Today’s photos come from reader Damon Williford:
Attached are some recent wildlife photos from southern Texas. The first 2 photos are of a dragonfly, the Seaside Dragonlet (Erythrodiplax berenice). [JAC: I assume these are different sexes, as the male is described as dark and the female much more yellow:
The next 5 photos are some of the birds currently migrating through southern Texas, including 1) Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus), 2) Northern Waterthrush (Parkesia noveboracensis), 3) Blackburnian Warbler (Setophaga fusca), 4) Orchard Oriole (Icterus spurius), and 5) Stilt Sandpiper (Calidris himantopus). The flowers that the Orchard Oriole is sipping nectar from is coral bean (Erythrina herbacea).
Rose-breasted Grosbeak:
Northern waterthrush:
Blackburnian warbler:
Orchard oriole on coral bean flowers;
Stilt sandpiper:
These photos are of a late-wintering Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis) and a Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus). Despite many years of living in this area and seeing Long-billed Curlews every winter, I still find it weird to see a large shorebird walking and foraging across a soccer field, golf course, or a suburban lawn.
Ruddy duck:
Long-billed curlew:
A Texas Tortoise (Gopherus berlandieri).
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Nice! I always think that dragonflies are given the coolest names: Meadow hawk, Pond hawk, Skimmer, Dasher, Sand dragon…
Sounds like something out of an Ann McCaffery ‘Pern’ book.
I had a Rose-breasted Grosbeak at my bird feeder a couple of weeks ago. I was so surprised as they are not common in Kansas (at least I have never seen one here before). It was a beauty, and I had to go look it up in my bird book to make sure I was identifying the bird correctly. It came back a couple of times and haven’t seen it since.