Flowers of Desert Botanical Garden

Carol Freshley June 4, 2022

Spring flowers at Desert Botanical Garden come in waves. It all starts with the wildflowers and when it gets too hot for them the cactus flowers may have started to bloom. if you are lucky, and we were, the butterfly exhibit is open. You might even spot a cactus wren gathering nesting materials. These flowers are the result of multiple trips, each time bringing some new discoveries. We hope you enjoy them.

Birds of Aransas County

Carol Freshley March 19, 2019

Rockport is located just across a narrow bay from Padre Island on the Gulf Coast in southern Texas. This whole area is appreciated by birders for its huge numbers of birds supported year round and being a stopping point for thousand of migrating birds in spring and fall. Steve (S. Bates) has been in Rockport, TX since last July. Tom and I arrived here in January. None of us are ‘birders’ as we know little about them and have not pursued bird photography with any seriousness. Our bird photography is largely the photography of ‘opportunity’. If we are fortunate to have an opportunity to photograph one of these gorgeous creatures within the limits of our lens we will do so. When it works we get all excited! Below is a collection of photographs that have opportunistically crossed our paths while staying in Rockport. Our apologies to our wonderful birding friends if we have mis-identified one of these birds. Let me know and I will set it right.

White Ibis adults and juveniles (the juveniles are molted brown)

Male and female adult Whooping Cranes. They migrate north in the summer. Photographs of the Whooping Cranes were taken using a borrowed Canon 600mm prime lens.

Roseate Spoonbills, referred to as ‘rosies’ around here

Red-headed Aythya americana (salt water diving duck)

Herons atop tall live oaks where they have. built their nests

Brown Pelican waiting for his lunch at a fish cleaning station

Brown Pelican (here’s lookin’ at ya baby!)

Adult Whooping Cranes with their juvenile ‘colt’

Front bird is a Kingfisher and the back bird is a Laughing Gull

American Pelican taking food from a Brown Pelican

Turkey Vulture (where a hundred hang out on a nearby microwave tower)

Whooping Cranes with a coyote nearby (he does not consider them prey and they ignore him)

Tufted or crested Tit-mouse (lots of discussion on this one’s identity)

You might imagine the conversation in trying to name these birds. We have reference cards. “Well, that one has yellow feet so that makes it a . . . Now that bill curves down so that suggests it is . . . That red face makes it a . . . Hmmmmm . . . . . not sure about that hawk. . . . “

Ding Darling

Carol Freshley March 10, 2018

J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge is located on the Sanibel Island in Southwestern Florida. It is part of the US National Wildlife Refuge System with 230 species of birds, most of them migratory. It contains one of the country's largest mangrove ecosystems with 2. 619 protected acres. Jon and Phyllis spent 5 days photographing these marvelous birds and are sharing them with the rest of us. I feel privileged to put them on my website!

Spoonbill, young as it is still quite white.

Great Blue Heron and Double-crested Coomerant

Great Blue Heron, White Ibis and Great Egret