We have just one Park and just one bayou within it, but lots of different shore birds find ways of staying fed on the same basic diet (fish, amphibians, insects and crustaceans.) You might imagine, given that this, that our Park is a battleground of all against all. But that’s not what happens. Each animal… Read more »
The Snowy Egret In this corner, we have the magnificent snowy egret, the most elegant bird in North America. This is the bird for whom the entire Audubon Society was formed. Hunted almost to extinction for its fabulous feathers, the snowy egret is now plentiful, a conservation success story. Snowies are energetic fish hunters who employ… Read more »
Big shout-out to fellow master naturalist David Strong who noticed two red shouldered hawks tending to their nest in the Park, snapped a great photo (above) and let me know where to find the nest. The plan formed immediately! I would document the nest-building, egg laying, fledgling feeding, first flights. This was going to be… Read more »
It’s a brand new year and this blog is starting it off with a bang. We have a pair of loggerhead shrikes in the Park. Wait, you’re not jumping up and down with glee? Then let me explain. Loggerhead shrikes are cool birds for a bunch of reasons I will get into. But the reason… Read more »
Henry David Thoreau wrote: If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away. I am now persuaded he was speaking of a singular great egret who has indeed stepped far away,… Read more »
Cormorants are not rare, and until I spent some time photographing this pair on Monday, I didn’t think they were particularly lovely. They were interesting but aesthetically challenged. Boy, was I wrong. Up close, they are gorgeous birds. These are Neotropic cormorants. They are a Central and South American bird; the only places in the… Read more »
Our Park is part of a prairie restoration project that aims to show off the native coastal prairie ecosystem that was present in this part of Texas for the last 23,000 years. The silt from Hurricane Harvey dealt this project a setback, but there is a stunning patch of prairie plants going strong just to… Read more »
I am yet again going to write about herons. Do not blame me. Blame the juvenile Tricolored Heron that was standing, almost invisible, in the run-out of the McGovern Cascade. She was so well camouflaged that I noticed her only because I wanted a better look at two turtles with whom she shared the log… Read more »
I may have to rename this blog, “What do Herons Eat?” Last week, we discussed night herons. This week we turn to Green Herons. I didn’t plan to make August heron month, but I found this bird not too far from the Buffalo Bayou Partnership offices at Allen’s Landing. It was her idea to commandeer… Read more »
I had never seen a night heron until I moved to Houston. I first noticed them when I played softball. They were the large birds wading around in the puddles beyond center field. You might imagine my proficiency at softball from the fact that I spent my time facing the wrong way. We also had… Read more »