February "Snow" in San Antonio

Saturday, February 20, 2016

Snowy Egrets live year round in Bexar County. The Mission Reach of the San Antonio River provides an excellent restored habitat for these splendid birds. They find much to eat along the riffles, along the shallow banks of the river and in the quiet backwater of the embayments:

This February has been unusually mild so far, but weather can change abruptly here in South Texas, so with a month of winter left, I hope I'm not speaking too soon. It is highly unlikely we will see anything resembling real snow this winter. The Snowy Egrets are as close as we typically get to seeing anything "snowy" here in South Texas.

These photographs were taken on my walk along the Mission Reach of the San Antonio River downstream from the VFW Blvd trailhead this past Monday, February 15, 2016.

Green Lines, Translucent Patterns, Yellow Spheres

Thursday, February 18, 2016

Branching green lines (with thorns) of Retama...

Patterns of translucent leaves crisscrossed by dark branches and yellow spherical flowers of Huisache...

Both Retama and Huisache are small. multi-trunk trees growing abundantly throughout the hill and brush country of South Texas. The Huisache is one of the first trees to bloom each year, typically beginning in mid-February. From what I have seen the past couple weeks, it looks like the Huisache are set to bloom prolifically in the next week or so here in Bexar County.

These photographs were taken on my walk along the Mission Reach of the San Antonio River downstream from the VFW Blvd trailhead this past Monday, February 15, 2016.

Dynamic Adaptaion

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

One of the most fundamental and essential aspects of life is the ability to dynamically adapt to changes in the surrounding environment. Something just over a year and a half have elapsed since the last post was added to While on a Walk. The time has come to slowly resume the Walk.

The original intent of this blog as stated in its mission was and still remains: "The photographs in this project are about the sky, the earth, the plants and animals, and about the experience of being in their presence, the experience of their spirit, the experience of wonder and awe and delight. They are intended to be catalysts for contemplation, for leaving oneself open to allow wonder and delight to take hold and mature."

The only text I will include in posts going forward will be limited to the general location and any supplemental information needed to give the photographs a context. If the viewer is interested in flora and fauna identification beyond any included in a post, feel free to do your own research. In the meantime, leave yourself open to allow wonder and delight to take hold and mature, to appreciate the Earth for all its own innate beauty and spirit:

This set of photographs was taken on a walk yesterday, Monday, February 15, 2016, along the same section of the San Antonio River Mission Reach downstream from the VFW Blvd trailhead where I left off in the last post on July 9, 2014.

It was a rather warm, but beautiful mid-winter day. From the high cirrus clouds to the sky blue reflection on the surface of the river water, the river was as magical as ever.

As discussed in the July 9, 2014 post, this is the river healing and renewing itself. Continuous erosion and deposition dynamically reshape the channel. Black Willow, dormant for the winter, both stabilize the river bank soil and provide a perch for numerous smaller birds. Pairs of American Wigeons were abundant and actively feeding in the shallow areas of the river. And, of course, there are many more photos from this walk for future posts.

The River Flowing Through Us

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Rivers flow not past, but through us; tingling, vibrating, exciting every cell and fiber in our bodies, making them sing and glide.  –  John Muir *

This set of photos was taken on my walk this past Wednesday along the Mission Reach of the San Antonio River from the VFW Blvd trailhead to the water edge landing downstream from the Mission County Park pavilion.

The Mission Reach ecological restoration project is a generational process that will take about 75 years to fully mature, so this is just the initial phase of the restoration. As the restoration matures the San Antonio River Authority (SARA) will allow the river channel to evolve within the limits of its primary function of flood control.

The section of the river pictured above is an excellent example of the natural evolution of the river channel. Through time, the channel will find its own natural course. Alterations naturally occur through the processes of erosion and deposition. This process is explained by Lane's Balance which deals with the relationship between the size and quantity of sediment carried by a stream versus the slope and flow rate of the stream.

The science aside, this is what the river is supposed to look like; the river healing itself.

* This quote from John Muir is from SARA's 75th Anniversary Documentary film: Sustaining and Enriching Life in South Texas; The Story of the San Antonio River. 

A Stampede of Cattle Egrets

Cattle Egrets (Bulbucus ibis) are fairly recent arrivals to the Western Hemisphere. They first arrived in Florida from South America by way of the Caribbean Islands around 1953 and have rapidly spread north and west since then. Cattle Egrets are now well established year round residents in South Texas.

These birds are generally found in large flocks in upland areas particularly where cattle grazing is common as they have a commensal relationship with large, grazing herbivores of all kinds. It is not unusual, however, to find their breeding rookeries close to streams and lakes. With the ecological restoration beginning to take hold along the Mission Reach of the San Antonio River, flocks of Cattle Egrets are beginning to be sighted on and near the banks of the river:

There are at least three distinguishing characteristics that differentiate the Cattle Egret from the other two white egrets, the Great Egret and Snowy Egret, that are also commonly seen along the Mission Reach. Cattle Egrets have red-orange feathers on the top of their heads and the top of their backs. Cattle Egrets have yellow or orange beaks, yellow legs and yellow feet. And Cattle Egrets are almost always seen in large flocks while the other two egret species are generally solitary or in pairs. For comparison, here are a Great Egret on the rock to the left and a Snowy Egret just past the weir to the right:

I probably should note that in the photo of the pair flying close together, it appears as if their feet are black. This pair had just taken off from the muddy river bank, so their feet still have a thin coating of mud on them making them appear darker than they really are.

This set of photographs was taken on my walk along the Mission Reach on Wednesday, July 2, 2014 about a third of a mile or so north of the Loop 410 bridge.