Gulf Coast Greenie

More Birds of Aransas County, plus a Local Surprise

Last week, I shared with you a boat tour of Aransas Bay, but in that post, I didn't include all of the birds we saw that afternoon. Below are a few more shots.

If you looked at the video, you may have noticed these lovely pelicans:

I have never seen one do that with its pouch before!

We also saw some lovely ibises that moved a little too fast in the fog for my camera to capture them at their best:

On the same trip, elsewhere in Aransas and Calhoun counties, we saw many more amazing animals.

Further inland, we found this loggerhead shrike perched next to its favorite plant features: Thorns. Shrikes are known to impale their prey on them.

And a juvenile white-tailed hawk, the first I've seen:

We also saw many of the same birds we found in the Bosque del Apache at the end of last year, such as

sandhill cranes:

and snow geese:

When we got back to Clear Lake at the end of the weekend, we had a wonderful surprise too:

A flock of ibises right next to I-45! We usually have them in this area now, but I've never seen them taking advantage of improperly planned construction next to a major highway before. I'm glad poor drainage can at least create a habitat for the prey of some cool birds. (I don't want to embarrass the business next to this mini wetland, but it is new construction and the area didn't flood in previous years.) Is accidental habitat restoration inherently bad?

Aransas Bay Last Week: A boatload of intracoastal awesomeness, updated with video

Tens of thousands of ducks darkened the sky last Saturday afternoon in Aransas Bay.

Last weekend we traveled to South Texas and went on a boat tour around Aransas Bay. This time of year, it's generally a good idea to make reservations ahead of time for such excursions. We didn't see any "snow birds" -- visitors from the North that like to flock to the relatively inexpensive and warmer coasts south of Houston -- but the boat was to capacity.

A downside to planning ahead is that you can't be certain of the weather. It was very foggy for us in the early afternoon, but the water and winds were calm. If I were to choose between low light and wind, I would choose low light. It gets so windy down there that the sturdy oak trees along the shore bend away from the water.

After leaving the dock at Fulton, our captain made a bee line for the marshes near the Aransas Wildlife Refuge where whooping cranes can be found. Even on our way there, as we sped down the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, we saw some astounding sights. At one point a large squadron of pelicans emerged from the horizon and flew above our heads. The captain said he'd never seen such a large grouping before.

American white pelicans in the sky, egrets along the shore

It wasn't easy finding the whooping cranes. They don't group together like sandhill cranes. Whooping crane pairs are territorial and only found dispersed across their winter habitat here. We were fortunate to see this pair with their chick (and a great blue heron):

The adults seemed to maintain the same distance between themselves and their chick as they moved along looking for food.

Whereas sandhill cranes will feed on grains, whooping cranes primarily feed on invertebrates. Tragically, their primary food source here, the blue crab, is very scarce again this year because of a lack of fresh water, from drought and upstream usage. (Read more.)

We saw other pairs from a distance but were not able to get close, and this was the only chick we saw. Even so, it was such a privilege to get to see them. Fewer than 20 of them existed when my grandparents were my age.

Other birds we saw that were once on the brink but have since rebounded are the brown pelican and peregrine falcon.

Scroll down for more photos from this spectacular day.

Double-crested Cormorants and a Brown Pelican

  Snowy Egret with Skimmers and Sandpipers

American Oystercatchers

Long-billed Curlews

Belted Kingfisher

Great Blue Herons

The last planned sight on the tour was a nesting ground for peregrine falcons. I don't know what the structure they're using was originally built for, but it looked like a contemporary architect had designed it for them. They even have a native-plant garden.

But that wasn't the end to the fun. On the way back to the dock, a pod of dolphins played joyfully in the boat's wake.

 

Wordless Wednesday: Whoopers and a heron

 

Fine Garden Art, SA

The San Antonio Museum of Art is in the original Lone Star Brewery, an unexpectedly suitable venue.

After attending the San Antonio Flower Festival and visiting the Botanical Garden, I found myself searching out botanical themes and motifs during my visit to the San Antonio Museum of Art too.

Wreath of oak leaves and acorns, Greek, Late Classical or Hellenistic period, 4th - 1st Century BC, Gold:

Fragment of a Pillar, Roman (Augustan period), Late 1st Century BC-early 1st Century AD, Marble. (I darkened the lines in the image below right so some of it would be easier to see online):

The fragment depicts a nest with birds and a delicate flowering vine. According the information on the identification plaque, it may have served to support an outdoor garden sculpture.

Christ Crucified, 18th Century, Artist unknown, Guatemala, polychromed wood:

I love how creators of Latin American religious icons used flowers as an indication of holiness. In some cases, they used flowers where Europeans would have used light to mark a saint.

Container (Vasija) ca. 1925, Artist unknown, Jalisco, Mexico:

This is about a yard tall. I overheard someone say it was fired by a traditional method in the ground, without a modern kiln.

