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).
Obviously, a quick internet search will prove that Florida clearly has earned its infamy as the home state of some of the most ridiculous and inept criminals (go ahead, search for Florida Man, I’ll wait). Texas, however, doesn’t like to be outdone in any category. So, I’m submitting, for your reading pleasure, this caper taken from the recent Texas Parks and Wildlife Game Warden Field Notes:
“Wardens observed an individual fishing on Richland Chambers Reservoir after dark with no lights on his boat and made contact. The subject was found to have several water safety, fishing, and narcotics violations, including no lights and no boat registration, no fishing license, using game fish for bait, leaving game fish to die, undersized crappie, and possession of methamphetamine, heroin, and marijuana. The subject was arrested and taken to the Navarro County Jail. A few days later, one of the wardens got a call from the Navarro County Sheriff’s Office informing them the subject’s wife was just arrested for trying to bond her husband out using $900 in counterfeit bills!”
An idiot two-fer!
Copano Bay, Fulton, Texas April 2019
No Parking Sign in Gruene, Texas May 2019
White Blossom, Estero Llano Grande State Park, Weslaco, Texas March 2019
Though it chaps my hide to admit this, I cannot identify this pretty flower. In my defense, the section of the park where I snapped this photo is filled with tropical exotic plants, leftovers from when it was a mobile home park. The thick canopy is a big draw for a wide variety of birds, making the park a hotspot for birders.
Two Tiny Monkeys, Rockport Beach, Texas May 2019
Found these adorable little monkeys during my beach walk yesterday. Though they look like gummy candy they are actually plastic (I’m not going to tell you how I sussed that out). It struck my funny bone since my fellow beach fanatics and I call ourselves Sea Monkeys. Just never know what I’ll find out there…
Beach Art, Found on Rockport Beach, Texas May 2019
While it is officially sea turtle nesting season on Mustang and Padre Islands this is the closest I will get to one here on my local beach. In a bit of good news, there have been 32 nests of the rarest sea turtle species, the Kemp’s Ridley, spotted at Padre Island National Seashore thus far this year.
In an effort to assist the recovery of this endangered species, all the eggs are collected by PINS staff and incubated indoors, safe from beach activities (as beach driving is allowed in Texas). Around 45 days later, the hatchlings are released. After reaching sexual maturity (roughly 10-15 years) females return to their home beach to nest. She deposits 100 eggs into the sand and can nest multiple times in a season. PINS invites the public to some of the releases, I hope to attend one next month.
Compared to the staid demeanor of the majority of the heron family, the entertainment value of the Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens) is off the charts! While the others tend to approach hunting as a study in patience, the Reddish jumps, spins, and flaps its way to a meal. I spent hours the other afternoon captivated by this one’s antics. (The distinction between heron and egret is a bit fuzzy – all egrets are herons but they generally have white feathers and produce white plumes during mating season.)
Surprisingly, this charismatic and active egret has been poorly studied. The species suffered greatly during the plumed hat craze of the late 1800s. Texas Parks and Wildlife estimates there are less than 2,000 nesting pairs in the nation and they are listed as Threatened in this state.
Best to listen to the video with the sound off, I apologize, it was extremely windy that day.
I attended a fantastic concert at the Whitewater Amphitheater in New Braunfels on Friday night. The Avett Brothers headlined but the main draw for me was the opening act, Lukas Nelson and the Promise of the Real. I was mesmerized by the set they played at the Luck Festival back in March and eager to see them again. Lukas not only looks and sounds a lot like his father in his younger days but his songwriting skills are impressive. Lukas and POTR have a new album coming out next month, Turn Off the News (Build a Garden), and I love, love, love the title song.
“Turn off the news and build a garden,
Just my neighborhood and me,
We might feel a bit less hardened,
We might feel a bit more free”
Note: There is one F bomb near the beginning but please don’t let that deter you.
Copano Bay Sunset, Fulton, Texas April 2019
I thought we needed a good sunset to kick off the weekend. TGIF, y’all!
My daily beach walks are never just a casual stroll through the sand. I detest litter and have been picking it up since childhood. Chalk it up to my peculiar temperament, but I can’t relax in a messy home and it is next to impossible for me to unwind in a trashy outdoor space. Since the beaches here receive unceasing deposits of flotsam, I carry a bag with me on my rambles.
I can rely on there being a myriad of plastic pieces and shreds of plastic bags as well as a staggering amount of cigarette butts. Every. Single. Day. Sometimes I’m surprised by a cool, random object (like money). The prevalence of three specific items ebbs and flows: hair ties, acrylic nails, and band aids. I don’t understand it, but every so often there is an upswing of one of those items. Today happened to be band aid day; I collected a whopping 23 of them. They come in waves (literally, and umm, literally).
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