Springing Up in the Basin, Part 2

Thursday, March 28, 2013

This is the remainder of the photos taken on my walk along the Hondondo Creek Trails yesterday (March 27, 2013):

• The first photo is a Dewberry flower. I thought there would be a lot more Dewberry, and there might be, but this is the only one I found.
• The second photo is Greenbriar, also known as "nature's barbed wire." This vine is very common in wooded areas in South Texas. In some locations, it is difficult to walk through a wooded area because this vine has numerous very sharp prickles that have been known to cut through the pant legs of inexperienced (and at times, experienced) hikers. The tender young leaves of this vine make a tea that is very high in vitamin C.
• The third photo is Guayacan, also known as Soapbush. This shrub is more commonly found in the South Texas Plains and Northern Mexico, but grows as far north as Austin. It is called Soapbush because the bark of the roots was frequently used to make soap for washing wool.
• The fourth photo is a close up of the flower buds of the Wafer Ash, also known as Hoptree. The first two names are derived from the shape of the seeds. This shrub is actually in the Citrus family, not the Ash family. It is also sometimes called Skunk Bush because of the odor emitted by its leaves when they are crushed.
• The fifth through seventh photos are close ups of the flowers on a Texas Persimmon tree. The fruit of the Texas Persimmon is edible, but the tree is usually used in landscaping because of its beautiful, very smooth bark. This is an excellent native plant substitute for crepe myrtle. 
• The eighth through tenth photos are a Black-crested Titmouse. This bird remained perched just long enough for a brief portrait session.
• Unfortunately, the titmouse was perched on a very large Ligustrum, also known as Glossy Privet. Ligustrum are, by far, the predominant invasive plant species in the Olmos Basin. They have taken over large areas of woodland, completely crowding out native hardwoods. As can be seen in these photos, this shrub is loaded with berries, many of which are going to continue the rapid proliferation of this plant.

Springing Up in the Basin, Part 1

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Hondondo Creek Trails (Judson Nature Trails), Olmos Basin in Alamo Heights

Today's photos:

About three years ago, the City of Alamo Heights began consideration of ways to improve and expand the nature trails along Hondondo and Olmos Creeks. These trails have been maintained by the San Antonio Audubon Society as the Jack Judson Nature Trails. The non-profit organization, The Friends of Hondondo Creek Trails was formed soon after Alamo Heights began the planning process. In conjunction with the San Antonio Audubon Society, they have begun initial work on improving the trail system.

• The first photo is a Huisache tree in full bloom near the entrance to the trail system.
• The second through fourth photos are close ups of the flowers on a Rough-leaf Dogwood tree.
• The fifth photo is a Honey Bee on a Baby Blue-eyes flower.
• The sixth and seventh photos are a Fox Squirrel that seemed to be as interested in what I was doing as I was interested in photographing it.
• The eighth photo is a Scarlet Sage.
• The ninth photo is of newly set Sugar Hackberry leaves brilliantly illuminated by the sun.
• The tenth photo is a Pearl Crescent butterfly. The two small yellow flowers  are Straggler Daisies. This tiny daisy is a very common native ground cover. They are frequently considered lawn weeds, but actually make an excellent drought and shade tolerant ground cover that rarely require supplemental watering.
• The eleventh through the fourteenth photos are close ups of Mexican Buckeye flowers and newly set leaves.
• The fifteenth and sixteenth photos are Baby Blue-eyes. These native flowers also do very well growing in the shade. They are typically found as ground cover in wooded areas.

This series of photos is continued in part 2.

The Measure of Success, A Brief Reprise

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

The emphasis in the previous post, "Ecosystems Are Not Abstract Concepts," was clearly on the wildflowers currently blooming along the Mission Reach of the San Antonio River. The riparian habitat restoration began with the reconfiguration of the geomorphology of the river channel. This was quickly followed by establishing a diverse growth of vegetation to stabilize the soil and provide food for a wide variety of fauna.

As I pointed out in the post on Sunday, February 3, 2013, "The Measure of Success, A Sunday Special Edition," both the total number of birds and the high diversity of their species now living along the river are among the best indicators of the effectiveness of this process thus far.

Also, one primary objective of the restoration process is to provide habitat for the migratory birds along the Central North American Flyway.  The Blue-winged Teal and Yellowlegs are two birds that are in this category.

Here are four of the numerous species of birds I encountered on my walk yesterday: 

• The first three photos are Blue-winged Teal. These teal will soon likely be headed north for the summer, but a few are content to remain in the area year-round.
• The fourth through sixth photos are a Lesser Yellowlegs. This is another bird that will likely be searching for cooler weather to the north for the summer.
• The seventh through the ninth photos are a Killdeer. The killdeer are content to put up with our crazy weather year-round.
• The tenth through fourteenth photos are a Great Blue Heron. The great blues also stay year-round. From what I have seen, these birds are the most territorial of all the river birds. I have a feeling they put up with our weather all year simply because they aren't about to risk losing a prime nesting site to any other bird. Whenever I see a great blue up fairly close, I always get the impression they are the "angry old man" shouting "Get off my lawn!"

