Geranoaetus albicaudatus. Native to South America, Mexico and southern Texas. Darst Road, Beasley, Texas.
Lanius ludovicianus. Native to most of the States and Mexico.
An ungainly Muscovy Duck (Cairina moschata) leaps from a high limb. Double Lake, Sugar Land, Texas.
Anas platyrhyncho. Double Lake, Sugar Land, Texas.
New Year
Ibis with beaks agape. Riverstone Wetlands, Sugar Land, Texas.
Ibis with beaks agape. Riverstone Wetlands, Sugar Land, Texas.
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus). Riverstone Wetlands, Sugar Land, Texas.
Great Egret landing two-tenths of a second later than the previous post, encountering a disruption (another egret) on the way down. Riverstone Wetlands, Sugar Land, Texas.
Great Egret in flight on a sunny day at Riverstone Wetlands, Sugar Land, Texas.
A flurry of Ibis (Eudocimus albus) over Riverstone Wetlands, Sugar Land, Texas.
Megaceryle alcyon. This one
Great Egrets don
White Ibis close up. Riverstone Wetlands, Sugar Land, Texas.
On another sunny day at Riverstone Wetlands, Sugar Land, Texas.
Ibis in flight at Riverstone Wetlands, Sugar Land, Texas.
Marginal photo of a marvelous Roseate Spoonbill rescued with a full suite of Topaz software. Don
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula). Riverstone Wetlands, Sugar Land, Texas.
Id est, Molothrus ater. End of Darst Road, Beasley, Texas.
Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus). Shoot what you see Aramus guarauna. Recent migrant from Florida to Texas. Cullinan Park, Sugar Land.
Chiang Saen (Thailand) is located in the Golden Triangle, the area where the borders of Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar meet at the confluence of the Ruak and Mekong rivers. Most of the world’s heroin came from the Golden Triangle until the early 21st century when Afghanistan became the world’s largest producer, as if we didn’t have worse problems today! The several hill tribes in the area are mostly of Tibetan origin. A Chinese businessman in Chiang Saen saw me attempting to photograph these young women in their tribal attire and intervened to herd them together. 20.345, 100.074
Great Egret coming our way! Riverstone Wetlands, Sugar Land, Texas.
Now that the Great Egrets are nest building so actively (and photogenically), I
Riverstone Wetlands, Sugar land, Texas. Anhinga anhinga. Riverstone Wetlands, Sugar Land, Texas. Molothrus ater. End of Darst Road, Beasley, Texas.
More Vultures in Flight!
One of the rookery islands at John Hargrove Environmental Complex (AKA Delores Fenwick Nature Center), Pearland, Texas.
Egyptian goose (Alopochen aegyptiaca). Edgewater Lake, Sugar Land, Texas.
Egyptian Geese (Alopochen aegyptiaca). Edgewater Lake, Sugar Land, Texas. Egretta caerulea. Cullinan Park, Sugar Land, Texas Calidris minutilla. Swarming all over White Lake, Cullinan Park, Sugar Land, Texas.
Buteo regalis. This photo sucks, I know. Birders call it an ID shot, usually photographed with a 3,000mm, 1/(2.3)
A pair of Ibis in a Bald Cypress tree at Riverstone Wetlands, Sugar Land, Texas.
Great Egret in the Riverstone Wetlands, Sugar Land, Texas.
Lophodytes cucullatus. Found in the pond (puddle?) at the intersection of I-69 and Hwy 360 in Beasley, Texas, not far from Darst Road, a favorite birding spot. Hooded Mergansers are common all over the States and southern Canada, but are nonetheless attractive.
Fond memories of the harvested rice fields off Darst Road in Beasley, Texas, only six weeks ago! But in the meantime have discovered Topaz DenoiseAI, which does improve these M43 photos. The birds are both Snow Geese and Ross
Fond memories of the harvested rice fields off Darst Road in Beasley, Texas, only six weeks ago! But in the meantime have discovered Topaz DenoiseAI, which does improve these M43 photos. The birds are both Snow Geese and Ross
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula). Riverstone Wetlands, Sugar Land, Texas.
