Swainson's Hawk

Buteo swainsoni

Dove season in Texas opens this year on September 1st so I've decided to post a photo of a Swainson's Hawk who is getting a jump on the hunters.  This hawk grabbed this dove out of the air and landed on the fence in front of where I was parked.  It was one of those special moments a naturalist feels fortunate to see.  The dove never struggled but as the hawk worked on trying to get a better grip on his prey, it dropped it to the ground and flew off.  The dove lives another day and perhaps as a meal for something else.

Texas Brown Tarantula

Aphonopelma hentzi

Another creepy creature is the Texas Brown Tarantula.  Although they look fearsome, they are really quite docile and even be kept as pets. They have some wicked looking fangs and can bite if harassed but rarely do.  I would guess that a general fear of spiders coupled with the size of this guy is what makes people scared of them.  You can actually pick them up and gently handle them without much problem but watch out for those "hairs" on their abdomen, they can be irritating to your skin and are actually one of the tarantula's defense mechanisms.  Rather than building webs like most spiders, tarantulas live in burrows.  While at a Boy Scout camp in Oklahoma a few years ago, I saw dozens of tarantulas crawling around after they were forced from their burrows by days and days of steady rain.  Next time you see one crossing a trail or a road, let him make it across or stop and watch him for a while.  He won't bother you if you don't bother him.

Least Grebe

Least Grebe

Tachybaptus dominicus

The Least Grebe is not the most colorful or dynamic bird but I liked the way the mirror image of this one reflected off the calm water. Unless you are in south Texas (this one was photographed at Estero Llano Grande State Park), you rarely see these but are more likely to see a Pied-billed Grebe. I've watched grebes during slow days in the duck blind and they are constantly diving in a search for a small fish or invertebrate.  The most distinguishing feature on the Least Grebe is its yellow eyes.  It's evident in this picture but seeing one in person gives a real sense of how those yellow eyes seem to glow against the gray body.  They are skittish but I've never seen one actually fly.  They just dive when scared and resurface somewhere else; simple entertainment for a duck hunter guessing where it will popup.  I have also never seen one out of the water. In clear water, you get a good view of how far back their legs are on their body as they swim around.  I think if they tried to stand up on land with their legs being so far back they would probably fall forward and get their bill stuck in the mud.

Little Blue Heron

Little Blue Heron

 Egretta caerulea

I posted this picture not just because the Little Blue Heron is a pretty bird in its own right but  because it's a nature 3-fer. The heron is scratching an itch while balanced on a limb but if you look carefully, you can see an alligator behind the heron sunning itself on the tree trunk. I wonder if the heron knew it was there or if the gator was hoping the heron would hop over where it could get an easy meal.  Another close look to the right of the picture on one of the branches is a red dragonfly. So there's your 3-fer, a bird, a reptile, and an insect all using the same tree carcass in the middle of Grebe Marsh at Estero Llano Grande State Park.

Tobacco Hornworm

Tobacco Hornworm

Manduca sexta

I found this colorful caterpillar crawling on my tomato plant after it had eaten a good portion of the leaves.  At first glance and using the clue that I found this on a tomato plant, it might  be tempting to call this a Tomato Hornworm rather than a Tobacco Hornworm.  What's the difference?  The Tobacco Hornworm has 7 stripes on its side while the Tomato Hornworm has 8 V-shaped stripes on its side.  The Tobacco Hornworm has red "horn" while the Tomato Hornworm has a black "horn".  Rather than pluck this destructive little bugger off the plant before it could do more damage, I left it there as its fate had already been naturally sealed.  Those white things on its body are egg sacs from a parasitic Braconid wasp.  The caterpillar is the food source for the little wasps when they hatch.  Goodbye Mr. Hornmworm. When the Tobacco Hornworn is able to escape wasps and irate gardeners, they actually pupate into a large and pretty moth called a Sphinx moth.  Sphinx moths are cool to watch in the garden as they can hover at a flower like a hummingbird. 

