Leon Creek Greenway, Fox Park Trailhead, North

Today's photos:

This morning was a beautiful morning for a walk even if it got hot again this afternoon. This is definitely a desert type air mass. I walked from the Fox Park Trailhead on Hausman Rd north to UTSA Blvd and back to the parking lot. This section of the creek is a large "S" shaped meander. Or, I guess more correctly, a backward "S" from east to west in the downstream direction.

I'm not sure how much it had to do with the weather and how much with the proximity to the UTSA campus and Valero Energy's corporate headquarters, but there were more cyclists and joggers on the trail than there had been on any of my previous walks. A few are lost in their own iPod world, but most are very friendly, acknowledging each other with at least a passing greeting.

The disadvantage to that is it tends to send any larger mammals and birds into hiding. I saw a white-tailed deer doe and a roadrunner, but neither stuck around long enough for me to get their photo. However, I in no way intend that to sound like a complaint. A cheerful, "Good morning!" from a total stranger is amazingly refreshing.

As can be seen in today's photos, their presence didn't distract me from getting some really amazing photos. The mockingbirds and doves aren't intimidated at all by a human presence. One jogger even paused to see what I was photographing when I was taking the photo of the yellow elm leaf which had fallen perfectly upright into the spines on top of a prickly pear pad. All in all, it was quite an enjoyable walk. I hope that joy comes through in the photos.

Drought and Wildfire Update:

Yesterday (Sunday, September 11) another wildfire burned about 125 acres in San Antonio in the Salado Creek Greenway area just east of Wetmore Rd. It was apparently started by sparks from an electrical line. A San Antonio Fire Department spokesperson pointed out that given the area burned, it's amazing no structures were burned.

Fortunately, the wind was relatively light and variable. While not the geographic center of the San Antonio metropolitan area, this was very close to the demographic center. The previous fires last week were all outside Loop 1604.

The drought continues with no end in sight. While the Texas cedar elm tends to turn yellow and drop its leaves earlier in the fall than other trees, this is happening much earlier this year. And I have been seeing more plants like prickly pear and yucca that are highly drought tolerant beginning to dry up at an alarming rate.

One of the residents close to yesterday's wildfire was quoted as saying he was fed up with the wildfires. There really isn't much that can be done other than to educate the public on the need to be extraordinarily careful. There are still idiots thoughtlessly throwing lit cigarettes out of car windows.

South Salado Creek Greenway, South Side Lions Park Trailhead, A September Sequel

Friday, September 9, 2011

Today's photos:

I have been curious for a while how the Salado Creek area on the south side has been doing since my first walks there on June 1 and 3. More specifically, are the springs still flowing? As it turned out, my schedule today made it easier to return to Salado Creek than to drive across town to Leon Creek.

The above photos show a remarkable situation of contrasts. The upland area in South Side Lions Park is as dry and drought stressed as any in Bexar County. However the two springs just north of Roland Ave are still flowing, if at a somewhat slower rate than they were in June. 

The area immediately along the creek is doing fairly well with the presence of the water source. The springs are a few feet below 600 feet elevation and are likely to continue flowing throughout the drought. The Edwards Aquifer level is highly unlikely to fall below that level.

Possibly the best way I can illustrate the effect of the drought is to post these two photos, both taken from about the same place on the bridge over the creek at the trailhead:

Salado Creek
June 3, 2011

Salado Creek
September 9, 2011

There are a couple things I didn't discover until I set the photos up for publication. The bird on the wire was a bit more than 200 yards from where I was standing when I took the photo. I thought it was a mockingbird. It wasn't until I saw the photo that I realized it is actually a loggerhead shrike. Also, I didn't see that the lizard was molting until I saw the photos.

As has been the case on most of my recent walks, there are three more sets of photos from today that I will publish in upcoming posts.

An Update on the Ongoing Wildfire Danger:

Since Labor Day the San Antonio Fire Department has responded to at least 124 grass and brush fires. Yesterday, a grass fire in far south Bexar County burned four homes. That fire was started by some idiot illegally burning trash. Today a brush fire in far west Bexar County near Potranco Rd and Texas 211 that county officials thought would be easy to contain quickly spread from about 25 acres to over 200 acres. In the past week the Texas Forest Service has responded to 186 fires statewide that have burned more than 156,000 acres. It is a tragic situation that, unfortunately, is only going to get worse.

The Austin American Statesman has an excellent article, "Final environmental toll yet to be reckoned for Central Texas wildfires," on the environmental / ecological impact of the wildfires.

Update Sunday, September 11, 2011:

mysanantonio.com has an excellent article online today about Texas' fire culture and the necessity for reintroducing controlled burns to manage ecosystem balance: "Burning needed to limit fires."

statesman.com has another relevant article: "Texas was warned about risk of building in backcountry."

The Eastern Phoebe

Quite frequently I only get a fleeting glance at a creature before it vanishes out of sight. With these, I don't have time to raise the camera, much less get a photograph. Often enough though, one will hang around long enough for me to get one or two photos. Then there are the rarer times when one will stick around long enough for me to get a series of photos. Some of these even seem to be curious about what I am doing.

On my walk this past Monday on the Medina River Greenway, what appears to me to be an Eastern Phoebe gave me one of those rare opportunities that I cherish so much. My only hesitation in saying this is an Eastern Phoebe, even though it looks all the world to me like one, is that the Medina River Natural Area bird checklist indicates that Eastern Phoebes aren't present in the area during the summer.

But then, maybe this one didn't get the memo. As will be seen in some upcoming posts, there are birds that apparently haven't read what has been written about them.

I really have a feeling this little one was showing off for the camera from the first time it saw me until it dove to catch an insect. (They are in the flycatcher family.):