The Statuesque Great Blue

The National Audubon Society's website aptly describes the Great Blue Heron as "statuesque." They do have a habit of standing quite still for long periods of time watching what is going on around them. This Great Blue ignored the two cormorants nearby, but kept a wary eye on what I was doing as I photographed it.

The herons generally get a bit skittish when people approach. When this one decided I was getting too close for comfort, it flew off upstream:

This set of photographs was taken at the riffle between the VFW Blvd trailhead and the VFW Blvd bridge on the Mission Reach of the San Antonio River on Thursday, December 19, 2013.

Nap Time Beside the River

This Lesser Yellowlegs was ready for a mid-afternoon nap:

The female Northern Shoveler nearby in the last photo had the same idea.

This set of photographs was taken downstream from Mission County Park along the Mission Reach of the San Antonio River on Thursday, December 19, 2013.

A Holiday Greeting, 2013

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

During this special holiday week,

take time to celebrate all that is truly meaningful in life.

This photo of a Northern Shoveler was taken on the Mission Reach of the San Antonio River on Wednesday, December 19, 2013.

A Brief "Snow" Flurry

This is about as close as we will come to anything "snowy" here in San Antonio  this holiday week:

This set of photographs of a Snowy Egret was taken at the riffle upstream from the VFW Blvd bridge along the Mission Reach of the San Antonio River on Thursday, December 19, 2013.

Direct Flight

Where the vultures take advantage of updrafts to conserve energy as they circle and soar overhead, the cormorants fly in a direct path from one location to another. When they are flying a relatively long distance, they typically fly in a flock in a V shape formation. Thursday, a flock of five Neotropic Cormorants flew downstream paralleling the river channel:

The vultures dance in the sky, but the cormorants always seem to know exactly where they are going and are in a hurry to get there.

This set of photographs was taken downstream from the VFW Blvd Trailhead along the Mission Reach of the San Antonio River on Thursday, December 19, 2013.

Soaring on an Updraft

A large vortex of vultures with ten to fifteen birds soared high above the river Thursday. This Black Vulture was circling low enough to get a beautiful series of photos. Its bright white primaries flashed in the sunlight:

This set of photographs was taken downstream form Mission Park along the Mission Reach of the San Antonio River on Thursday, December 19, 2013.