Quite Simply Complex

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

San Antonio River, Mission Reach, Mission Rd Trailhead upstream

Today's photos:

As I had anticipated, this week is giving me a total immersion in the River experience. It is going to take some time for me to get my head around it all. This set of photos is a very small sample of all the photos I have from the walk today:

• The first photo is Pink Evening Primrose, Purple Threeawn Grass and Lanceleaf Coreopsis all growing in close proximity to each other.
• The second photo is a flower in the genus Coreopsis. It appears to be in the Golden-wave group of species, but I have no idea which one it might be.
• The third photo is Water Hemlock. This plant is extremely toxic (think Socrates). Physical contact with the plant should be avoided. There are dense clusters of the plants growing along the river bank in various locations.
• The fourth photo is a Huisache Daisy flower.
• The fifth photo is a slider turtle and a Neotropic Cormorant.
• The sixth photo is a Lesser Yellowlegs with breeding plumage.
• The seventh photo is Mealy Blue Sage.
• The eighth photo is a Texas Dandelion flower. I think I mentioned in a previous post, this flower can be used to make a burnt orange colored dye.
• The ninth photo is an American Basket Flower flower bud.
• The tenth photo is a Cliff Swallow flying low over the river. There were numerous Cliff Swallows out catching insects today. Note: Updated April 15, 2013, 10:15 AM: When I originally posted this photo, I misidentified this bird as a Barn Swallow. Cliff swallows and barn swallows look very similar in flight except their tails have different shapes. The swallow in this photo appears to have the forked tail typical of the barn swallow. Looking very close at the photo, however, I realized what appears to be part of its tail is actually a ripple on the water. The tail on this bird is very difficult to see, but looking at other photos in the series, I realized all the swallows flying over the River at this time were cliff swallows.
• The eleventh photo is a hillside covered with Pink Evening Primrose.
• The twelfth photo is a Spotted Sandpiper.

An Encounter with a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

I find the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher to be one of the most beautiful and graceful of birds. As with most flycatchers, they tend to return to the same perch every time they fly off to catch their prey in mid flight. This habitual behavior makes it relatively easy to photograph them:

This set of photos was taken on my walk along Leon Creek on Monday, April 1, 2013.

Meanwhile, Back Along the Yanaguana…

Monday, April 8, 2013

San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, Mission San Juan Capistrano,
Yanaguana Nature Trail

Today's photos:

My schedule this week will keep me very busy along the Mission Reach of the San Antonio River. I figured the best place to begin the week would be on the Yanaguana Nature Trail at Mission San Juan.

The San Antonio River Greenway trail section between San Juan Dam and San Juan Mission was opened about a week ago, so this is currently the southern most location on the Greenway. The final section of the trail south to Mission Espada is scheduled to open this Fall.

• The first photo is a Coreopsis flower. Coreopsis is a genus with at least twenty-five species. This flower could be any of at least three species all having the common name Golden-wave.
• The second photo is a branch of a Retama tree, also known as Paloverde. The Retama are just beginning to bloom.
• The third and fourth photos are of a Mason Bee, probably Osmia ribifloris, on Hedge Parsley, also known as Beggar's Tick. This plant is a noxious weed that, unfortunately, is growing in great abundance along the Yanaguana trail. Bees of numerous species, however, were taking full advantage of the nectar in all these flowers.
• The fifth photo is a False Dayflower.
• The sixth and seventh photos are close ups of leaves of an Anacua tree. This is also known as a Sandpaper tree because the silica deposits in the leaves make them feel like sandpaper. The rough sandpaper texture of the leaf can be seen fairly well in the seventh photo.
• The eighth and ninth photos are of a Dewberry patch with dewberries at various stages of development.
• The tenth photo is a Fleabane Daisy in the genus Erigeron.
• The eleventh photo is freshwater mussel shells on the bank of the river at the water's edge. Freshwater mussels are important in monitoring the health of natural waterways, but I don't know enough about them to tell if the ones pictured here are native or introduced species.
• The twelfth and thirteenth photos are a Cross Orbweaver spider. These very small orb weavers are very common spiders. The spider in these photos was little more than a quarter inch long.
• The fourteenth photo is Inland Sea Oats grass from last Fall.
• The fifteenth photo is a cluster of Texas Baby Blue Eyes growing among some fallen branches.
• The sixteenth and seventeenth photos are a male Northern Cardinal keeping an eye on me through an opening in the leaves.
• The eighteenth and nineteenth photos are a Bordered Patch butterfly.
• The twentieth photo is a Fox Squirrel munching on acorns on the lawn near the recently restored Mission San Juan chapel.

After the Rain

Friday, April 5, 2013

Hardberger Park, Geology Loop Trail

Today's photos:

I headed out to Hardberger Park today to see how the upland woods have responded to the mid-week rain. My plan was to walk the Water Loop Trail, but I didn't make it that far back into the park. There was so much I was encountering along the Geology Loop Trail I quickly changed my plans.

• The first two photos are Agarita berries beginning to ripen. Wildlife that can get to the berries without getting stuck by the sharp pointed leaves are very attracted to these berries.
• The third photo is a white variant of a Pink Evening Primrose. Pink Evening Primrose flowers can range from white to a deep rose pink. Note, there is a small caterpillar on the lower right edge of the flower. It appears this caterpillar has already enjoyed a few bites from around the edge of the flower.
• The fourth photo is a close up of a flower stalk on a Whitebrush, also known as Bee Brush.
• The fifth photo is the sunlight shining through the leaves of a Frostweed.
• The sixth and seventh photos are a flower bud on a Prickly Pear cactus. Looking at it this close, I was surprised by the number of spines on the bud.
• The eighth photo is an "elbow" of a Texas Persimmon branch.
• The ninth and tenth photos are False Gromwell flowers. False Gromwell is very prolific along the Geology Loop Trail.
• The eleventh through thirteenth photos are a Common Streaky-Skipper butterfly.
• The fourteenth photo is new growth on a Tasajillo cactus..
• The fifteenth photo might be a Phaon Crescent butterly, but it appears to me this one is more likely a Vesta Crescent, also known as Graphic Crescent. There is a fairly wide range in individual appearance in the Pearl, Phaon and Vesta Crescents that make species identification a challenge. All three of these species are in the genus Phyciodes.
• The sixteenth photo is a Red Admiral butterfly.

There were a lot of wildflowers blooming along the trail in scattered patches. I will post some of those photos later.