An Adolescent Out for a Stroll

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Little Blue Heron juveniles are white for their first year. Then adolescence happens:

This is the closest a Little Blue Heron has allowed me to approach before flying off. I know they are fairly large birds, about two feet long from the tip of the beak to the end of the tail, but their size is even more impressive when they are up close and personal.

These photos were taken on a walk along the Mission Reach of the San Antonio River downstream from VFW Blvd on both the west and east bank trails on Monday, May 16, 2016.

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Question Mark?

Thursday, May 19, 2016

One of the most common riparian woodland butterflies in much of the eastern part of the United States, including South Texas, will typically be found flying low above the ground and landing amid the fallen leaves:

With its wings folded closed, it is very well camouflaged amid the leaf debris:

But the question remains: how did this butterfly get its rather questionable name? On the underside of the hind wings are two very small, silverly white marks, one comma shaped and next to that a dot, that together appear to be a Question Mark:

These photos were taken on a walk along the Mud Creek trail in McAllister Park on Tuesday, May 10, 2016.

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"With a Radiance From Within, The Cactus Flower..."

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Prickly Pear flowers can range from neon yellow to flaming red-orange. And when the sunlight embraces them just right...

These photos were taken on a walk along the Mud Creek trail in McAllister Park on Tuesday, May 10, 2016.

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The Bucks Stopped Here

Saturday, May 14, 2016

I don't know if there have been any formal studies, but I suspect the highest white-tailed deer population density in San Antonio's natural areas and green spaces is at McAllister Park:

These photos were taken on a walk along the Mud Creek trail in McAllister Park on Tuesday, May 10, 2016.

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A Lush Riparian Habitat

Thursday, May 12, 2016

It has been a couple years since I've walked at McAllister Park. Not much has changed, except the vegetation is far more lush now with all the rain the past year:

These photos were taken on a walk along the Mud Creek trail in McAllister Park on Tuesday, May 10, 2016.

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An American Basketflower and a Skipper

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

American Basketflower are doing especially well this Spring and this Skipper is thoroughly enjoying it:

These photos were taken on a walk along the Mission Reach of the San Antonio River upstream from the VFW Blvd trailhead to Roosevelt Ave on Tuesday, April 19, 2016.

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A Few Floral Closeups

Saturday, May 7, 2016

One thing I don't like about many of the wildflower field guides is that they typically only show the flower and not the leaves, even though in many instances, the leaf characteristics are definitive for a species. Having said that, one really needs to get up close to fully appreciate the complexity and sheer beauty of a flower:

White Evolvulus, Texas Bindweed, Lanceleaf Coreopsis and Golden-wave are just a very small sample of the wildflowers currently blooming along the Mission Reach of the San Antonio River.

These photos were taken along the Roosevelt Park loop trail of the Mission Reach on Wednesday, April 27, 2016

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