I was intrigued by these small, colorful blobs while walking along the beach on Mustang Island this weekend. Despite their similarities, Blue Buttons (Porpita porpita), are not sea jellies, but instead are colonial creatures made up of hydrozaon polyps, related to Velella velellas and Portugese Man o’ Wars (Physalia physalis). Cyan Buttons would be a more appropriate name, in my humble opinion, but it would lack that cool alliteration factor.

This afternoon on Mustang Island I found my first Gray Sea Star (Luidia clathrata). Since the tube feet were still wiggling I waded out aways before tossing it back into the surf. You’ve probably heard a version of this story, which is based on Loren Eiseley’s essay, The Star Thrower:

“While wandering a deserted beach at dawn, stagnant in my work, I saw a man in the distance bending and throwing as he walked the endless stretch toward me. As he came near, I could see that he was throwing starfish, abandoned on the sand by the tide, back into the sea. When he was close enough I asked him why he was working so hard at this strange task. He said that the sun would dry the starfish and they would die. I said to him that I thought he was foolish; there were thousands of starfish on miles and miles of beach. One man alone could never make a difference. He smiled as he picked up the next starfish and hurled it into the sea, “It makes a difference to that one.”

Live long little one!

I captured this sweet moment while relaxing at the Walker Ranch Historic Landmark Park in San Antonio last week. This little bit of nature is nestled along Salado Creek on the north side of the city. While arriving planes lumbered noisily overhead, birds and other wildlife went about their daily business. An oasis of green calm amongst the concrete bustle. A surprisingly pleasant way to spend an afternoon.

I enjoyed watching this determined Willet (Tringa semipalmata) crunch and munch a small fiddler crab into an ingestible size. Though seemingly a drab brown/gray bird, they are attention getting in flight with their bold black and white wings. Num, num!

While there are several species of wild grape in Texas the Mustang Grape (Vitis mustangensis) is the most common one in the state. The fruit is edible, though quite tangy, so it is best enjoyed as a jam or in baked goods. In the mid-1860s the grapes were fermented into Mustang Wine which was purported to have healing powers. I look forward to them ripening so I can give them a try.

The Laughing Gulls made the best of the freshwater puddles after the big rain last week. I liked the water droplets in these photos…

Ruddy Turnstones (Arenaria interpres) are common worldwide with most breeding in the northern tundra. There are some down here along the Gulf Coast, however, that choose to not go the extra mile and stay here year round instead. Currently, they are rocking their bold “calico” breeding plumage. These short and stocky shorebirds busily use their strong bills to probe the soil or turn over rocks for tasty morsels (hence their common name).