Purple Bloom Cactus

Young Bluebird

    Spotted among the brushy plants, juvenile bluebirds (Eastern). In flashes of brilliant blue reflecting under the sun, adult bluebirds flew above us and past us.
    The juvenile bluebirds are distinctive in their spotted chest and back, with the one pictured above showing a bit of blue emerging on his tail.

Garlic Blooming

Fly on a Passionflower

Bee on a Holly Hock

Mourning Doves at Noon on a Fence

Cliff Swallow in a Nest

Turkey Vultures

Great Horned Owl Family

Upland Sandpipers

Dickcissels Everywhere

     Prolific along Britton Lane, common as pig tracks, as they used to say. Loud, constant, everywhere, their song skeedles chis chis chis played all around me.

Update: More pictures.

Poppy Mallow

     In her book, Wildflowers of Texas, Geyata Ajilbsgi writes that Native Americans cook the root of the poppy mallow (Callirhoe involucrata), as a source for food. In addition, the root, when burned to create smoke, could be inhaled to relieve symptoms of a head cold.

Goslings on the Lake

   In the early evening, parents of two goslings enjoy calm waters while searching for food.

Bunny and Bluebonnets

Robin Nesting

   Spotting a bundle of grass and cotton in a young Burr oak, I approached quietly to it. A sturdily built nest sat on a crook of one of the upper branches. And what a delight! A Robin lay tucked into the nest.

The nest.

Mom Robin.

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Update: May 1st.

Black-necked Stilts

Four stilts, flying from pond to pond, mating. Here I show one of them.

Snowy Plover

     What a surprise and what a delight to spot four Snowy Plovers. One of them sat on the sand, one of them dashed about searching for a bite to eat and to chase a Least Sandpiper away, and the others stood in the wind.

Meadowlark, Eastern

     Also searching for food tossed by Dick in front of the blind. Other birds we saw were cowbirds, a Northern Harrier, a Red-winged blackbird, and a Mourning dove, in addition to hearing two Bobwhite quail.

Horned Lark

      A Horned Lark searched the grass for some of the corn that Dick tosses in front of the blind.

Yellow-crowned Night Herons

     What a delight to discover four Yellow-crowned Night herons at the airport. Stalking prey amid the grasses and flowers, they walked stealthily in the pond. I remained still in the truck, my long lens emerged from my window. Three herons lifted up into the air and flew away. Nearby, I heard the sound of a Red-tailed hawk. One heron, though, remained in the pond, tracking down a crawfish. He managed to capture it just as Jim walked around the corner, grasping a leash on which Mitty was tethered. The heron swallowed his supper, and then moved briskly across the pond, away from Jim and Mitty. When I left, he had crouched down into the grass, contentedly, I suppose.