Striped Bark Scorpion

Striped Bark Scorpion

 Centruroides vittatus

A change of pace in this post away from things that fly to things that crawl.  In this case, it's a Striped Bark Scorpion we found at the ranch hiding under a rock trying to stay cool on a 99 degree Texas summer day.  You can see the striping well on this one and the little triangle on the head that points to its eyes.  Seems like there is one of these guys hiding under every rock in the hill country and we've had to keep our eyes open as we clean up around the place.  Scorpions are interesting little critters as they are actually arachnids like spiders and ticks (count the legs, there are 8).  I've never been stung by one (yet) but they say it's like a wasp sting so it probably hurts for a half hour or so.  This kind of scorpion won't kill you unless you have some kind of allergy to their venom but I'm sure a sting can induce some choice words to flow from your brain to your mouth.  They are not very aggressive and tend to try to hide again after they are uncovered.  Scorpions do get a little defensive when poked with a stick, like when you are trying to position them for a photo.  They catch all kinds of bugs for dinner and inject venom in them with their stinger.  They have very tiny mouths so they inject digestive juices into their catch to make an insect smoothie for dinner.  Another cool thing about scorpions is that they glow fluorescent under a black light at night.  Most of the ones I've seen on a night time blacklight hunt are a glowing green color.  I've actually seen scorpions all over Texas from the piney woods in the east to the hot, dry caliche ground in the south to the Davis Mountains area in the west.     

Black-chinned Hummingbird (female)

Black-chinned Hummingbird (female)

Archilochus alexandri

Hummingbirds are fascinating.  For such a small bird, they are highly territorial and seem to be constantly chasing each other away from feeders or resting branches.  This female was constantly looking around to make sure she wasn't going to be the next target of a dive bomber.  Most people forget that hummingbirds get nutrition from sources other than nectar (flowers or feeder supplied); they eat a tremendous amount of spiders and small insects.  The female black-chinned and the female ruby-throated are very similar and hard to tell apart.  Not sure I would even have a clue without a picture to study.  Since about a half dozen of each species was present, I wasn't able to take the easy route of eliminating one. I settled on the black-chinned because of the longer bill and grayer head vs the greener head expected on a ruby-throated.  Would have been more helpful to see the wing shape (tips are broader on black-chinned) but the wing is to close to the body to tell.  This picture was taken at the old bird blind at Pedernales Falls State Park in Johnson City, Texas, one of my favorite picture-taking spots.  It can be difficult taking hummingbird pictures there because they always seem to be where the light is behind them and I end up with hummingbird silhouettes.  Got a bit of luck with this one as she landed nearby and stayed long enough in some decent light to get some shots.

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck

Dendrocygna autumnalis

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks are becoming more and more common in our suburban areas.  The only place I used to see them regularly is out on the Katy prairie and they would all be gone before duck season started.  It's almost like they knew it was time to clear out when the teal started showing up.  Now you'll see them in retention ponds and swimming pools in neighborhoods.  I've had them roost in our pine trees.  I enjoy hearing them whistle to each other as they fly over; it always gets my attention.  This one was photographed at Estero Llano Grande State Park in the summer.  There was a flock of about 3 dozen there and this one was coming in to join the group.

Northern Mockingbird

Northern Mockingbird

Mimus polyglottus

No matter where I go in Texas, I always seem to see or hear a Mockingbird. No wonder it is the Texas state bird (since 1927).  This one was photographed at Hugh Ramsey Nature Park in south Texas.  Hugh Ramsey Nature Park is one of the 9 locations that make up the World Birding Center.

Texas Hill Country

As my first post on this blog, I thought it would be appropriate to start it with a picture of a whitetail buck.  When Texans think of wildlife in the hill country, they think of  deer and deer hunting.  Deer are plentiful here and in some cases considered a nuisance (especially when they are munching on the suburban landscaping).  This deer was photographed at Pedernales Falls State Park near Johnson City, Texas.  The park participates in public hunts to keep the herd size in check.  I've been fortunate enough to be selected on those hunts a few times but haven't seen any as nice as this one while in the blind.