Nature Photography – Natural Musings

April Obsession

The anticipation was almost painful. Would she or wouldn’t she? Beginning in the Spring of 2012, a pair of Great Horned Owls (Bubo Virginianus) have been visiting The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center to nest and raise their chicks. For the first time ever, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology set up a camera near the place that the female nested so they could record the behavior of the owls. And the best part would be that it would stream all day and night. She and her mate and chicks have been well photographed over the years. This live camera would capture even more of the behavior at the nest and would be available for people around the world to observe something few have seen. But, would she even come back this year? She did!

On March 1, 2024 Athena laid an egg in her nest above a stone archway near a sotol plant. On March 5th she laid egg number 2. I tuned in to see her multiple times, but unless she was eating or standing up and moving the eggs, I didn’t find it very interesting. So, I missed seeing her mate bring her meals.

On April 4th, the first egg hatched and I began to tune in quite often.

Athena On Nest April 4th (I did not see hatchling)

On April 6th the second egg hatched-

Day Old Chick Next To Egg With Chip Out (Mom off nest hunting?)

As soon as I saw that first chick, I was hooked on watching and began to tune in several times a day.

Athena In Rain Protecting Chicks (April 9)

Athena and Chick (only one visible-April 13)

I began to worry about the chicks when she was off the nest. What if something got them? I knew she could handle any predators that might come while she was there.

I enjoyed watching what Athena might bring back to feed the babies. I saw many types of food: snakes, maybe a frog, a large bird (grackle?), small birds, big rodents, small rodents, a rabbit, an opossum. And for the first time I really grasped the concept of owl pellets (regurgitated compressed pellets that contain undigestible bits such as bones, feathers, fur) when I saw big furry chunks being swallowed down by the hungry chicks.

I enjoyed watching the 2 chicks interact when mom was gone. How lonely it would be to be a lone chick.

The camera also has sound and at times I would hear one of the chicks (usually seemed to be the littler one) make a peep. I heard what sounded like an adult owl vocalization (sort of a low pitched peep). During the day I heard other birds, including crows and a hawk that would harass mom or dad when they were in nearby trees. At night I would hear frogs and toads from the nearby pond. I also heard chuck wills widows (night calling birds) several times. People talking and sometimes the screech of children could be heard during the day.

And then there were the night time events with loud music and partygoers whooping it up in the background. You could tell what kind of event or crowd it was by the type of music. I remember hearing “Dancing Queen” and “Baby I’m Yours” and once a young man singing the words “What a beautiful wedding!” The birds didn’t seem to be too bothered unless someone shouted loudly nearby.

April 14

Athena With Snake (tough skin)

Chicks Early Evening Before Camera Goes Into Night Mode (April 22)

Mom Taking Off -Note Tail Hanging Out From Chick’s Mouth (April 23)

Watching the development of feathers was fascinating, as was their changing behavior. The chicks would peck at debris in the nest or the dried sotol leaves. Saw the littler one lunge at something that I could not see. They became more active and alert as the weeks went by. The smaller one seemed to have a sort of little sibling personality…I may be projecting here!

On April 24th I checked in at 8:13 a.m. (yes, I kept lots of notes as time went on) and there were just the chicks in the nest. Usually I would see mom up there in the morning. The chicks were grooming themselves. At 9 a.m. they were resting.

9:22 a.m. – Still no momma

10:22 a.m. No momma

3:45 p.m. No mom!

7:05 p.m. No mom!

Yes, I was worried! Checked in at 8:50 p.m., (bigger chick standing tall and alert); 9:46 p.m. (little chick pecking at stuff), 10:29 p.m., and finally at 10:39 p.m. I turned it off and went to bed worrying about all the things that might have happened to mom.

April 25th at 8:08 a.m. -Yay! Athena is back with her babes and I relaxed. I was identifying too much with these little critters. The day before, I started to experience some emotional flashbacks of fear of desertion and being left behind! As if I was a young child and not an old lady.

