Those Bright Red Berries

One of the questions I am frequently asked when I am leading a nature hike along one of the wooded trails here in Bexar County is: "What are those bright red berries and are they edible?"

This plant is most commonly called Pigeonberry (Rivina humilis), but it has a long list of additional common names: Rouge Plant, Baby Peppers, Bloodberry, Coralito and probably more. And NO the berries are not edible, at least not by mammals, but many birds are highly attracted to them. It is a very common, low-growing understory plant in South Texas woodlands, especially where the soil tends to remain moist.

Pigeonberry is in the Phytolaccaceae (Pokeweed) Family and contain the same phytotoxins as Pokeweed berries. As with the Pokeweed berries, the Pigeonberries have been used for making dyes and ink.

This set of photographs was taken along the Salado Creek Greenway Trail near the Lady Bird Johnson Park Trailhead on Monday, November 11, 2013.

Look Again

When I first came around a curve in the trail and saw this butterfly on the flowers I was certain it was a Pearl Crescent on White Boneset (Eupatorium serotinum). It wasn't until I got close enough to begin taking the photographs that I realized it is actually a Phaon Crescent on White Mistflower (Ageratina havanensis):

The differences between the two crescent butterflies and between the two plants are obvious on close inspection, but if I had casually walked by, they are similar enough I would not have realized what I had actually seen.

The larval host plant for the Phaon Crescent is Frogfruit.

This set of photographs was taken on the Salado Creek Greenway trail at the Lady Bird Johnson Park Trailhead on Monday, November 11, 2013.

Monday Along the Salado Creek

Monday, April 15, 2013

Salado Creek Greenway, Lady Bird Johnson Park Trailhead,
Morningstar Boardwalk

Today's photos:

I am preparing this post for publication on Saturday evening (April 20th) in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings and the West, Texas fertilizer plant explosion. I first heard about the Boston bombings when I returned to my car following this walk on Monday.

I wrote the paragraph I am using as the Mission Statement for While on a Walk about a year after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, thus the inspiration for the concluding sentence: "In the tormented, torn world we live in, this project is a testament to the power of the human spirit to find delight in God’s awesome creation and to communicate that delight to others, to share in the discourse of revelation and healing."

In this spirit, I dedicate all the posts dated the week of April 15, 2013 to the victims of both the Boston attacks and the West, Texas explosion.

To be clear, the delay in the publication of the posts for this week has nothing directly to do with these events. Purely and simply, I finally ran up against the limits of my stamina. However, I did manage three walks for the week.

The walk presented in this set of photos is from the Salado Creek wetland along the Morningstar Boardwalk. For reasons I have yet to explain fully understand, this section of the Salado Creek isn't as wet as it has been in the past, even during the 2011 drought. I suspect there are multiple underlying causes for the drier creek channel, but until I am able to verify any or all of them, I will refrain from speculation.

• The first two photos are of Turk's Cap flowers. These are excellent plants for nativescapes. They grow particularly well in shaded areas. This relative of the hibiscus has numerous common names including Manzanilla and Mexican Apple. The leaves, flowers and fruit are all edible.
• The third photo is Silver-leaf Nightshade, also known as Trompillo. This plant is NOT edible. As with almost all plants in the family Solanaceae, all parts of this plant are poisonous. (Tomatoes and potatoes are the two best known edible nightshade exceptions.) (I was reminded after publishing this that egg plant and peppers are also edible exceptions.)
• The fourth photo is Wild Onion. These are growing in great abundance along the eastern end of the Morningstar Boardwalk. I probably should mention I have read mixed reviews on how safe it is to eat these onions.
• The fifth photo is a Venus' Looking Glass. 
• The sixth photo is Pink Evening Primrose. As I have mentioned in previous posts, the flowers can range from pure white to a deep rose pink. The two flowers in this photo are an example of the deep rose pink variety.
• The seventh and eighth photos are Scarlet Pimpernel. This plant originated in Europe and North Africa, but now has a worldwide distribution.
• The ninth and tenth photos are a pair of Mallard ducks. Mallards are the origin of all domestic ducks except Muscovy ducks. Anyone who has spent much time on the Riverwalk in downtown San Antonio has likely witnessed the relatively tame nature of these birds. Mallards can be downright persistent and not the least bit shy with any human willing to share a bite to eat.
• The eleventh and twelfth photos are Black-bellied Whistling Ducks. The twelfth photo is the male. Males and females look almost identical, but the males are somewhat larger.
• The thirteenth and fourteenth photos are a Familiar Bluet damselfly. 

