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.
After all these days wandering along Coastal Bend beaches this was my first time finding toy footwear. It must’ve been today’s theme as I found the leg and the first two non-matching shoes this morning on Mustang Island but picked up the pink one during my sunset walk here on Rockport Beach. Women and their shoe collections!
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!
Kousa Dogwood, (Cornus kousa), this sweet little flower greeted us during the Memorial Day Parade I recently attended while visiting family in Savannah, Ohio. As with most of the dogwoods, the four showy parts are bracts, modified petals, the actual flower is the small nob in the center.
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!
Apparently, the beach is trying to dress me up. I recently picked up these bright baubles: a plastic ring, a flower barrette, a broken bracelet, and a bit of red bling. Weird treasures out there…
Copano Bay Sunset, Texas May 2019
Calm water. Showy sunset. Fishing boat. The salt life doesn’t suck!
Earlier in May, this Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola) hung out in the bayside wetlands for a few days. It was apparently resting before continuing on up to its breeding range in the Arctic. Since egg laying begins in early June I think someone was gonna be late for a very important date.
There are several dozen of these palapas lining Rockport Beach not far from me. They are in high demand on the busy weekends when shade is hot commodity. Not a bad place to spend the day…
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