You may have noticed that I have not talked about dad. I know male owls bring meals to mom when she is on the nest and other observers have seen dad in nearby trees. One night I saw an owl fly in on the left side of the sotol and drop off a rodent and leave without tearing it into pieces and feeding the chicks. Mom usually flies in to the front of the nest area, so maybe this was dad. That time I just saw the chicks peck at the rodent a bit, since they had not quite learned to rip things apart. At a later date I saw the chicks having a tug of war with a small rodent. And last night I saw a rodent being dropped off from the side and that may have been dad.

If you look close you can see a tail and hind legs of a small rodent the adult is carrying.

The story is not yet over. The babes have not fledged yet. It will be pretty soon and you can still watch them by going to:

Wildflower.org/visit/athena-the-owl

In the meantime I will be a bit obsessed still and worry about them and see owl images in such things as my back fence.

The real owl images were taken from screen shots on my Ipad or from my Nikon of screen images.

I am so thankful for the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology for offering this opportunity.

Check out Cornell’s website at:

Allaboutbirds.org

Embracing Spring

Last month I was expecting Spring and actively looking for signs of the early anemones. I looked for them everyday in my front yard. On February 18th I saw the first ones!

A Host of Anemones At The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center (February 2024)

The first day of Spring is celebrated in North America on the Spring Equinox, I am celebrating Spring now because so much fresh life is emerging all around. Green shoots are coming up from the ground and sprouting from tree branches. And there is the blooming of flowers…from the pinky purple buds on my redbud tree to the purple spiderwort blossoms popping out every day. The days are getting longer and warmer. Birds are becoming more vocal and active. Some will soon leave to breed farther North (white throated sparrow seen below), while we welcome other species home from their wintering grounds in the South. I am guessing some of you have already seen some purple martins (early Spring arrivals). Other critters are emerging on sunny days (lizards, snakes, insects)

White Throated Sparrow At Wildflower Center (ready to fly North to spend the warmer months)

Carolina Wren Wondering What Their Significant Other Is Up To

Significant Other Taking A Dust Bath In Potting Soil In Our Raised Garden Bed

I am embracing them all in my heart and soul, these little joys of Spring.

And, No, I didn’t forget! The Blue bonnets are starting to bloom!

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center (February 2024)

(all photos taken by B. McCreary)

Expecting Spring

I am getting old. I have seen many Springs, but these days I often wonder how many more I will see before I pass from this life and dissolve into the great mystery. I push these thoughts away before I move into despair and fear. I am determined to concentrate on the joy to be found every day…especially the abundant little joys found in the Spring. Some of these little joys are the early flowers. Specifically, I am talking about the little anemone flowers that bloom before most other flowers. I have looked in my front yard and in the nearby greenbelt, but no luck so far.

Here is what I am searching for:

They can be white, pink, purple, or blue. The flower heads are on a tall, slender stalk up to a foot high. Anemones are perennials and are in the family Ranunculaceae (Buttercup). They occur in prairies and woodlands from January through April.

Flower Fly On Anemone

We have at least 4 species in Texas and I don’t know if the ones I have seen in past years are the Carolina Anemone (Anemone caroliniana) or the Ten-Petal Anemone (Anemone berlandieri).

Fun Facts:

What look like the petals are actually sepals…don’t ask…I need to learn more.
The “petals” close up at night or during low light days.
Although Indigenous peoples used parts of the plant as medicine in healing wounds and others made a tea from it, the plant is considered toxic (neurotoxin).
The word anemone is from a Greek word meaning wind. Some say the spring breezes cause the flowers to open. Others noticed them swaying in the wind.
There are about 150 species of related anemones in the world in both the southern and northern hemispheres.
Folklore associated with the plants range from those who say anemones are the “lilies of the field” in the New Testament to them representing blood in Greek mythology. In China there is an anemone that is associated with death. My favorite story is that when it rains, fairies sleep in the closed up petals.

I will keep looking every day and when I see my first anemone, I will smile and welcome another Spring.

Sources-

Wildflowers of Texas by Geyata Ajilvsgi

Legends of Texas Wildflowers by Elizabeth Silverthorne

Wildflowers of the Texas Hill Country by Marshall Enquist

Heralds of Spring in Texas by Roland H. Wauer

Wildflower.org

Photos by B. McCreary

Them!

