Wednesday, February 13, 2013
McAllister Park, natural surface trail beside Mud Creek
downstream from Buckhorn Rd
Today's photos:
While the natural areas of McAllister Park suffer from even more of the stress that is common to most urban natural areas due to the fact that over the years the park has become a multi-use facility, it is still a prime example in San Antonio of a dynamic urban forest:
- The first photo is looking face to face at a red admiral butterfly. It was at the entrance to the trail and I had a strange feeling this butterfly was watching over the comings and goings on the trail.
- The second photo is a detail of a portion of a very large, decaying trunk of a fallen live oak tree. This trunk has been lying on the forest floor for at least a couple of years. Even though the tree is no longer living, its decaying trunk still plays a critical role in the ongoing life of the forest's biotic community.
- The third, fourth and fifth photo are of the berries remaining on a possumhaw bush. While its berries are a beautiful sight, it left me wondering why the frugivores haven't devoured them yet.
- The sixth photo is of a very large bluewood condalia bush. This one, by my estimate, is a good ten to twelve feet tall.
- The seventh photo is the top of one of the numerous very large and impressive live oaks that are growing in McAllister Park.
- The eighth and ninth photo are of a grey hairstreak (or one of its close hairstreak cousins) butterfly drinking nectar from agarita flowers.
- The tenth and eleventh photo are close ups of agarita flowers.
- The twelfth photo, like the seventh photo, is another live oak tree.
- The thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth photos are of a backlit American snout butterfly.
- The sixteenth and seventeenth photos are of a ruby-crowned kinglet. These birds do not sit still for more than a couple seconds at a time and are constantly flitting around a tree. This kinglet was finding plenty to eat in a hackberry thicket. The density of the tree branches and the way they intertwine made it even more difficult to get even a couple photos of this beautiful little bird.
- The eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth photos are of another red admiral butterfly sunning itself on a fallen live oak limb. When this limb had fallen, it took part of a large grapevine with it.
(Hither) Friday, February 8, 2013
Medina River Natural Area,
El Camino > Rio Medina > El Chaparral Trails
Today's photos:
My day began Friday with docent training from the San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department in the Medina River Natural Area. I didn't have time during the day for a separate walk around the trail from the one we took for the training, but I was able to get a selection of photos:
- The first two photos in this series are of an Eastern fox squirrel munching on a bald cypress cone. This squirrel is sitting atop the trunk of a large cypress that had fallen across the Medina River and created a bridge all the way across from one bank to the other.
- The third, fourth, fifth and sixth photos are of a Red Admiral butterfly. The red admiral butterflies are one of the most common butterflies to remain active during a mild winter. This butterfly's hind wings are a bit ragged, but that is not unusual for this time of year and it is still capable of flying very well.
- The seventh and eighth photos are of a Polydamas Swallowtail butterfly. I haven't seen many, but over the past couple of weeks have sighted four or five of them at various locations around Bexar County.
- The ninth photo is of an American Snout. I think I have seen more American snouts at the Medina River Natural Area than I have at any other location in the county.
- The tenth photo is an orange and brown millipede. My knowledge of millipedes, which are Arthropods in the Class Diplopoda, is on par with my knowledge of snails. One thing I discovered is there even less authoritative information on the web about millipedes than there is about snails. I was more than a bit frustrated trying to search for more information.
Friday afternoon, after the docent training, I had to leave for a trip to La Grange, TX about 125 miles over yonder east-northeast of San Antonio:
(Yonder) Saturday, February 9, 2013
Colorado River at La Grange, Fayette County, TX
TX Hwy 71, Public access boat ramp
Today's photos:
Other than the photograph of my grandfather in one of the very early posts of While on a Walk, all of the photos I have posted on this blog have been taken in the 1,257 square mile area of Bexar County. That's more than enough territory to keep a wildlife blogger busy for a long time to come.
I didn't take my dSLR camera with me on this weekend trip to La Grange primarily because I knew there would be little time for photography. Saturday morning I did have a few minutes to make a stop at the public access boat ramp next to the Tx Hwy 71 bridge on the Colorado River.
The only camera I had with me was my cell phone camera, so the two photos above are not of the best quality, but they are an adequate representation of the scenic beauty of the Colorado River. These are looking upstream from the boat ramp. The bridge in the distance is the Union Pacific railroad bridge.
As can be seen in these two photos, the Colorado is a much larger river than either the Medina or the San Antonio River here in Bexar County. One can also get some idea of the difference in the riparian ecosystem along this section of the Colorado with its dense growth of deciduous hardwood trees. There was a great egret along the bank of the river and a yellow-rumped warbler in a tree next to the boat ramp, but I wasn't able to get a photo of either with the cell phone camera.
Publication update: I do have a Sunday Special Edition in the works. Hopefully it will be ready to go online before Monday evening.
Friday, December 28, 2012
San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, Mission San Juan Capistrano,
Yanaguana Nature Trail
Today's photos:
Following a couple of cold days, this was another very pleasant mild one. There is another weather related saying here in South Texas. We have two seasons: summer and winter. They sometimes alternate days in the same week. That has definitely been true this December.
This set of photos very effectively communicates my experience of this walk. I only have two side notes to add.
The orange Japanese ladybug (Harmonia axiridis) is native to Asia and was introduced to the United States in the early 1900s apparently to control a major aphid infestation. They were reintroduced on a larger scale in 1979 and 1980 by the USDA to control another aphid infestation this time that was destroying pecan trees in the southeastern part of the country.They have been very prolific in South Bexar County this fall.
The other item I find of particular interest is the abundance of Texas baby blue eyes currently in bloom along the Yanaguana trail. According to the Native Plant Database at wildflower.org, the Nemophila phacelioides, Nutt. are annuals that bloom in March, April and May: "This plant blooms early and dies by summer." So, I guess even the wildlife is having difficulty keeping track of what season it really is here.
Monday, December 17, 2012
Crescent Bend Nature Park
Today's photos:
The air was comfortably warm and the sky a bright winter blue this afternoon at Crescent Bend Nature Park. A distinctively sweet savanna aroma brought back memories of similar days in numerous other places from many decades ago. It is an aroma similar to fresh cut hay, but with an added woodland accent.
The winter hardy red admiral, American snout, orange sulphur and dainty sulphur butterflies flitted about. The red admirals and American snouts cooperated photographically. The sulphurs just wouldn't sit still long enough to get them into focus. There were also a wide variety of birds. I'll post their photos tomorrow.
As I pointed out in my post from August 1, 2011, Crescent Bend Nature Park is a section of land that is being returned from development to a natural savanna habitat. The ecosystem recovery and improvement in wildlife habitat over just the past sixteen months has been remarkable. Nature is quite resilient and can heal itself when given an adequate amount of protection.
