A Leap Day Stroll Along Salado Creek

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

About the only flowers blooming along the Salado Creek wetland on Leap Day this February were the Huisache fully covered with their fragrant yellow blossoms. Fortunately, there were more than enough birds and a few turtles to photograph. The Northern Shovelers, a pair of Black Vultures, Mallards with what suspiciously appears to be a Ruddy Duck mingling amid the flock, Red-eared Slider Turtles and a flock of Gadwalls had no idea it was Leap Day and could have cared less:

And while they are not the best photos of birds soaring I have taken, I thought these two were worth including here just to show more of the avian diversity present along Salado Creek this time of year. The first is a Caracara and the second one flying into the frame is a Red-shouldered Hawk:

These photographs were taken along the Salado Creek Greenway trail between Lady Bird Johnson Park and the end of the boardwalk near Wetmore Rd on Monday, February 29, 2016.

Pure Enjoyment of the Moment

Friday, July 5, 2013

San Antonio River, Mission Reach, Confluence Park Trailhead downstream
to the 3.6 mile marker*

Today's photos:

On this long 4th of July holiday weekend, here is a set of photographs to celebrate life:

• The first photo is an Alamo Vine flower.
• The second photo is a Snowy Egret searching for food at the top of a riffle.
• The third photo is an inflorescence of Sideoats Grama (the State Grass of Texas). A tiny caterpillar of some sort has woven itself inside a web pulling the spike of the  inflorescence into an oval. I would have liked to have seen how the caterpillar accomplished this.
• The fourth and fifth photos are of a Little Yellow butterfly on Orange Milkweed flowers. These milkweed blossoms were attracting numerous butterflies. Another common name for this plant is Butterfly-Weed, for obvious reasons.
• The sixth photo is a Bordered Patch butterfly on the Orange Milkweed.
• The seventh photo is a Bordered Patch butterfly on a Maximilian Sunflower. The Common Sunflowers have been in bloom for a couple of months, but the Maximilian Sunflowers are just beginning to flower.
• The eighth and ninth photos are of a Yellow-crowned Night-Heron.
• The tenth photo is a Killdeer.
• The eleventh photo is a Neotropic Cormorant.
• The twelfth photo is a Blue-fronted Dancer (Argia apicalis) damselfly I managed to photograph inflight. This damselfly was being very cooperative while I took its photo as it hovered in more or less the same location until I turned away.
• The thirteenth photo is a slider turtle sunning itself on the recently exposed bedrock along the riverbank. From this distance the rock appears to be a relatively soft limestone aggregate. This section of the bank on the west side of the River just south of the Theo Ave bridge was severely eroded by the May 25th flood, but it revealed this fascinating rock formation.
• The fourteenth through sixteenth photos are of Partridge Pea flowers.
• The seventeenth photo is a Standing Cypress that is still in bloom.

* Along the San Antonio River Greenway Trails, there are small, roughly three inch diameter circular bronze insets with a number embedded in the center of the trail generally every two-tenths of a mile. These numbers indicate the distance in miles from the center of Main Plaza downtown. So, the 3.6 marker on the east bank trail south of Theo Ave. is 3.6 miles along the trail from Main Plaza.

The mile markers, beginning with zero, also are located north of Main Plaza. If one started at the 2.4 marker north of downtown and walked downstream to the 3.6 marker south of Theo, the total distance walked would be six miles (2.4 miles + 3.6 miles).

Earth Day Along the Acequia de San Juan

Monday, April 22, 2013

San Antonio River, Mission Reach, Mission San Juan Trailhead
upstream along the Acequia de San Juan to Acequia Park

Today's photos:

The recently opened section of greenway trails along the San Antonio River Mission Reach includes a trail located between the Acequia de San Juan on the east and the San Antonio River on the west side of the trail. The Acequia de San Juan and the Acequia de Espada to the west of the River are historic acequias built in the mid-1700s to supply water for irrigating the farmland that supplied the food for Mission San Juan and Mission Espada. These acequias are being restored in conjunction with the Mission Reach restoration project. 

This section of the trail was a perfect location for a hike to celebrate Earth Day:

• The first photo is a pair of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks.
• The second photo is a Red-shouldered Hawk.
• The third photo is a White Prickly Poppy.
• The fourth photo is a Common Streaky-Skipper butterfly on a Blackfoot Daisy.
• The fifth photo is a ripening Dewberry.
• The sixth and seventh photos are overviews of the vegetation on either side of the trail. The Acequia de San Juan is just out of sight behind the the fallen tree in the sixth photo. The flowers in the foreground of the seventh photo are Firewheel.
• The eighth photo is a Bordered Patch butterfly on a Firewheel.
• The ninth photo is a cluster of Prickly Pear Cactus. It is a bit difficult to see in the photo, but there are Scarlet Sage growing among the cactus.
• The tenth photo is a Checkered White butterfly. It is enjoying the nectar from a tiny white flower I have yet to identify.
• The eleventh and twelfth photos are a small Red-eared Slider Turtle on a post that has fallen into the acequia.
• The thirteenth photo is looking upstream along the San Antonio River. The Espada Dam and Mission Parkway crossing are near the horizon.
• The fourteenth photo is looking downstream along the River from the Mission Pkwy crossing.
• The fifteenth photo is an overview of the vegetation growing along the Acequia de Espada to the west of the River. The yellow flowers in this photo are Coreopsis sp.
• The sixteenth photo is a Red-winged Blackbird.

Adventures in an Urban Riparian Woodland

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

San Antonio River, Brackenridge Park Segment (along Avenue A)

Today's photos:

As I have mentioned in previous posts, the section of the San Antonio River from Tuleta Dr in Brackenridge Park downstream to U.S. 281 has never been channelized for flood control. The urbanization of the surrounding area has definitely had a major impact on the ecosystem along this section of the channel, but the woodland vegetation and the tree canopy arching over the water has remained intact. 

• The first photo is a Parachytas decisus fly in the family Tachinidae. Identifying this large fly was not particularly difficult, but I haven't been able to find much specific information about it online.  Based on my own observations, this is a fairly common fly in Bexar County. This one is on a flower cluster of a Rough-leaf Dogwood.
• The second and third photos are a pair of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks.
• The fourth photo is a cluster of Red Oak leaves. Based primarily on where this oak is growing, I assume it is a Southern Red Oak, Quercus shumardii Buckl., but it could also be a Texas Red Oak, Quercus buckleyi Nixon & Dorr, or it could just as well be a hybrid of the two.
• The fifth and sixth photos are a Common Grass Spider, Agelenopsis spp.
• The seventh and eighth photos are an Inca Dove. This dove knew how to find a perfect location and pose for a photo.
• The ninth and tenth photos are a Gulf Fritillary butterfly on Canadian Wildrye grass.
• The eleventh and twelfth photos are a slider turtle. Who said turtles can't climb trees?
• The thirteenth photo is a slider turtle swimming in the river that surfaced to get some air.
• The fourteenth photo is an overview of the river looking upstream showing how the tree canopy shades the water. The shade helps to cool the aquatic habitat.
• The fifteenth through the seventeenth photos are two slider turtles sharing opposite ends of a small log. The turtle on the left is a Red-eared Slider. The one on the right doesn't have the red "ear" stripes. One of these days I will get a positive species identification for these turtles. From what I have seen, they are more common in Bexar County than the Red-eared Sliders.
• The eighteenth and nineteenth photos are a Northern Cardinal.