Cardinals have a special place in my heart. They are ubiquitous. Everywhere I have traveled in the U.S., I have been awoken by cardinal song. It is the same song I listened to in bed as a child and every time I hear it, I get a warm cozy feeling. Also, and I can’t really… Read more »
Fifty years ago, any suggestion that an animal was more than a stimulus-response machine would be met with accusations of anthropomorphism — ascribing to animals some attribute that could only belong to humans. Pavlov rang his bell each time he fed the dogs and eventually, the dogs so associated the bell with the food that… Read more »
Flycatchers sew buttons. Their flight pattern is so distinctive that you often know it’s a flycatcher before you have seen a single field mark. Flycatchers sit on a perch, usually high up, with a commanding view. They take flight abruptly, flying up, up, up and then back down to the same perch or one very… Read more »
Plants can predict the arrival of birds. Blooming and fruiting Mulberries forecast the appearance of orioles, tanagers and grosbeaks. Their disappearance presages the departure of waxwings. My enormous acacia tree that was taken by Ike could forecast the appearance of magnolia warblers. It was always magnolia warblers. Other warblers hopped through the pecan trees, probing… Read more »
I am thrilled to see the Park so well used during our coronavirus lockdown. Sanity can be found on those paths. The blog, however, requires quiet, empty spaces that are not as easily found in the Park nowadays. However, I do still have access to a secret (not really) nature preserve a half-mile north of… Read more »
In case you found your way here without knowing the rules, here’s a link to the Houston Naturama intro page. Find each of these plants Snap a photo Upload it to iNaturalist The easiest way is to take the photo from within the app itself. If you’re not sure if the plant you are looking… Read more »
Yesterday evening, a cardinal stuck himself at the top of a tree down the street and blasted the end of the day. His song was sparse. One descending note over and over. I don’t know if he knows only this much song or if he chose to give an abbreviated performance. Either way, it was… Read more »
Last year, a pair of red-shouldered hawks raised their chicks in a sycamore tree north of the bayou just east of the Shepherd bridge. Red-shouldered hawks will re-use a nest multiple times, but they will also abandon a nest, so it is exciting to report that last year’s nest is being used again. However, this… Read more »
It’s not right for a naturalist to have grudge against a species. But I do. Yellow-rumped warblers are my nemesis. I am probably not alone. Yellow rumps are the empty fork from which delicious food has tumbled just as it approaches your mouth. In other words, they are a disappointment. And it’s not their fault. … Read more »
Carolina wrens are adorable, industrious and fierce. They have the lives your parents hoped for you. They mate for life, settle down on a half acre that’s theirs, and start producing kids. Lots of them. Up to three broods a year. Instead of putting a fence around their half acre, male Carolinas define the boundaries… Read more »