The Urrutia Arch:

"[It] was commissioned by the late Dr. Aureliano Urrutia and once served as the entrance to his opulent estate, Miraflores, located about a mile north of [the museum] on Broadway. The Talavera-style tiles on the front  . . . were made by the famous Uriarte workshop in Puebla, Mexico, in the early 1920s."

All our garden gates should be so nice.

Below are some of the more contemporary pieces that got my attention as a gardener.

Humanscape #57 by Mel Casas, 1969 (The original is not convex as it appears here.):

"When Casas moved from El Paso to San Antonio in 1961, he found that the only accepted style of painting here was the Bluebonnet School, characterized by landscapes showing fields populated with the state flower, but executed in the 19th-Century  style of Impressionism. Believing that the pretty lyricism of Impressionism was in direct contradiction to the rugged qualities of the Texas landscape, Casas critiqued the Bluebonnet school in this painting."

Multiple Mama by Jim Roche, 1967 painted ceramic, floor mat:

Gratitude X 3 by James Cobb, 2007 Giclee prints of work created with Adobe software:

Enter the Marsh by Andrew Young, 1996 Egg tempera on panel:

After we left, very close to the museum, we came upon the oldest Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Texas, where Memorial Day events were under way.

The scene reminded me of Norman Rockwell, my grandmother's favorite artist.

In the Garden of the Daughters of the Republic

A wheelbarrow rests in the garden of the Alamo.

Another garden we visited in San Antonio, in addition to the Botanical Garden, was the garden of the Alamo, which, like the entire Alamo complex, is managed by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas (DRT) without government support.

Many people don't realize that there is a significant garden at the Alamo, but the grounds around the "shrine" that is the former church have seen as much or more conflict than the iconic building. Barracks and a hospital where most of the fighting occurred during the siege were in the convento from the mission period. These were still standing in the late 1800s when preservation efforts began.

The two women who spearheaded the effort to save the Alamo as a historical site, however, strongly disagreed about what should become of the barracks. Clara Driscoll, a wealthy heiress, wanted them torn down; Adina De Zavala, granddaughter of the first vice president of the Republic of Texas and a student and teacher of history, wanted them preserved. De Zavala actually barricaded herself in the building and resisted police to prevent them from being destroyed. Gov. Oscar Colquitt, who was elected in 1910, ordered the barracks preserved, but while he was out of the state, Lt. Gov. Asbury Bascom had the second story where the hospital had been demolished. The conflict between the Driscoll and De Zavala schools of thought seems to persist to today.

Though it occupies a space of conflict, the current garden itself is not controversial. The Alamo's horticulturist, Mark Nauschutz, has installed a drip irrigation system that uses reclaimed water, and much of the landscaping includes native xeriscape plants:

Other non-native elements are combined with the native in a natural way. Near this trumpet vine is an irrigation canal with similarly colored koi, which seemed very popular with the visitors:

Every part of the grounds, from the barracks to the library is welcoming and peaceful.

One of my favorite trees was this Mexican olive at the front of the church:

People of all political inclinations can enjoy this wonderful garden. What an achievement.

Flower Festival

Like the wild hare last week, another last-minute decision led to amazing places this past weekend.

The first was the San Antonio Flower Festival on Saturday. The festival brings in many vendors and experts from around the state and claims to have the largest plant exchange in Texas.

I hadn't spent much time planning to go but had a number of good healthy plants on hand, ready for trade. We had thinned our crinum lilies, yellow daylilies, an Encore azalea hedge, and some sedum. Before heading out, we just labeled everything and loaded up. I felt better about "crashing the party" because I was literally bringing a lot to the table. Some of our plants were traded before we even checked in, the others were gone in minutes.

San Antonio gardeners are a magnificent group. They were hospitable as can be. Most of the gardeners at the festival were locals or from elsewhere in the Hill Country, but all were welcoming when they heard we were from Houston. Furthermore, all the trades I saw were very graciously conducted, and everyone chimed in to answer each others' questions or offer suggestions. It was a delightful experience.

So, what did we get for our trades? The ones I'm most excited about are datura, anise hyssop, and red shrimp plant.

After the trading, we enjoyed touring the booths of the vendors and a presentation by a great new author. I'll tell you more about his work and our further explorations of botanical San Antonio in coming days.

Update on Community Garden

At the beginning of April, I took you to the Calhoun County Community Garden. Five weeks later, the scene looks radically different. The plants have grown by leaps and bounds.

But the arrangement for the gardeners has changed. This area is in an exceptional drought, and the community garden has gone from unlimited water use to exclusively drip-line watering, which you can see more clearly in the next photo:

The drought has danced all around the Houston area. Take a look at this time-lapse graphic from the Austin American-Statesman. So far we've been spared, but I have wondered what I would do if it hit us. Water conservation is important for many reasons, but, as with other things, it can take a drastic problem to make people (including me) change their ways.

Have any of you tried drip watering? I'm considering testing it out on my strawberries.

On a happier note, we saw a beautiful Western kingbird while we were visiting.

Please let me know your thoughts.

Thank you!

