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Erin

Coddiwompling through life, guided by my love of nature and insatiable curiosity.

Teeter Tail

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Louisiana Waterthrush, Port Aransas, Texas March 2019

The Louisiana Waterthrush (Parkesia motacilla) is found along wooded wetlands with flowing water. While actually a warbler, this bird’s streaky plumage resembles a thrush (hence the common name). The bright pink legs and white eyebrow are helpful identifying features of this fast moving bird. The ornithological term for that long, white eyebrow is supercilium (which is an awfully fun word to say, come on, try it). By the way, motacilla is Latin for moving tail and is used for the genus of wagtails. Though technically, the LOWA teeters its body, it doesn’t wag.
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Sunset Collection

I collect sunsets. I suppose I take after my dad in that regard. He collects clouds. He’s especially fond of the towering thunderheads that are good omens of rain. That penchant is understandable, since he was born and raised in the arid Sonoran Desert.

Our collections differ in that I capture mine digitally and store them on a hard drive for potential later use, whereas his exist only as mental snapshots, stored in his mind palace. To each his own.

Copano Bay, TX April 2019
Copano Bay, TX March 2019
Laguna Madre, TX March 2019
Depoe Bay, OR January 2019
Ventura, CA August 2014
Portland, OR June 2014
Tucson, AZ November 2010
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Greenish

This Green Heron (Butorides virescens) was a talkative fellow, with lots of throaty kyowing going on as he attempted to entice a female. While I found him quite handsome, we weren’t exactly birds of a feather (if you know what I mean). By the way, virescens is Latin for greenish referring to the color of the crown and back (which in my photos looks more gray than green).

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A Fish Tale

While waiting for a beer at the Back Porch in Port Aransas the other evening I caught this conversation between the group of men standing next to me:

Guy 1: “Hey man, how ya doing? I haven’t seen you since our fishing trip!”

Guy 2: “Yeah, that was such a great trip!”

Guy 3: “Wait, wasn’t that the trip where you forgot the tackle?”

Guy 1: “Yep. We got all the way out there and set up the poles before we realized that we left the tackle and the bait in the truck.”

Guy 2: “We had the coolers though, so it all worked out.”

Chuckling ensued…

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Sunny Afternoon, South Padre Island, Texas April 2019

 

 
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Prickly, Bristly

I’m pretty sure these are Bull Thistles (Cirsium horridulum) but I did not take all the photos necessary for proper identification (sorry, Julie, I know you trained me better). I was too infatuated with the showy blossoms to worry about the rest of the plants. Horridulum, appropriately, is Latin for prickly or bristly. Bees and small flies seemed to share my enthusiasm for these pretty poofs. Besides, I like saying Bull Thistle (it might just be my new swear, in my long-overdue attempt to clean up my flowery language).

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Commensalism

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Cattle Egret and Cow, Lamar, Texas April 2019

For the past few weeks I’ve been trying to get a decent photo of a flock of Cattle Egrets (Bubulcus ibis) that frequent a nearby cow pasture. Luck was with me the other day, when this sweet mama grazed close to the fence bringing her companion with her. Appropriately, bubulcus is Latin for herdsman. As both names imply, Cattle Egrets follow herds of grazing animals.

In a mutually beneficial arrangement, the birds snap up delicious insects that the ungulates attract (and that their large hooves flush). As you can see from the rufous highlights, it is breeding season (otherwise, it would sport only white feathers).
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My Favorite Road Sign, Ever

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Texas has a vast network of Historical Signs posted along every roadway. As you probably know, I typically whip off the road to read these. However, I’ll be honest, most of the ones here in Texas have been so filled with hyperlocal minutia that I’ve been weaned off my habit. I give major props to the highway workers responsible for this sign! And no, though I (safely) flipped a U-turn on the highway in order to snap a photo of this sign, I did not stop to read the actual marker.
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