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s past Friday (the 13th) afternoon, my son and I visited the Fort Worth Nature Center as we often do. In general, it was again a pretty quiet day as it had been the last few times we had been there. We were contemplating leaving when a Great Egret flew in and landed on a tree just across the river (next to the Crosstimber Trail). It was overcast but the white bird was vivid against the dark trees and green leaves and he appeared in no hurry to leave. We stayed for a while longer and took a number of shots. Here are some of the images I made during the afternoon. link
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04/06/2012 Fort Worth Nature Center – Bullfrog
My son and I found this guy partially submerged in the marsh area of the center. When we first walked up to the water we heard a splash and something dove into the water. We weren’t sure what it was, but a little while later we see this head peaking out of the water. I think it is a bullfrog (not that familiar with frogs). In any case, he made some interesting images and I added a few to my FWNC wildlife gallery. link
03/2012 Aransas National Wildlife Refuge (and surrounding area)
I had an opportunity to spend a few days along the Texas coast near the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge area a few weeks ago. The area was still suffering from the heat and drought of the summer. Lakes were almost dry and the location and quantity of wildlife was definitely affected. Nonetheless, it is always enjoyable to get out into the fresh air and take some photos. Here are some taken during the visit. link
04/01/2012 Backyard Squirrel Eating Birdseed
Looking out at the backyard this morning, there was a squirrel eating birdseed from a feeder. I had seen him before and had never been able to catch him on camera as he would quickly scamper away. This time luck was on my side. He must have been pretty hungry. link
03/25/2012 Fossil Rim Photo Safari
Saturday (last weekend), my son and I participated in a Photo Safari at the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center near Glen Rose, TX. The tour was guided by Steven Stockhall, who is a professional tour guide and photographer in Africa. We started the tour about 8:30 in the morning and basically drove around the complex talking and making photos until after 7 pm that evening. There was a break for lunch where Mr. Stockhall shared some of his photos and the stories behind them. Overall, it was an enjoyable and enlightening day. Here are some of the images I made during the day (along with some others I had taken earlier in the year). link
01/20/2012 Backyard Female Red-Winged Blackbird
A couple of months ago, I was sitting in the the backyard and saw a bird I didn’t recognize. After a little investigation I found that this was likely a female Red-Winged Blackbird. I did not see any of the more familiar male birds, but there were many of these. If someone can identify it as something else, let me know. I put a few photos in my Backyard Nature Gallery. link
03/04/2012 Fort Worth Nature Center – Cormorant and Great Egret
As spring approaches, birds are beginning to show and are becoming a little more active at the Nature Center. The Cormorant and Great Egret here were captured along the Crosstimbers Trail last Sunday. We were looking for the alligator that we saw on Friday and caught a couple of Cormorants taking flight from the water. As we were about to leave, this Great Egret was found fishing in the inlet next to trail entrance. link
03/02/2012 Fort Worth Nature Center – Great Blue Heron and Alligator
These are images from the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge taken late Friday afternoon. We had just started walking down Crosstimbers Trail when we ran into a kayaker who told us about a 10 foot gator laying on a log a quarter mile upstream. As we made our way to catch a glimpse of him, a Great Blue Heron flew by and landed on a tree across the river. The background was a little cluttered, but I thought the shadows, patterns, and motion of his wings as he landed were interesting. We found the gator about where he said it would be. It had moved into the water and appeared to be feeding… and it was indeed in the 10 foot range…the largest I had personally seen at the Center. As we worked our way back down the trail, I finished off with a couple of shots of the Bird Blind (I seem to take a lot of those). It was a nice day. link link
02/24/2012 Winter at the Fort Worth Nature Center Boardwalk
My son and I took a couple of hours off on Friday afternoon and took some photos at the Fort Worth Nature Center. There wasn’t a lot of wildlife activity (although my son did catch a few shots of a Hawk and a Cormorant… and we both missed a large cayote crossing in the road ahead of us). Anyway, I added a few photos of the Boardwalk area to the FWNC Scenary Gallery. link.
01/28/2012 Visit to the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center
My wife and son and I decided to take the afternoon off and make a trip to the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center near Glen Rose yesterday. It had been about a year since we had been there. The weather was a little cool and cloudy, but many of the animals were active. Even though this drove higher ISO’s, it allowed some interesting photo opportunities. Here are a few that I took during the day. link