Even though I knew that the mother of the chunky, juvenile Yellow-Crowned-Night Heron had abandoned the hunting place at the boardwalk entrance, I have a habit of looking for her first thing in the morning at Aquarena. I stood on the boardwalk and looked at the Algae. A Nutria was grooming itself on the floating dead tree trunk.
The morning procession of three American Coots was on the way. Three black birds with white beaks in the golden wheat Algae-covered wetlands was a picturesque sight. One of them could not wait to reach the feeding place. The bird spread its wings and beat the water. Then, it flew up slightly with its feet still half-submerged under the water, and beat the water with its wings, making white splash marks and lots of noise. They were cool sounds that traveled all the way to the feeding place. The bird started hunting before two other birds reached that area.
Walking toward the boardwalk exit, I was glad to see the mother of the chunky, juvenile Yellow-Crowned-Night Heron in the shallow water under the Cottonwood tree, near the Cattail bush. She was picking the fish. It was the first time to see the mother bird doing so. I thought that she had no luck in catching the crayfish in this morning, and she was hungry.
Along the lake, from the Landing to the headwaters, in front of the Texas Rivers Center, there were plenty of cones and nuts. The Bald Cypress trees are loaded with small round cones, which have kept their green color for the past few months, but some of them started changing to brown. The Mexican Plum tree, which grew in front of the Landing, produced many pale green fruits. The size of the fruit is almost the same as the cones of the Bald Cypress. The Mexican Plum tree is growing between the two Bald Cypress trees, but its fruits were not very noticeable since they have the same size and color as the Bald Cypress cones. However, some of them started to develop a pale, rosy color. The Pecan nuts at Pecan Grove in front of the headwaters are started to change color, too. The trees at Aquarena Center are displaying the approaching new season, even though the summer temperature is staying the same (hot!)
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