on the side of the cliff. The flora and fauna live in a delicate balance, nurtured by the water seeping out from the limestone.

The natural surface trail that parallels the base of the cliff is primarily used by joggers and cyclists who pass through without causing much harm. My concern is that enough people have hiked up the short, steep slope to get closer to this feature that they have left an obvious path. It would be fairly easy for the San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department to use natural barrier material to make close access much more difficult, but still leave the feature open to view from the trail below.

Having said that, I posted this set of photos because this trail is just this side of heaven for a nature hiker. All I ask of anyone seeing this post and then hiking the trail is to keep in mind how unique, precious and delicate the location really is.

• The first, second and third photos are a male Northern Cardinal. There was a fairly large flock of cardinals flying among the trees, but this was the only one that seemed to have any interest in sitting still long enough for a portrait.
• The fourth through the tenth photos are the spring with the Maidenhair Fern and moss growing around it. In the sixth photo there is a pair of Lesser Goldfinches. The male is fairly obvious. The female is sitting just inside the opening in the rock to the right of the male. The seventh photo is a closer view of the male goldfinch.
• The eleventh and twelfth photos are close ups of Hawthorn blossoms. This tree was recently planted. There are several species of hawthorn, so hopefully they planted the Texas Hawthorn. It was covered with the beautiful white flowers, but I can't tell one species from another from the flower.
• The thirteenth and fourteenth photos are close ups of Texas Mountain Laurel flowers. The flower buds are just beginning to open in the thirteenth photo.

Widely Scattered Flowers

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

The very high wind yesterday was powered by another very powerful cold front. It brought blizzard conditions to the Texas Panhandle and points east, but all we got here was the wind and a return to seasonally normal temperatures. Our seasonally normal temperatures are pleasantly mild by much of the rest of the country's standards. It was a reminder that winter isn't quite ready to completely relinquish its grip.

As I have pointed out in several recent posts, the late winter, early spring wildflowers are beginning to appear along the trails. They are still widely scattered. Generally, one must specifically search for them.

This set of photos was taken on my walk along the Mission Reach of the San Antonio River yesterday (Monday, February 25, 2013). I would venture a guess that the cyclists riding by along the trail would not have seen any of these flowers:

If we don't have a widespread, soaking rain by the end of March, my forecast is for widely scattered flowers to continue through Spring.

• The first photo is a Mealy Blue Sage.
• The second and third photos are Scrambled Eggs. For real; that is one of its common names. It is also known as Curvepod and Golden Smoke.
• The fourth, fifth and sixth photos are Pink Evening Primrose.
• The seventh and eighth photos are another two flower heads on a Mealy Blue Sage.
• The ninth and tenth photos* are Shepherd's Purse. This is a weed originally from Eurasia. From my perspective, it is beautifully photogenic with its long, curvaceous branches.
• The eleventh through the fourteenth photos are Texas Bluebonnets, the State Flower of Texas.

* Updated February 27, 2013 at 1:34 PM. Shepherd's purse is a distant cousin of Peppergrass as I had identified this plant in the original post.  I didn't think the leaves looked quite right to be peppergrass, but I couldn't find an alternative match in any of my field guides. A special note of thanks goes to Floyd Waller for the correct identification.

Wind Blown

Monday, February 25, 2013

San Antonio River, Mission Reach, Concepcíon Park Trailhead
the downstream loop trail

Today's photos:

The weather story today here in Bexar County was the high wind. This afternoon while I was walking, the wind was blowing at about 28 mph sustained with gusts between 40 and 45 mph. There were a few grass fires around the area (one with fatalities), but falling trees and blowing debris were the bigger problems.

It seemed to me the River greenway trail was probably the safest place for a walk. The primary disadvantage was there are few windbreaks along the open river channel. Holding the camera steady enough to take the photos was quite a challenge at times. But then, just standing up in the higher wind gusts was also a challenge.

In spite of the wind, I still took at least as many photos on this walk as I usually do on any walk along the River. This is just a sample. There are enough photos for two more posts in the near future.

• The first two photos are Purple Threeawn. The wind was furiously lashing the grass around almost flattening it to the ground at times.
• In the third and fourth photos, the tall dense stand of Cattail provided a windbreak on the river bank. A couple of Northern Shovelers, a few Gadwalls and a Little Blue Heron took advantage of a respite from the wind in its shelter.
• The fifth and sixth photos are of a Pink Evening Primrose. Like all the other plants, this flower was taking a fairly severe beating as the wind whipped it around.
• The seventh and eighth photos are a Snowy Egret.
• The ninth through thirteenth photos are two Lesser Yellowlegs. There were several lesser yellowlegs feeding in the wind whipped water flowing down one of the riffles.
• The fourteenth and fifteenth photos are a male Gadwall swimming in the rough, wind blown water at the center of the River channel.
• The sixteenth and seventeenth photos are of three Killdeer. Along with the lesser yellowlegs, there were numerous killdeer. In the sixteenth photo, the killdeer that was flying higher above the water was having some difficulty navigating a wind gust, but it landed on a rock without any apparent difficulty. (They showed some planes landing at SA International Airport on the evening news. The large jumbo jets seemed to be having similar problems as they approached the runway.)
• The eighteenth photo is a Loggerhead Shrike. It had a tight grip on the tree branch. If shrikes are concerned about such things, this one was definitely having a "bad feather day."