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Experiencing Whooping Cranes on the Texas Coast - Coastal Winter Trip 2024

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     The Whooping Crane ( Grus americana ) is one of the most majestic birds on the planet, and one I had the fortune to see for myself. The Texas gulf-coast is a premiere spot to witness these birds in the wild. In fact, its one of the few places to see them in the world as they remain as an endangered species due to a long history of over-hunting and habitat loss. Luckily the species is recovering due to strict protection and habitat preservation. The habitats found on the Texas gulf-coast serve as wintering grounds for the Whooping Cranes. Indeed, the habitats of the Texas gulf-coast are home to a myriad of species. For this reason I dedicated a three-day trip in February to the region with the goal of getting good looks at the legendary Whooping Crane and seeing the other wonderful species that call the region home. The entire eBird trip report can be seen here .     Our first stop was Goose Island State Park, an excellent state park for fishing and birding. The fields surrounding
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Cibolo Nature Center 6/28/23

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      My girlfriend and I visited Cibolo Nature Center on June 28th, 2023. It had been on my list to visit after hearing of it from a iNaturalist user, and today the weather was just right for us to be able to. We arrived to a lovely pollinator garden where we saw beautiful flora and fauna. Bright Texas Lantanas and large Turk's Caps and American Beautyberries. Pollinating the flora of the garden were two species of butterfly, Gulf Fritillaries (1) and Queens (2). After taking many pictures we headed out, seeing a Hummingbird come perch over the garden on our way out. (1) Gulf Fritillary  (2) Queen     The main trail passed through a gorgeous tall prairie, we turned onto the creek trail to escape the beating sun. Massive Bald Cypress trees crowded the canopy and shaded out the sun. We were left in awe by the sheer size of the trees. The peaceful creek was clear, allowing us to view the fish that inhabit it. Inhabiting the surrounding trees were many birds. The noisiest and most abu
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Friedrich Wilderness Park 6/5/23

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      On June 5th, 2023 me and my girlfriend were finally able to go on a walk after not having the chance to in a while. We decided to visit Friedrich Wilderness Park to see the beautiful wildflower meadows and the butterflies that feed in the meadow. This was our second visit and we were excited to return since on our first visit we visited too late in the day to see the butterflies. This time we arrived early, just before noon. As soon as we arrived we headed to the wildflower meadows. A Common Spotted Whiptail scurries away at our arrival (1). The meadow was full of delightful encounters with adored species and even new ones! We saw many Queen butterflies, a new species for us (2). They are such big beautiful butterflies related to Monarchs. We snapped many photos of them (3). However, I was too distracted by them to take a picture of a Northern Cardinal on the ground. Luckily, my girlfriend got one for me (4).  (1) Common Spotted Whiptail (2) Queen (3) Queen (4) Northern Cardinal
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