We’ve all heard of the natural phenomenon that is the pecking order. For Turkey Vultures along the Texas Gulf Coast, that hierarchy leaves a visible mark. Since the region lacks sizable trees, young, or tardy, or just plain unlucky vultures are forced to roost on lower limbs under the rest of their committee. Which means they often end up painted in feces, like this one I met recently. Poor bugger!

The White-eyed Vireo (Vireo griseus) is one aptly named bird! Compared to any of the other vireos that pale eye is incredibly distinctive. Though, to be finicky, I would call that color light gray or ash. A technicality supported by its scientific name as griseus is Latin for gray. It is a handsome little bird that I was very fortunate to get a good look at (they spend most of their time flitting busily through the shrubbery, took me fifteen minutes to even locate this one). Which is where the first part of their binomial comes into play, vireo means lively or full of vigor.

This American Bumblebee is demonstrating the correct entomophily (insect pollination) technique. As it wiggles into the flower to slurp some sweet nectar, pollen grains attach to the bee’s body. At the next flower, some of the pollen (aka plant sperm) will brush off, helping to fertilize that flower’s egg cells. Practicing safe plant sex leaves all parties satisfied!

This American Bumblebee (Bombus pensylvanicus) is stealing from this little flower. Instead of the usual plant-pollinator interaction, where the pollinator earns a sweet treat in exchange for carrying off pollen and sharing it with other flowers, this bumblebee has cut to the chase.

This tough, water-loving little plant is the bane of anyone who desires a perfect lawn down here along the Texas Coastal Bend. There are roughly 100 species of Hydrocotyles around the world, two of which are found in this area. At least the common name here is a bit of an inflation, elsewhere, they are known as pennywort.

The Common Buckeye Butterfly (Junonia coenia) is aptly named. Not only do the large eyespots look like deer eyes but it is very a common resident in the southeastern U.S. They are regularly found in urban areas, thriving in parks and weedy lots. As spring warms, some of the young butterflies will make their way north, spreading as far as Canada. Like many retirees, at the first hint of winter weather they will head south. The worn adult above could have been a local butterfly or a migrant. Or, to use the local term for a snowbird, a Winter Texan.