River Raptors, Part 1 of 3

The three hawks I encountered along the Mission Reach a week and a half ago were by far the highlight of the day. This majestic Red-shouldered Hawk, perched on top of a light pole high above the trail, greeted me with its unmistakeable, piercing "Ke-yeeeear" cry as I crossed the pedestrian bridge at the San Pedro Creek confluence:

This set of photographs was taken a short distance upstream from the confluence with San Pedro Creek along the San Antonio River Mission Reach on Wednesday, December 4, 2013.

Balancing Act

The Pond Sliders are highly social turtles. I have read they communicate with each other using head movements and body language. This Red-eared Slider speaks for itself:

This set of photographs was taken a short distance upstream from the first pedestrian bridge below the Roosevelt Park Trailhead on the San Antonio River Mission Reach on Wednesday, December 4, 2013.

Dancing Around the Sun

Before the arctic blast arrived last week (December 5 - 9 was the third coldest on record for those dates here in San Antonio), many butterflies were active along the Mission Reach. Most were various species of Sulphurs and Skippers. The one butterfly that particularly caught my eye was this Variegated Fritillary (Euptoieta claudia) that danced around the Sunflower blossom as it enjoyed the flower's nectar:

This set of photographs was taken at the Roosevelt Park Trailhead of the San Antonio River Mission Reach on Wednesday, December 4, 2013.

A Bright Golden Glow

Six weeks ago, the Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) growing along the Mission Reach was still green. Last week this beautiful tall grass was well on its way to winter dormancy. The leaves glowed bright golden-brown as the afternoon sun briefly penetrated the otherwise overcast sky:

This set of photographs was taken at the Roosevelt Park Trailhead of the San Antonio River Mission Reach on Wednesday, December 4, 2013.

One Rugged Damsel

There was so much to see along the Mission Reach last Wednesday, I only managed to photograph some of the highlights. There were a few species of damselflies active, but I only photographed this Familiar Bluet (Enallagma civile) perched on Switchgrass that had already dropped most of its seeds:

The Familiar Bluet has a year round flight season in Texas, surviving our normal winters with little difficulty. With this winter getting off to an unusually prolonged, cold beginning, it will be interesting to see just how rugged this damsel really is when the weather warms up a bit.

This set of photographs was taken near the confluence of the San Antonio River and San Pedro Creek on the San Antonio River Mission Reach on Wednesday, December 4, 2013.

Sensing an Impending Change

I have no doubt that animals sense impending changes in the weather. I have written in another venue about how the squirrels here have put on an unusually heavy winter coat this year, while the National Weather Service has forecast a warmer than average winter. We have a long winter ahead, but so far, the squirrels have been well-served with their heavy coats.

I can't help but wonder if these slider turtles sensed the approaching arctic cold front and were out on the rocks taking advantage of the remaining warmth before the front arrived. The backlight from the reflection of the overcast sky adds to the sense of impending change:

This set of photographs was taken near the Roosevelt Park Trailhead on the San Antonio River Mission Reach Wednesday, December 4, 2013.

Ruffled Feathers

It has only been four days ago, but with the unusually cold weather since, it is difficult to remember that Wednesday the temperature was in the mid-70s (F) with just enough wind to ruffle this Snowy Egret's feathers:

This set of photographs was taken near the Roosevelt Park Trailhead on the San Antonio River Mission Reach on Wednesday, December 4, 2013.