It has been a long, hot summer and I think that is why we have more cicadas than I have ever seen before. Not sure when they first appeared this year, but they sure made their presence known by July. They like the heat and are gone by October.

If I am not mistaken, these critters are Cicadidae Tibicen, known as Dog-Day Cicadas. Even if I never saw their shedded skins or the live ones, I would know they were here because of the extremely loud buzzing calls of the males trying to attract a female. The rising crescendo of sound can be almost deafening. But, it is a familiar sound and brings back memories of summers past.

The females lay eggs in tree bark. The larva emerge and fall to the ground and burrow underground, sustained by liquid from tree roots. They go through several stages until they emerge from the ground and then shed their outer skin. They are bumbling flyers and easy prey for hawks, squirrels, opossums, and other critters. Dogs and cats enjoy playing with them.

The following images are from my yard in southwest Austin, Texas. If you are freaked out by insects, stop scrolling now.

Clinging to branches…

On Back Porch

There are other species of cicada in Texas, but this is the type I see the most. Apparently they are not considered a real plant pest. Some people find them creepy. People that are afraid of insects might find their size intimidating. They get at least 1 and 1/2 inches long and 1/2 inch wide. I like them and am already missing them.

I googled “what do kids do with cicada shells” and came across a website called stayathomescience.com for parents that home school their kids. They have activities that involve going on a cicada shell hunt, gathering the cicada shells, and then painting them and adding glitter. They also have downloadable coloring pages of cicadas and their life cycle. If you go to the site, click on Biology to find this. I suppose you could make holiday ornaments from the painted and glittered up critters. I will leave that to the little ones.

The Extraordinary Visitor

Our security cameras have photographed some interesting critters coming to our yard. We have recorded visits from opossums, coyote, rabbits, deer, rats, an owl, raccoons, a ringtail cat, and rodents. And over the years we have had neighborhood domestic cats appear on film, a few that we recognize as return visitors. But, on the night of August 18th, 2023 around 3:00 a.m., one of our cameras got triggered 3 times and recorded a most extraordinary visitor:

Cat 1 Still and Video

I had been hoping that one day we would record a bobcat or even a cougar. The first thing my excited brain said was “Bobcat!” But, then I realized that the tail was long.

Cat 2 Still and Video

Cat 3 Still and Video

After looking at my North American field guides and striking out, I went to the internet searching for small cats with striped tails and came across the website of the International Society for Endangered Cats (ISEC) Canada (WildCatConservation.org/wild-cats/asia/jungle-cat/ )

According to their site, I think it is something called a Jungle Cat (Felis chaus) native to Africa, India, S. Asia, S.E. Asia, and China.

There is another cat called an African Golden Cat (Caracal aurata) that looks similar.

I haven’t seen any notices of a lost exotic cat. I still need to check with local zoos. I did talk to my local Texas Game Warden and sent him the videos. My best guess is that it was an exotic pet that escaped. Our heat and drought have been intense and I imagine it slurped up some water from our pond and maybe nabbed a toad for dinner.

If any of you have a better i. d. for this critter, please let me know.

Summer Visitors

It is no news to any of you that this has been a really hot summer so far. Here in my Austin suburb our thermometer reads 100.6. I know it is even hotter in town. Any outdoor activities are pretty limited to evening and morning. No walking in the nearby greenbelt. I can’t even sit in the shade on my porch in the afternoon. We make sure we put out water for our little feathered friends and others. I am sharing a few photos of some visitors to our backyard. They are making my summer enjoyable.

The Cute

Squirrel Dining On Sunflower Head (June)

The Curious

The Tiny

The Fierce

Hawk Resting And Scouting In Bur Oak (July)

The Show-Off

*All photos taken by B. McCreary

Slow Walking At The Botanical Gardens

I missed my slow walk this morning. I missed my slow walking friends, but right now it is too hot for me to be outside.