Just This Side of Heaven

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Salado Creek Greenway, Lady Bird Johnson Park Trailhead
downstream on the natural surface trail along the east bank
and back on the paved trail along the west bank

Today's photos:

Off the top of my head, I can't remember walking anywhere else since beginning While on a Walk where I am more hesitant to publish photographs than I am from this location. The area where the spring seeps out of this cliff and is surrounded by the Maidenhair Fern is one of the most fragile and sensitive habitats I have photographed in Bexar County.

The rock formation around the spring has taken a very long time to form on the side of the cliff. The flora and fauna live in a delicate balance, nurtured by the water seeping out from the limestone.

The natural surface trail that parallels the base of the cliff is primarily used by joggers and cyclists who pass through without causing much harm. My concern is that enough people have hiked up the short, steep slope to get closer to this feature that they have left an obvious path. It would be fairly easy for the San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department to use natural barrier material to make close access much more difficult, but still leave the feature open to view from the trail below.

Having said that, I posted this set of photos because this trail is just this side of heaven for a nature hiker. All I ask of anyone seeing this post and then hiking the trail is to keep in mind how unique, precious and delicate the location really is.

• The first, second and third photos are a male Northern Cardinal. There was a fairly large flock of cardinals flying among the trees, but this was the only one that seemed to have any interest in sitting still long enough for a portrait.
• The fourth through the tenth photos are the spring with the Maidenhair Fern and moss growing around it. In the sixth photo there is a pair of Lesser Goldfinches. The male is fairly obvious. The female is sitting just inside the opening in the rock to the right of the male. The seventh photo is a closer view of the male goldfinch.
• The eleventh and twelfth photos are close ups of Hawthorn blossoms. This tree was recently planted. There are several species of hawthorn, so hopefully they planted the Texas Hawthorn. It was covered with the beautiful white flowers, but I can't tell one species from another from the flower.
• The thirteenth and fourteenth photos are close ups of Texas Mountain Laurel flowers. The flower buds are just beginning to open in the thirteenth photo.

It's Complicated, Yet Phenomenal (Really)

Monday, January 28, 2013

Salado Creek Greenway, Lady Bird Johnson Park Trailhead
upstream along the Morningstar boardwalk

Today's photos:

When I returned to my car at the end of my walk this afternoon, I was thinking the photos I had taken would be relatively easy to divide into two sets and set up for publication. Later, when I began going through the photos to begin the editing, I discovered I had a wider range of material than I had remembered taking.

All of the photos from this walk are of birds. I will explain the "complications" in tomorrow's post. For now here is a bit of information about the photos in this series:

The first two images are of a red-shouldered hawk. These are actually from the same photo. The first image is a slight cropping of the original photo. It gives a good indication of how far away the hawk was flying. The second image is an extreme cropping of the first image. Even though the resolution is fairly low, it is still recognizable as a red-shouldered hawk.

The next five photos are of a great egret that flew by low overhead.

The last three photos are a pair of cedar waxwings. The dim light and glare from the overcast sky made it difficult for me to see when I was taking these photos if these were really cedar waxwings or if they were black-crested titmice, but the correct identification was obvious when I saw the photos on the computer monitor. 

All together, there will be at least two and possibly three or four more posts of the photos from this walk. In many ways it turned out to be a very similar experience to the one I had at Crescent Bend Nature Park on Monday, December 14, 2012.

A November Entry in the Salado Creek Chronicles, Part 2

Thursday, November 29, 2012

This is a continuation of my post from my walk yesterday along the Salado Creek Greenway. The light of the afternoon sun continues to cast its enchanting spell "as warm and serene and golden as on a bank-side in autumn (Thoreau, Walking)":

Without the light, there would be nothing.