August 6, 2010

I was anxious to see the birds, and passed the covered boardwalk entrance quickly this morning.  The territory of the mother of the chunky, juvenile Yellow-Crowned-Night Heron at the boardwalk entrance was vacant this morning, again.  I wondered where she went.

A Black-Bellied-Whistling Duck was hunting at the feeding place.  The wings of the Black-Bellied-Whistling Duck have long white lines, and white feathers are visible from its characteristic trembling motion of its wings during standing, one of the outstanding features to identify this bird.  The flock of the Black-Bellied-Whistling Duck preferred to feed themselves somewhere else this summer, but I am glad to see that one of them still stops by here time to time for hunting.

When I walked to the middle of the boardwalk, I saw a black and white spotted spider make a web from the left to right side of the railings, and the spider was comfortably settled in the middle of its big web.  I did not want to disturb her, so I turned back and walked toward the boardwalk exit to get on the boardwalk. I saw one tree at the other side of the wetlands affected by bagworms.

While walking on the path along the Pecan Grove, I saw a greenish Pecan on the concrete path.  The oblong husk had four sections, and each section was divided by a tucked-up edge that goes to both pointed ends.  I put it in my palm.  I could feel the weight of Pecan.  I looked up at the trees.  I saw some Pecan nuts had turned to greenish/light brown.  Time flies too quickly; another Pecan season would be not far away.   I was sad to see that a couple Pecan trees were also affected by the bagworms.

August 1

I was glad to see the Great Egret in the Wetlands. I had not seen her for a while. She was hunting with a Snowy Egret for a while, but two of them disappeared toward the river.

When I was walking toward the boardwalk exit, I saw a couple leaves from a Cattail swaying violently at the edge of right side of the boardwalk. I stopped. I heard crunching sounds indicating an animal was eating the Cattail. I peeked under the boardwalk and saw the nose of Nutria busy with its breakfast, but rest of its body was hidden under the bridge.

I was glad to see the Chinese Domestic Geese family on the lawn near the biological research site. The mother goose was sleeping, but two other geese were busy picking the grasses.

A small, light brown lizard was on the outdoor post lights behind the female Sago Palm. It was so cute on the old fashioned post light. The post lights show chipped paint from old age, and five round, white frosted glass shades. Four white frosted glass shades surround the top shade like branches. The design shows the elegance of the 1900’s. These post lights are along the concrete path from the headwaters to the Landing.

The light posts with the lizard are sandwiched by a thick Firebush. I tried to take a photo of the lizard and the post lights. When I was ready for the shutter, the lizard moved to the other side of the post. I walked around the Sago Palm and the Firebush ready for the shutter, and the lizard quickly moved to the other side. It was like playing a peek-a-pooh. The playful lizard made me walk around the two plants for a couple times, but I found that there were three different colored lizards on the Sago Palm: bright green, faded green, and Anoles with light brown. I thought that the Sago Palm and Firebush are safe living places for the lizards.

July 30th

I was anxious to see the Chinese Domestic Geese family and went straight toward the Landing. I was so relieved to see the mother goose sitting under the Bald Cypress tree while her young and the father goose were picking the grasses near her. When I approached her, the young goose and father came beside her as if they were protecting her, stretched their necks toward her and softly quacked. The mother goose also stretched her neck toward them. I was glad that she was all right and that she could swim here with her family this morning.

I saw two Yellow-Crowned-Night Herons fly over the lawn in front of the diving facility. I thought that they were the juvenile herons. As soon as the young Yellow-Crowned-Night Heron that was hunting in the middle of the barrier, saw the two, she flew up and followed them toward the river.

A Blue-Throated Hummingbird and a butterfly with black wings and white dots along the sides were busy collecting honey from the Firebush. The hummingbird was zooming from flower to flower, but the butterfly perched on each tubular flower, thoroughly collecting the honey. The contrast of its black wings with white dots with the red/orange flowers was attractive.

I saw footprints coming out from under the bridge at the boardwalk exit. From the shape of the footprints, I knew they were from Nutria. The footprints were molded with mud indicating that the animal was doing something in the mud last night.

At the diving preparation site besides the Landing, the divers started setting up a tent, and bringing their diving gear around the green picnic tables. The parents of a diver were strolling around the lake waiting to see their son dive during his lesson.

A lady instructor started her diving lesson on the lawn in front of the diving facility. Five teenage divers-to-be were lining up excitedly with their equipment and following the instructor on how to use the equipments.

At the outdoor wooden corridor at the Landing, a pair of certified divers was examining their oxygen tanks. They were aiming to dive at the deepest site in the lake.