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is visited by thousands of people each year. Young and old, locals and tourists, the people come to view the flowers and other native Texas plants. Trails wind around the 284 acres and people can move at their own pace. There are fast walkers that get their steps in and medium walkers moving from one patch of spectacular floral colors to the next. There are parents pushing strollers and kids running around the lawns in the children’s garden. And then there are the groups of very slow walkers. They can be seen in groups of 6 or more, huddled around a flowering bush, taking turns to get the best angle to get a good shot with their close-up camera lenses. Some carry binoculars that they point at the trees and grassy fields. These women and men are participating in the weekly Fauna Survey, finding, identifying and documenting all the non-plant life that call the Wildflower Center home.

The Fauna Project is a weekly survey event led by Val Bugh (check out her website: http://www.austinbug.com). She has been at this since 2010 and has amassed quite a record of the bio diversity contained within this site. Her special area of expertise is entomology. The walking is slow because there is so much to see. At least every other plant will have a little insect on it doing something: eating another insect, mating, hunting, etc. Each survey is different. Here are some of my photos taken on the surveys so far this year.

So, get out and do a slow walk. You never know what you might find.

According to their website, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is home to at least 1,800 insect species (93 of these are butterfly species), 148 bird species, and 15 mammal species.

Wildflower.org/facts

Spring Feathers

Last month I shared my trip to the Texas coast. It was a much longed for getaway scheduled after the crowds of spring break and before the crowds of summer. It was just coincidental that this visit was during the peak of the spring bird migration. Ordinarily the Texas coast is a wonderful place to look for birds, but the numbers of different birds during migration make this a special time. And we happened to visit during a fallout…this is when bad weather conditions temporarily prevent the migrating birds from traveling on to their breeding grounds. I got a good look at many wonderful birds from rose breasted grosbeaks to indigo buntings to orange colored orioles. However, most of the photos I actually got were of birds that can be seen year around.

There were large birds…

Birds flying…

Birds flying in large groups…

Birds with long beaks…

Colorful birds with short beaks…

Delicate shore birds…

And other types of flocks…

Birders at Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center

Port Aransas has so many places to see birds from the beach to the ship channel to designated nature preserves. Birders can walk for a mile or so on some sturdy boardwalks at The Nature Preserve at Charlie’s Pasture and Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center. A fun and short walk is at Paradise Pond, a small wetland tucked behind the Restaurant San Juan.

Lots of beautiful birds seen and perhaps a trip during Fall migration is in my future.

*Bonus bird seen on the way home- Wild turkey flew across the highway just north of Kenedy, Texas

*Bird photos taken by B. McCreary

*Photo of birders taken by D. McCreary

Beach Trip III

During the Covid lockdown I longed for a trip to the Texas coast. But, we didn’t go anywhere and I felt beach deprived. I am making up for it now. Our first post lockdown trip to the coast was described in my January blog post, where I wrote about our visit to the Rockport area and the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. Our second trip was this past week.

It is almost 252 miles from Austin to Port Aransas and usually takes us at least 4 -5 hours, depending on stops. We took our usual route from Austin down hi-way 183. But, instead of our usual bypassing of Gonzales, we decided to check out the Gonzales memorial Museum.

It is a small museum with stories on the early and later pioneers of this area. But, the main attraction is a small cannon. This cannon was given to the settlers of Gonzales by the Mexican government for protection in case of attack by the indigenous people of the area. A few years later, in 1835, the Mexican government wanted it back. The people of Gonzales refused to give it back and voiced one of our iconic Texas slogans, “Come and take it.” In the Fall of that year, the little cannon fired the first shot of the Texas Revolution. I had never visited this museum before and was surprised how small the cannon is.

Then we headed on down the road to our usual stop in Goliad for lunch. We picked up burgers and fries at Whataburger and headed down the road to Goliad State Park. This is always a nice break to eat, stretch our legs, and do a little nature viewing. There are also several historic sites to visit. This trip we just ate and sat in the park.

Continuing on, we arrived in Aransas pass and boarded the ferry to Port Aransas.

We picked up supplies of food and drink at the local grocery and headed a few miles down the road to our vacation rental. We spent three nights there. Here are several views from our balcony.

We walked on the beach, but the water was a bit cool. We didn’t go in past our calves.

I love the sound of the Gulf surf and the cry of the laughing gulls. I love the feel of moist, salt spray on my face, the soft grit of sand between my toes, and the rush of waves over my ankles.

