The Morning After A Brief Downpour

Thursday, April 28, 2016

A squall line blew through early in the morning yesterday with very heavy rain that lasted just long enough to put about a half inch of rain in the Olmos Creek watershed. It wasn't a tremendous amount of rain, but the runoff quickly adds up as it funnels south to the headwaters of the San Antonio River.

By the time I walked the Roosevelt Park loop trail about 7.5 miles downstream from the headwaters, the river had already significantly receded, but was still flowing well above the average daily base flow:

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

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Scissor-tails and Red-wings

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Unlike the egrets, herons and cormorants that are relatively large, some of the birds along the Mission Reach are much smaller, but no less important to the riparian ecology:

The Scissor-tailed Flycatchers are Spring through Fall residents that migrate south during the winter. They consume countless insects that are abundant in a riparian habitat. The Red-winged Blackbirds are year round residents. These blackbirds are omnivorous in that they primarily eat insects most of the year, but begin eating large quantities of seeds in the fall while the seeds are abundant.

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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An Earth Day Flower Bouquet

Saturday, April 23, 2016

What better way to celebrate Earth Day than another bouquet of native Spring wildflowers:

Winecup, Pink Evening Primrose that can vary from dark rose-pink to pure white, Firewheel, Texas Vervain, Greenthread, Mexican Hat, Engelmann's Cutleaf Daisy and, of course, Bluebonnet are all in bloom along the Mission Reach of the San Antonio River to make for a vibrant Earth Day.

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 Hopeful Sightings

Thursday, April 21, 2016

The pollinators are still far fewer and further between than they were three years ago. These four appear to be among the most common in central Bexar County right now:

This European Honeybee has a large American Basketflower all to itself. An Orange Sulphur is fairly well camouflaged on an Engelmann's Cutleaf Daisy. A Checkered White found the tiny flowers of a Texas Vervain particularly appealing. Probably the most common butterfly in the area right now is the Red Admiral. This one happens to be feeding on the nectar of an extremely annoying non-native invasive Hedge Parsley, also known as Beggar's Tick.

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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It's Not Always About Science

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

There's always so much to see in the woods; it would never all fit into a single post:

The large leaves of Frostweed, lantern-like flowers of False Gromwell, Blue-eyed Grass peeking out from under a Yucca, a brilliant pink Rock Rose, and Orange Lichen growing on a dead branch with Shield Lichen, can all lend themselves to imaginative storytelling. (You do know fairies and elves live in the woods, don't you?)

But there's nothing quite like a fallen branch to bring one's imagination to full bloom:

These photos were taken on a walk along the Geology and Water Loop trails at Phil Hardberger Park on Friday, April 8 2016.

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