Visit to the Antique Rose Emporium

In addition to the unusual wildflowers and animals we saw on our recent visit to the Brenham/College Station area we also saw some creative landscaping at the Antique Rose Emporium, which is a combination nursery, botanic garden, wedding chapel, and gift shop.

Even though we caught the tail end of their highest season, which is February to April, we had a lot of fellow gardeners and amateur photographers for company on the paths. Most seemed lost in their own thoughts: Planning their strategy at home or following an elusive scent reminding them of their childhood, perhaps. Bridesmaids teetering on high heels in the gravel may have been thinking of their footwear. Many folks were likely just overwhelmed by the sights.

A unique challenge for gardeners here is different from that of many other nurseries. If you plan to visit at this time of year, you should prepare yourself in advance for the fact that some of the most spectacular beauties on display are not currently in stock for sale. This Amazon rose magic dianthus was a particular hit with all kinds of visitors, but, alas, it was not available for purchase.

Even so, the number of plants that are available will be enough to keep you and your little wagon busy.

A host of anoles, skinks, butterflies, and beetles led us through the maze of flowers and fetching garden ornaments.

As impressive as the namesake roses are:

(I never would have thought to combine roses and pencil cactus, but it looks nice.)

I found myself even more drawn to the diverse poppies on display:

Our purchases for the day included none of the above, however. I got myself a special garden spade designed for short folks, in addition to two buddleias (royal red and black night), and a non-minimalist assortment of succulents for a planter on our deck:

I only picked out a few -- it might look like more because I divided and mixed them up.

(Most people seem to keep them segregated to prevent a salad-like appearance. I prefer that they comingle. After they've acclimated and been pruned well, they can look like they form their own ecosystem, as a bonsai miniature forest does. And when they grow and drape over the side they show their distinctive qualities more clearly.)

After spending so much time at the Emporium, it's amazing we didn't leave with more, but I'm much better at refraining from impulse purchases when I use my camera to plan for next year! Thank you, dear reader, for giving me an excuse to take so many photos. Otherwise, our whole garden would be as crowded as the succulent planter.

Creeping, Crawling, Jumping, and Flying (Updated)

UPDATE: Tim Cole of the Austin Reptile Service graciously replied to my inquiry and identified the frog as a bullfrog and the snake as an Eastern coachwhip.

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Below are some of the most captivating animals we saw on our recent trip to the Brenham/College Station area.

After discovering that two bluebirds were nesting not to far from the house where we stayed, I wished I had taken the leap and bought some live mealworms instead of suet pellets, which went untouched. These are about the only birds I'm content to watch eating butterfly caterpillars right before my eyes.

These dickcissels were hanging out in the same general area as the bluebirds, happily coexising with sparrows and mockingbirds too.

We also saw a group of Mississippi kites and two shy painted buntings. But this scissor-tailed flycatcher stole the show. What a performance they give!

Closer to the ground, we were delighted by the repeated appearance of this frog on the cattle guard by where the bluebirds were nesting. The rain had filled up the reservoir, which seemed to put this guy in a good humor. If anyone can tell me what kind of frog it is, I would really appreciate it. It was about the same size as our local toads.

Less sociable was this scorpion we found hiding in a rotten tree limb we used as a bridge to cross a rain-swollen creek. We tried to get it to leave before we put the limb across the water, but it was reluctant to give up its hiding place. They were very color-coordinated.

More mysterious still was this snake. I didn't think it looked poisonous, but beyond that my snake knowledge is slim. Rather than finding it in tall grass, it seemed to want to be highly visible in open spaces with short grass. This one raced right by us in the middle of the day, and we found the shed skins of two more close to the house, where the grass was mowed. They were more than 5 feet long with the same small head as this one.

 As always, any help with identification would be much appreciated. Thank you!

More Wildflowers and Mysteries in the Grass (Updated)

Updated: Matt Turner identifies the yellow berries below as the fruit of the silverleaf nightshade (pictured in my previous post) in his book Remarkable Plants of Texas.

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Most of the flowers below I was unable to find in any of my references, but I'll begin with some that I think I know.

Winecup . . . and friends:

Wild Indigo also seemed very popular with the bugs. Each one in this area had at least one butterfly caterpillar -- I'm not sure which type of butterfly. They were yellow and black like monarchs.

In the pond nearby were water lilies too tantalizingly surrounded by water for me to tell if they were fragrant.

This horsemint really stood out among the asters and winecups around it. It was quite different from the horsemint in the field guide, and its flowers were white, with no pink or lilac that I could detect. (Lack of correspondence in such things is probably a good trade for biodiversity.)

The above was also different from the horsemint at the Johnson Space Center I saw on Wednesday:

Below are some of the flowers that captivated me but I was unable to find in my references.

#1
Larger than 1 inch:

#2
About 1/2 inch:

#3
About 1/2 inch, only open in the morning:

#4
About 1/2 inch:

#5
About 1/2 inch:

#6
About 3/4 of an inch:

#7 (See update at top.)
Each berry about 1/4 of an inch:

Please let me know your thoughts.

Thank you!