Oyster Shell My Husband Found…Looks Like A Fish Head

We took a dolphin watching cruise of the channel on The Scarlet Lady.

Along our route was the oldest working lighthouse in Texas. It is privately owned.

I highly recommend this dolphin watching cruise. We saw lots of dolphins, birds, ships, and history.

Another highlight of our trip was visiting the various nature trails and birdwatching spots in Port Aransas. A particular favorite is the boardwalk at the Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center. On our last visit it was closed due to being destroyed during a hurricane. They have rebuilt and it is better than ever. Besides birds, one critter we look for is a large alligator. We don’t always spot it, but we were lucky this trip.

We decided to return to Austin via a slightly different route. We headed down the island to Corpus Christi. I wanted to visit the Selena Memorial at the Corpus Christi Bayfront Seawall.

Texas Historic Plaque honoring the 1966 Farmworkers March. The farmworkers were pressing for better wages and working conditions. They left Rio Grande City, Texas on July 5th and marched 380 miles to the state capitol in Austin. They passed through Corpus Christi on the way and arrived in Austin on Labor day where possibly 10,000 people rallied for the cause.

The memorial to Selena Quintanilla-Perez is not far from the farmworker plaque. There is a statue of her that is made of bronze and a plaque with words honoring her and a sculpture of a white rose, which was her favorite flower. The words “Mirador de la Flor” (Overlook of the Flower) are on the memorial.

This was our final goal and we headed north out of Corpus Christi, exited east and went through Beeville, Kenedy* and Nixon before rejoining hi-way 183 in Luling. We got back to Austin about one hour before a major thunderstorm hit. Good timing.

I am so grateful for a wonderful trip to my beloved Texas coast and for a wonderful traveling companion.

Photos taken by B. McCreary

*We stopped for lunch on the way back at a wonderful city park in Kenedy, Texas. Picnic tables, shade, playscape, clean restrooms. Saw an Eastern Bluebird there, mirroring my happiness.

Check out:

http://www.gonzales.Texas.gov

https://TPWD.Texas.gov>state-parks>goliad

https://Scarletladydolphincruise.com

Where Flowers Bloom…

My part of Texas is awash in wildflowers right now. In the past month I have taken numerous trips to Austin’s Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center to walk and to marvel at the bounty of Spring. So much beauty to ooh and aah over, especially our Texas Blue Bonnets.

On some of the outer trails my eyes are drawn to the large patches of blue. I am reminded of our ubiquitous Blue Bonnet paintings.

Go to an art gallery showcasing Texas landscape art and you will find paintings of Blue Bonnets…Longhorn cattle in Blue Bonnets…barbed wire fences and Blue Bonnets…old trucks and Blue Bonnets. These have been popular for years and they sell well. People ooh and aah over them. Somewhere there is probably a painting of a T-Rex in a field of Blue Bonnets.

And then there are the photos. People trample swaths of these flowers to pose their children and dogs next to them. The Wildflower Center does have a couple of designated areas where visitors can pose with the Blue Bonnets without destroying them. I have done this myself with family and friends. They are pretty, but this kind of gets boring after a while. I seek out the other flowers sprinkled among and near the blue ones. The real Texas landscape has many kinds and colors of flowers. Every color you can imagine.

Chocolate Daisy (leaves smell like chocolate)

Variety is the spice of life. Each living creature adds to the beauty of the world. I like to think of each human as an individual flower with a unique beauty. What if, in our urban and suburban landscapes, we celebrated the diversity of the people we see as we walk through our towns and shop in our stores? What if we oohed and aahed at the beauty of each person? It might be a bit weird if we did this out loud, but we can do this inside ourselves. And maybe we would greet them with a smile and the world would be a better, more loving place…at least for that one day for those people…the admired and the one admiring.

(I was going to subtitle this month’s blog “Pollyanna on her soapbox with pretty pictures”…I do believe each of us who model this sort of love for our fellow creatures can influence others. )

*(All photos taken by the author at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center except for the last photo which was taken at McKinney Falls State Park)

Check out the website: wildflower.org