Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Walker Ranch Historic Landmark Natural Area, Panther Spring Creek Trails
Today's photos:
The South Texas landscape never goes completely dormant during winter, but this time of year as the Spring equinox approaches, new plant growth becomes vividly apparent and the fauna become more active.
- The first photo appears to me to be an Eastern Phoebe. This isn't the best angle and lighting for identifying birds and I really didn't get a much better look at this one when I was taking the photos, but from what I can see, I can't think of a more likely possibility of what it could be.
- The second photo is a Black-crested Titmouse.
- The third photo is a Lesser Goldfinch.
- The fourth photo is Scarlet Sage, also known as tropical sage.
- The fifth photo is the top of a Cedar Elm (also known as fall elm) that is setting new leaves.
- The sixth photo is Huisache. There were so many huisache blooming, the fragrance from the flowers filled the air along the trail. An extract from these flowers is a common ingredient in perfume.
- The seventh and eighth photos are Prairie Verbena. These verbena are blooming here and there, but aren't yet as abundant as they were last year.
- The ninth photo is the top of another Cedar Elm tree.
- The tenth and eleventh photos are close up views of one of the branches of the cedar elm in photo nine. These two photos show a better view of the emerging leaves.
- The twelfth photo is an overview of the vegetation along Panther Spring Creek. The large tree on the opposite side of the creek is a Cedar Elm. The most common trees in this area are the cedar elm, the live oak and the Texas red oak.
- The thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth photos are Tasajillo, also known as Christmas cactus.
- The sixteenth photo is a female Northern Cardinal.
- The seventeenth and eighteenth photos are close ups of newly emergent Cedar Elm leaves.
Monday, March 11, 2013
Salado Creek Greenway, Oakwell Trailhead downstream
Today's photos:
The primary reason I walked this section of the Salado Creek Greenway today was to see how much, if any, water was flowing in the creek following Saturday night's rain. As can be seen in the series of photos of the Great Egret, the water in the creek isn't particularly deep, but there is something of a substantial flow remaining about a day and a half after the rain.
I have only included two photos of the Dewberry flowers here, but that isn't a fair representation of how abundant dewberry is in the ground cover along this section of the creek. I had noticed some patches of dewberry here on previous walks, but now that it is blooming, it is obvious the dewberry is one of the more prevalent plants. There are white dewberry flowers everywhere along the creek right now.
- The first two photos are the Dewberry flowers. There is a Honey Bee on one of the flowers in the first photo. The honey bees were almost as abundant as the flowers. Dewberry is in the Rose Family. The thorns (more correctly referred to as prickles) can be seen on the stems below the flowers in the first photo.
- The third photo is Baby Blue-eyes. They are one of the most common wildflowers blooming here right now.
- The fourth through ninth photos are a Great Egret that has been attracted to the creek by the flowing water.
- The tenth photo is a Phaon Crescent butterfly.
Sunday, March 10, 2013
When Bluebonnets Bloom
"My heart found its home long ago in the beauty, mystery, order and disorder of the flowering earth. [T]he bounty of nature is … one of the deep needs of man. The environment is where we all meet; where all have a mutual interest; it is the one thing all of us share. It is not only a mirror of ourselves, but a focusing lens on what we can become." - Lady Bird Johnson, In Her Own Words
We had much more rain last winter than this winter, so by this time last March the wildflowers were already blooming abundantly, especially the Texas Bluebonnet. As I wrote in the title for my March 14, 2012 post: "When bluebonnets bloom, it's Spring in South Texas."
The bluebonnets are just getting started this year and the other wildflowers are slowly beginning to appear. We had a rain last night that brought us close to the average rainfall for this time in March, so hopefully, the wildflowers will soon brighten the South Texas landscape.
We are becoming increasingly aware of the value and importance of nativescaping* and wildscaping* in our urban environment. We need to remember Lady Bird Johnson's words year around, but this time of year we are especially reminded that "[The environment] is not only a mirror of ourselves, but a focusing lens on what we can become."
This set of photos was taken on my walk along the Mission Reach of the San Antonio River on Friday (March 8, 2013).
* "Nativescaping" refers generally to a landscape that is dominated by plants native to the local region. "Wildscaping" more specifically refers to a nativescape that is designed to provide habitat for a variety of native wildlife including, but not limited to, birds and butterflies.
Friday, March 8, 2013
San Antonio River, Mission Reach, Confluence Park Trailhead downstream
Today's photos:
I was anticipating Spring while I was on this walk. I suspect nature was anticipating the impending change in the weather with another approaching cold front. There had already been enough sprinkles to get things damp earlier in the day. The forecast was for heavier rain later in the weekend.
- Photo one is a Texas Thistle.
- Photos two and three are Pink Evening Primrose with a few rain drops remaining on their petals from the sprinkles earlier in the day.
- Photos four and five are Huisache flowers.
- Photo six is a Mealy Blue Sage.
- Photo seven is a Little Blue Heron flying upstream, apparently with somewhere to go. It will reappear momentarily.
- Photos eight through eleven are a Loggerhead Shrike. It was keeping a watch over the river and finding lots of flying insects to eat.
- Photos twelve and thirteen are two Red-winged Blackbirds perched in a Sycamore tree. The sycamores are beginning to set their leaves.
- Photos fourteen through sixteen are The Three Amigos: (l. to r.) a Great Blue Heron, a Snowy Egret and the Little Blue Heron. These birds are typically very competitive when it comes to territory, so I was surprised to see them standing this close together.
- Photo seventeen is a close up of the Great Blue Heron.
- Photos eighteen through twenty are a Killdeer. He was on a rock not very far downstream from the three amigos, but far enough away that it didn't appear to be part of the group.
- Photo twenty-one is a White Prickly Poppy.
