Linear view vs. Masonry View

Birds Do It…

Primping for the Big Moment
Heading Out
Hey, Baby!
Wanna Get Busy with Me?
Getting Busy
After Snack

The Common Gallinule (Gallinula galeata), as the name implies is a common, though often secretive, bird in the rail family. A couple weeks ago, I was privileged to watch the entire mating ritual. After a bath, the male approached the female. She must’ve found him agreeable as she presented her backside to him. Foreplay consisted of a couple gentle strokes with his toes (possibly to help expose her cloaca). Then he mounted her, holding her neck firmly before dismounting less than 30 seconds later. Mission accomplished, she swam away while he started feeding.

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Mermaid’s Purse

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While waiting for the sun to rise on South Padre Island I discovered this skate egg case (aka mermaid’s purse) in the wrack line. Often mistaken for seaweed, the small pouch made of collagen protects the skate embryo as it develops.

While skates are related to both sharks and rays, they most closely resemble rays. There are roughly a dozen skate species found in the Gulf of Mexico and sadly, I was not able to pinpoint the exact species this egg case belongs to. Still fun to find, though.
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Whose Scat Is That?

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I admit to being stymied by the scat I found near Port Isabel, Texas. The large size and quantity reminded me of elk but they aren’t commonly found in that part of the state. My poop mystery was cleared up by an interpretive sign at the Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park that discussed invasive species.

Nilgai, large Asian antelope, were imported to south Texas for game hunting by the King Ranch in the 1930s. Of course, as so often happens with introduced species, without natural predators, the nilgai reproduced rapidly and have expanded beyond the ranch. There are now an estimated 15,000 of them wandering south Texas.
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Not Randy

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I met this Texas Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum) while touring Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park. There are 14 species of horned lizards in North America. Growing up in the Sonoran Desert I was fascinated by our local horned lizards. I would sit in the dirt and watch them patiently waiting near an anthill. They were so still that ants would walk right over their backs. Life ended in a flash of tongue for any ant foolish enough to walk in front, though.

We used to call them horny toads (because of the protuberances, not because they were randy) which is a reflection of the first part of their binomial which translates as toad-bodied.

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Smart and Handsome

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Green Jay, Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, Los Fresnos, Texas March 2019

The Green Jay (Cyanocorax yncas) is a stunner! Though the common name references the overall body color of this species, the first part of its binomial translates as dark blue raven (which is the predominate feature of the members of this genus). As with others in the crow family, these birds are highly intelligent. They are known tool users, employing sticks to remove insects from tree bark.
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Deceptive Beauty

Do not be fooled by the beautiful blue and pink colors of the Portugese Man o’ War (Physalia physalis). Their long tentacles can deliver a venomous sting, even when beached. Contact usually results in red welts but the venom can cause breathing trouble in some people. Surprisingly, it is a favorite food of Loggerhead Sea Turtles. I encountered these down on South Padre Island, thankfully, I have yet to find any on the beaches near me.

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Release Party

 

Green Sea Turtle
Loggerhead Sea Turtle
Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle

The awesome Amos Rehabilitation Keep (ARK), a subsidiary of the University of Texas Marine Science Institute in Port Aransas, recently released seven sea turtles. The animals were brought in to receive care for various injuries and were finally deemed healthy enough to return to the open water. Of the seven sea turtle species in the world, five of them can be found in the Gulf of Mexico: Loggerhead, Green, Kemp’s Ridley, Leatherback, and Hawksbill. Three species were released that morning: Loggerhead, Kemp’s Ridley and Green. As you can see in the video below, they were eager to swim away.

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