River Turtles

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Two general types of turtles live in the San Antonio River: spiny softshell turtles and slider turtles. There are probably more species of turtles along the river than I am aware of, but I know the majority of the softshell turtles are Guadalupe Spiny Softshells. I think I read somewhere that softshell turtles have the longest necks of all the turtles. The slider turtles are almost all, if not all, Red-eared Sliders.

On a sunny day, both types of turtles come out of the water, climbing up on the river bank and on rocks and even on top of each other to soak in the warmth of the sun. On other waterways, they will also be on logs, but given the lack of trees along the Mission Reach of the San Antonio River at this early stage of the restoration process, there are no logs that have fallen in the river.

The following four photos were taken on my walk on Friday, March 15, 2013. The first three photos are Guadalupe Spiny Softshell Turtles and the fourth photo is a Red-eared Slider Turtle:

Springing Back to "Normal"

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

San Antonio River, Mission Reach, Padre Park Trailhead,
between the embayment upstream and downstream
beyond San Juan Dam and into Padre Park

Today's photos:

The first day of Spring blew in with the arrival of another cold front, dropping the temperature back to a seasonally "normal" range. There is a pattern to these temperature fluctuations that has a lot to do with the topography of the region. It really is predictable.

As a cold front approaches from the west or northwest, the wind ahead of the front shifts, coming from the west or southwest. Wind from those directions blows off the mountains of West Texas and Northern Mexico, so it is a downsloping wind that heats up as it descends off of the mountains. This is known as the downslope effect. Thus, two days or so before the arrival of a cold front, temperatures "normally" get unseasonably warm (hot).

Anyway, hot or cold, what better place is there to celebrate the first day of Spring than the Mission Reach of the San Antonio River?

• The first photo is a Pipevine Swallowtail. This butterfly was skimming across the ground, constantly beating its wings as swallowtails typically do. It never did perch, so I took a lot of frames hoping one might come out sharp enough to post. Fortunately, I was able to get this photo with its wings fully spread open.
• The second and third photos are a Double-crested Cormorant that has just caught a fish.
• The fourth photo is a Black-bellied Whistling Duck.
• The fifth photo is a Great Egret. There were a lot of birds flying along the river channel today.
• The sixth photo was taken looking upstream from San Juan Dam. The brand new pavilions at Mission County Park can be seen on the very left edge of the photo. The large building on the right side of the photo is the old hotel building at the Hot Wells Resort that was very popular in the early 1900s. Apparently, President Teddy Roosevelt did visit this resort on his trips to San Antonio.
• The seventh and eighth photos are a cluster of Coreopsis. The eighth photo is a closer view of the same plants in the seventh photo. If one looks closely at the top most flower in this close up, there is a Banded Hairstreak enjoying some nectar from the flower. The color pattern around the center of these flowers is very distinctive. I have been trying to determine which species these might be, but can't find any Coreopsis photos that precisely match this particular pattern.
• The ninth photo is an overview of the river with a Great Egret standing on the edge of the embayment on the west side of the river upstream from San Juan Dam. All I could see from this vantage point was its long neck and head.
• The tenth through the thirteenth photos are an American Wigeon (Anas americana). This duck is a close cousin of the Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata). When seen from a distance, it is easy to mistake one for the other.
• The fourteenth photo is, the best I can determine, a Fiery Skipper on a blade of grass. I have come to the conclusion that the skippers are to butterflies what sparrows are to birds; very difficult to identify one species from another. I think the only hope at "camouflage" this skipper has in this location is that maybe a predator would think it is a bright orange flower.
• The fifteenth photo is some high cirrus clouds that followed the cold front in the jet stream.

Northern Shoveler

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

The Northern Shoveler is one of the most common ducks in Bexar County right now. Any place there is a large enough body of water, there will likely be at least a few of these birds. I photographed this family of Shovelers on my walk along the Mission Reach of the San Antonio River last Friday (March 15, 2013).

Northern Shovelers are dabbling ducks. They are sometimes called Spoonbills. They strain plant material out of the water by skimming their large, spatulate shaped bill through the water:

I Would Tell You It's Hot, But It's South Texas (So, What's the Point?)

Monday, March 18, 2013

Salado Creek Greenway South, South Side Lions Park Trailhead
upstream to the second pedestrian bridge north of Roland Ave

Today's photos:

It may be two days before the beginning of Spring which means it's still officially Winter, but (as I have pointed out so often on this blog) this is South Texas. Summer never recedes very far and today it came roaring back with a record high temperature for the date of 95º (F).

So, the point is averages don't mean much here. We can easily get more than a month's average rainfall in less than 24 hours. If that is the only rain event for the entire month, we have still exceeded the "average" monthly rainfall. We aren't very likely to have a string of cold days in the middle of Summer, but a string of hot days in Winter is not at all unusual.

More specifically for this walk, the point is that the tree canopy made the experience much more enjoyable by lowering the temperature ten to fifteen degrees along the trail. I could digress with a discussion of the importance of tree canopy in the urban environment and how improved urban water drainage methods could increase soil moisture levels through the use of enhanced infiltration techniques, but I'll save all that for other occasions.

• The first photo is the trunk of a Honey Mesquite tree growing in the wooded upland area above the creek.
• The second and third photos are a Pearl Crescent. It wasn't sitting still in any one location for very long. The third photo is one of few were I have successfully photographed a butterfly in flight.
• The fourth through sixth photos are of a skipper butterfly feeding on Prairie Verbena. There are several skippers that look very much alike. The best I can tell, this is a Julia's Skipper.
• The seventh photo is a very tall Huisache tree in full bloom. There are so many Huisache blooming along this section of Salado Creek, the air is permeated with fragrance of the flowers.
• The eighth photo is Baby Blue Eyes. I think they are one of the most abundant wildflowers in bloom in Bexar County right now.
• The ninth photo is a view of the creek bank as seen looking downstream from the second pedestrian bridge north of Roland Ave. This is how a very healthy stream bank should look. The dense vegetation is growing on an area of deposition and very effectively preventing it from eroding.
• The tenth and eleventh photos are of Mexican Buckeye. This isn't a true buckeye, but its seeds resemble buckeye seeds. Mexican Buckeye is actually in the Soapberry Family.
• The twelfth photo is a view of the creek looking downstream under the Roland Ave bridge that is currently under construction. As with the ninth photo, this is a very healthy riparian ecosystem at this location.
• The thirteenth photo is an overview of another upland wooded area with a Huisache dominating the center of the photo.
• The fourteenth photo is a stand of mixed hardwood trees. This is the type of tree canopy that can easily lower the ambient temperature by ten, fifteen, sometimes even twenty degrees.
• The fifteenth through seventeenth photos are of a Texas Rose-bellied Lizard thoroughly enjoying the warmth (heat) of the late afternoon.

Red Buckeye at Walker Ranch, A Monday Supplement

Monday, March 18, 2013

Red Buckeye is prolific along Panther Spring Creek in Walker Ranch Historic Landmark Natural Area. This shrub sheds its leaves in mid to late summer, but rapidly develops large leaf buds. These buds remain dormant until late winter.

Early in March, the buckeye rapidly sets its new leaves and begins to blossom with red flowers that resemble exploding firecrackers. Thus, another common name for this buckeye is Firecracker Plant. On my walk along the Panther Spring Creek Trail last Wednesday (March 13, 2013), the buckeye stood out among the surrounding vegetation. Some of the shrubs were just beginning to set new leaves, while others where in full bloom: