Nature's Original River Dance, A St. Patrick's Day Special Edition

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Nature's Original River Dance

"St. Patrick's Day is an enchanted time – a day to begin transforming winter's dreams into summer's magic."  -  Adrienne Cook

This post is dedicated to the memory
of my friend and mentor, Dr. Sean Burke.

When I began photographing this Snowy Egret on my walk along the Mission Reach of the San Antonio River on Friday, March 8, 2013, the few times I photographed Irish step dance performances for Sean Burke (pdf link) quickly came to mind. I can assure you that Michael Flatley, well known for his elaborate stage productions of Riverdance and Lord of the Dance, has nothing on this bird and its own original river dance.

As a matter of fact, the more I have worked with this series of photos, preparing them for publication, the more I am convinced this egret is quite accomplished in the sean-nós style of traditional Irish solo dance.

One thing the series of still photographs fails to adequately depict is how the egret shuffles its feet on the river bottom between larger steps. That shuffling motion, which it does to stir up food from the sediment, is a critical visual aspect of the egrets behavior, giving it the appearance of the sean-nós dance movement.

By a rather fortuitous coincidence (the luck of the Irish?), here is a video of Emma O'Sullivan demonstrating a sean-nós dance at the 2011 North American Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann convention (pdf link). Another coincidence? This convention was held here in San Antonio:

May love and laughter light your days,
and warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours,
wherever you may roam.
May peace and plenty bless your world
with joy that long endures.
May all life's passing seasons bring
the best to you and yours.

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

A Friday Bouquet of Riverside Flowers

Friday, March 15, 2013

San Antonio River, Mission Reach, Mission Rd Trailhead upstream

Today's photos:

Today was another beautiful, if somewhat warm, day for a walk along the river. As usual, there was more than enough to see and photograph. For now, here is a small assortment of flowers blooming along the river bank.

• The first photo is an overview that includes both Pink Evening Primrose and Bluebonnets.
• The second photo is Firewheel, also known as Indian Blanket.
• The third photo is a cluster of Bluebonnets. The bluebonnets are really beginning to blossom in abundance.
• The fourth through the seventh photos are Phlox.
• The eighth photo is False Dayflower.
• The ninth and tenth photos are Bluebonnets growing among the large erosion prevention rocks on the edge of the river bank. 

I am working on a very special St. Patrick's Day post that I want to be sure is ready to go online Sunday morning, so I will post more photos from today's walk next week.

Goatweed Leafwing

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Goatweed Leafwing sounds like the perfect name for a cartoon character, but it is actually the name of a butterfly. The host plants for their caterpillar are crotons, such as the Texas Croton. One of the common names for croton is goatweed.

The goatweed leafwing I photographed on my walk at Walker Ranch Historic Landmark Natural Area on Wednesday (March 13, 2013) was particularly active and easy to see. Typically, these butterflies will perch with their wings folded. The underside of the wings look very much like dried leaves. This serves as a very effective camouflage:

Springing Back to Life

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.