Riparians

Saturday, March 26, 2016

Apparently, the soft-shelled and Red-eared Slider turtles came together for an afternoon convention on the top of Espada Dam this particular afternoon. I can only imagine what topic they discussed. It may have had something to do with the current state of the river, or perhaps the state of the river current. Who knows what turtles think about and silently discuss as they bask in the warmth of the early Spring sun?

Meanwhile, the Creeping Opposite-leaf Spotflower is flourishing along one portion of the river bank and the Great Egret, living a territorial solitary life, isn't about to become involved in any turtle conference:

These photos were taken on a walk on the Acequia Park loop trail along the Mission Reach of the San Antonio River on Wednesday, March 23, 2016.

Click on the first photo in a post to open the photos in a slideshow view.

Dandelions Are Not All Created Equal

Thursday, March 24, 2016

There are dandelions and then there is the native Texas Dandelion (Pyrrhopappus paucifloras):

The winter rain has begun to work its magic. Wildflowers are blooming in abundance throughout South Texas. Among the more well known Bluebonnets and Pink Evening Primrose, Texas Dandelion standout because of their bright, almost neon, yellow color.

I find it particularly interesting that when this very bright yellow Texas Dandelion is used to make a natural dye for wool and many other fibers, it typically produces a University of Texas burnt orange dye.

These photos were taken on a walk on the Acequia Park loop trail along the Mission Reach of the San Antonio River on Wednesday, March 23, 2016.

Click on the first photo in a post to open the photos in a slideshow view.

Accurate Indirect Indicators

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

As I have mentioned in several previous posts, one way of measuring the success of the ecosystem restoration along the Mission Reach of the San Antonio River is by the increase in the diversity of bird species and the overall number of birds that inhabit this section of the river.

There is also an accurate indirect indicator of the quantity and health of the fish population in the river without actually having to do a catch and release count. It takes a fairly large number of fish to maintain a population of fish eating birds, so the more fish eating birds in permanent residence along the Mission Reach, the more fish there are living in the river.

The most common permanent, year round resident fish eating bird here is the Cormorant and they are abundant:

These photos were taken along the Mission Reach of the San Antonio River upstream from the upper Mission Road trailhead on Monday, March 14, 2016.

Click on the first photo in a post to open the photos in slideshow view.