Ecosystems Are Not Abstract Concepts

Monday, March 25, 2013

San Antonio River, Mission Reach, Concepcíon Park Trailhead
between the confluence with Concepcíon Creek downstream and
the first riffle beyond the pedestrian footbridge upstream

Today's photos:

To make sense of the world we live in, to give it meaning and manage our lives, we make abstractions of the reality within which we live. We discuss ecosystems in terms of whether it is riparian or upland. What grasses, forbs, trees and fauna live in the ecosystem? What stage of woody succession has the ecosystem achieved and has it reached its likely climax stage? How is the fragmentation of habitat from our developing the land impacting the ecosystem? The questions and the abstractions required to answer them are endless.

This process of abstraction is critically important in understanding the world within which we live. But then we set foot on the trail and suddenly realize an "ecosystem" is, in fact, a living, breathing biotic community whose life far exceeds our ability to contain it in abstractions. We are quickly confronted by the ineffable and reminded, as was Thoreau, that "in Wildness is the preservation of the World."*

• The first two photos are Texas Indian Paintbrush. I didn't realize until I began searching for the link for this flower how many species there are in the Genus Castilleja. Lady Bird Johnson and the Texas Department of Transportation are largely responsible for this species, Castilleja indivisa Engelm., growing along the Texas highways throughout the state.
• The third photo is an overview of the River not far downstream from the Theo Ave bridge. I included this photo here for two reasons. First, it shows a young Black Willow tree and two Sycamore saplings growing on the edge of the river bank. The roots of these trees are already stabilizing the soil along the bank and preventing erosion. As they grow larger, the trees will increasingly provide shade on the river, cooling the water and improving its aquatic habitat.
• The second reason for including this third photo is that it gives a fairly accurate impression of the current state of the vegetation along much of the river. The wildflowers shown in close up in the other photos, for the most part, are growing in clusters along the river. Hopefully, we will get a significant rain soon that will yield a lush growth of vegetation.
• The fourth photo is an eye to eye look at a Gulf Fritillary butterfly.
• The fifth photo is a Texas Dandelion growing next to a cluster of Baby Blue Eyes.
• The sixth photo is another Texas Dandelion. This flower's common name is based on the fact it is a native plant to much of Texas and it resembles a dandelion, although it is in a different Genus from true dandelions. It is an interesting coincidence that when the flowers are used to make dye, this bright yellow flower yields a University of Texas burnt orange dye color.
• The seventh and eighth photos are Bluebonnets. There is a Ladybug on one of the plants that particularly stands out because of the color contrast between the bright orange-red of the insect and the blue of the flowers.
• The ninth photo is a Scrambled Eggs. Note there is an insect on the right center flower.  This appears to me to be a "sweat bee" in the Genus Lassioglossum, but don't quote me on that.
• The tenth photo is  a group of slider turtles enjoying a Monday afternoon get together on a midstream rock to celebrate the warmth of the sun. The two turtles on the right are Red-eared Sliders. The turtle on the right is a slider, but it looks more like a Big Bend Slider. I don't know if the Big Bend Sliders have found their way this far east or if this one "hitched a ride" with a tourist who didn't know better than to move animals from one region to another. This turtle is definitely not a Red-eared Slider.
• The eleventh photo is one of the damselflies commonly found along the River. I am fairly certain this one is in the Genus Argia. It appears to me to be a Sooty Dancer (Argia lugens).
• The twelfth photo is a windblown Snowy Egret on a large rock at the top of a riffle.
• The thirteenth photo is a Scarlet Sage. These bright red flowers stand out from the background clutter making them easy to spot along the river bank.
• The fourteenth and fifteenth photos are Whitebrush also known as Bee Brush. A honey bee conveniently flew through the field of view in the fifteenth photo.
• The sixteenth and seventeenth photos are Pink Evening Primrose all aglow with the translucent light of the sun passing through them. Translucence always gives a dramatic edge to a photograph. In nature photography, I think it serves particularly well to visually symbolize the "inner light" of the life that is within us and within all of creation. 

* I think it's worth mentioning here, Thoreau goes on in his essay, Walking, to write: "The cities import [the Wildness] at any price." The total cost budgeted for the San Antonio River Improvement Project is 358.3 million dollars. I doubt Thoreau ever imagined a city would ever pay that high a price to import (or in this case, restore) Wildness, but the benefits this project provides the community are, quite literally, priceless.