Welcome back to the Cliff Swallow Chronicles. To catch you up with our story this far: There has been a cliff swallow colony under the bat bridge forever. Our cliff swallows winter in South and Central America, return to their mud nests in Houston each year. Upon their arrival, they spiff up the nests and… Read more »
We are deep into baby bird season. Many species who live in the Park year round are raising chicks right here, but most of our egrets and herons are missing. These species roost in large colonies; while adults might spend all year hunting in the Park, when it comes time to raise chicks, they… Read more »
Our red-shouldered hawks have hatched their egg(s) and the nest is no longer even a little sleepy. Mom and Dad are steadily coming and going and feeding the little ones. I think there is more than one, but I cannot tell yet. This week’s post is a video of our happy family. In the video… Read more »
We tend to think of animals as interesting stimulus-response machines. When faced with X set of circumstances, the animal will be triggered to do Y. The bee sees a flower, which triggers the urge to drink nectar which causes the bee to bump into pollen organs. That triggers the bee to groom and pack that… Read more »
Lots of family stuff this week so just a short post. I have found yet another viewing spot for the red-shouldered hawk nest that involves standing on a tall ladder at some remove. After I work out a few kinks, I think I might use this perch to see more into the nest at eye… Read more »
Not a long post this week, but I want to let you know how to find the red-shouldered hawk nest. I have found two spots from which you can see the nest and I will be checking out a third when I get a moment. The nest is in a large sycamore on the… Read more »
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 »