Birds at Elmendorf Lake, Autumn 2013, Part 2, Bird Island

All the photographs in this series were taken from the northwest end of the large island looking across the lake toward Bird Island. There were only a few Great Egrets, one Great Blue Heron that was being extremely camera shy and more Cormorants than I could count. The only Cormorants I could clearly identify were Neotropic, but I suspect there were quite a few Double-crested ones as well:

This set of photographs was taken at Elmendorf Lake Park on Thursday, November 21, 2013.

Part 1
Part 3

Birds at Elmendorf Lake, Autumn 2013, Part 1, A State of Flux

I wasn't able to spend as much time at Elmendorf Lake as I would have liked when this series of photographs was taken, but from what I observed in the time I had, the bird population is in a state of flux with the fall migration still in progress. Keep in mind, this was the day before the first major arctic cold front of the season moved through the area.

For the most part, the year round resident birds (Neotropic Cormorants and Great Egrets) dominated the population. However, a few of the winter residents have begun to settle in. A pair of American Coots were among these seasonal residents * :

This is the first of a three part series of photographs taken at Elmendorf Lake Park on Thursday, November 21, 2013.

Part 2
Part 3

* This links to the November 8th post, "A Bit of A Riddle," regarding the inconsistency between published range maps and the observed presence of the American Coot. I wasn't able to get a photograph of the Great Blue Heron I observed on this visit to Elmendorf Lake, but the same inconsistency also applies for this heron.

When Subject and Setting Come Together Perfectly

This Great Egret had been standing on the bank of the island in Elmendorf Lake. I was walking toward it to try to get a better angle for a photograph, but it decided I was getting too close. The egret flew across the lake and landed in a Bald Cypress on the opposite bank:

This set of photographs was taken at Elmendorf Lake Park on Thursday, November 21, 2013.

Thanksgiving 2013

Happy Thanksgiving

give thanks always for the precious gift of life

This Thanksgiving Day I would like to offer a special word of thanks to all those in the U.S. Armed Forces and to all the health care professionals on duty, away from their families during this holiday. Your service and your sacrifice is greatly appreciated.

This set of photographs of a young White-tailed Deer was taken along the Ssg Morningstar Boardwalk on the Salado Creek Greenway on Veterans Day, Monday, November 11, 2013.

Late Autumn at the Lake

Last Thursday, the day before the arrival of our first major arctic cold front, I spent some time at Elmendorf Lake Park including a walk on the island. The Bald Cypress are well on their way to turning the beautiful rust-red for which they are well known late in autumn:

Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum) are called "bald" because they are deciduous, thus having "bald" branches through the winter. This is a beautiful tree native to Texas Hill Country stream banks and wetland areas.

The wood is extremely decay resistant. It is such a desirable wood for construction and other purposes, it was very heavily harvested by the early settlers. There are now very few Bald Cypress remaining here that are more than 130 years old.

This set of photographs was taken on the island at Elmendorf Lake Park on Thursday, November 21, 2013.

An Additional Festive Touch

This Common Mestra seemed to be particularly attracted to the Guayacan, fluttering around the branches until it came to rest and perched for an extended period of time on the dark green leaves, showing off the brilliant upperside of its wings and adding to the festive appearance of the shrub:

From what I have observed, the Common Mestra (Mestra amymone), a small tropical Brushfoot, has been especially abundant here in Bexar County this year.

This set of photographs was taken along the El Camino Trail at the Medina River Natural Area on Tuesday, November 19, 2013.

A Manzanilla Monday

It has been a cold, wet, dreary weekend here in Bexar County and this wintery weather is forecast to continue through today. I share these Manzanillas to brighten the day a bit:

All of the Turk's Cap I saw at the Medina River Natural Area on Tuesday were past the flowering stage and were bearing an abundant crop of Manzanillas.

This set of photographs was taken along the El Camino and Rio Medina trails at the Medina River Natural Area on Tuesday, November 19, 2013.

Another Look at a Legend

For the past week prior to the arrival of the arctic cold front early Friday morning, the American Snout was having another major flight, not as legendary as the one in mid-October, but still with Snouts too numerous to count:

This set of photographs was taken along the Rio Medina Trail at the Medina River Natural Area on Tuesday, November 19, 2013.