Black Vultures (Coragyps atratus). You gotta shoot what you got!. Edgewater Lake, Sugar Land, Texas. Limnodromus scolopaceus. White Lake, Cullinan Park, Sugar Land, Texas. Tringa flavipes. White Lake, Cullinan Park, Sugar Land, Texas.
Looking up into the Cattle Egret section of the suburban rookery on Vista Lake Drive between Edgewater Drive and Summer Bay Drive, Sugar Land, Texas.
Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center in Port Aransas, Texas,
White Ibis (Eudocimus albus) At Riverstone Wetlands, Sugar Land, Texas. This was an un-post-able photo 14 months ago. Is Topaz cheating? What do you think?
Great Kiskadee (Pitangus sulphuratus) in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. This was an un-post-able photo 16 months ago. Is Topaz cheating? What do you think?
Circus hudsonius. All over North America.
Little Blue Heron Egretta caerulea. Riverstone Wetlands, Sugar Land, Texas. Antigone canadensis. Thuesen Road (just past Ricefield Road), Beasley, Texas. Antigone canadensis. Viewed from Thuesen Road, Beasley, Texas.
Out-of-season quiet. Rockport, Texas.
Out-of-season quiet. Rockport, Texas.
The Ajanta Caves are 29 rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments dating from the second century BCE to about 480 CE in the Aurangabad District of Maharashtra state in India. Universally regarded as masterpieces, the caves include paintings and rock-cut sculptures described as finest examples of ancient Indian art. I toured the caves in 1969 after two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in the south of India. By then I had exhausted all my Ektachrome and Kodachrome, and my budget, too, and necessarily resorted to locally-purchased B&W film. The pathways about the 29 caves were being improved at the time. These women were breaking big rocks into small rocks to be mixed with cement for new pathways.
Male Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) scratching an itch. Double Lake, Sugar Land, Texas.
If not a Solitary Sandpiper (Tringa solitaria), then certainly a solitary Sandpiper, all alone on a dock on Double Lake, Sugar Land, Texas. Native all over the Americas.
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) feeding on Yaupon Holly (Ilex vomitoria) berries. Missouri City, Texas.
Passerculus sandwichensis. Ubiquitous in North America. Darst Road, Beasley, Texas.
What
Muscovy Ducks (Cairina moschata) are native to the Americas, from the Rio Grande Valley of Texas and Mexico south to Argentina and Uruguay. Small wild and feral breeding populations have established themselves in the United States. Judging from my neighborhood in SE Texas, Cairina moschata is an especially fecund species. Resoft County Park, Alvin, Texas.
This is Andre, a long-term resident of Resoft County Park in Alvin, Texas, who is about to be re-homed to a petting zoo for diluting the gene pool with other species of ducks in the pond. After watching these Muscovys waddle on land, it
The name of this soccer field (football field to the rest of the world) is Sandhill Crane Soccer Field. And, what do you know, Sandhill Cranes. Galveston, Texas.
Podilymbus podiceps. Native all over the States. Riverstone Wetlands, Sugar Land, Texas.
Great Egret on a Bald Cypress at Riverstone Wetlands, Sugar Land, Texas.
Great Egret on a Bald Cypress in the colorful Fall. Riverstone Wetlands, Sugar Land, Texas.
Not just birds at Riverstone Wetlands, Sugar Land, Texas. The flower appears to be Lanceleaf Arrowhead (Sagittaria lancifolia).
Standing in the parking lot of the 4.4-acre, suburban Riverstone Wetlands. Photographing the Ibis and other white waders that habituate the wetlands, even at its periphery. What a place! Only a couple miles from the house. No wonder my gallery is so heavily biased in this direction. Sugar Land, Texas.
American White Pelicans watering en masse. Delores Fenwick Nature Center, Pearland, Texas.
American White Pelicans hitting the surf (well, pond) at Delores Fenwick Nature Center, Pearland, Texas.
The fishing pier on 40-acre lake in Brazos Bend State Park in Needville, Texas, does, indeed, attract fisherfolk, but probably more photographers. Lots of birds in this, well, 40-acre lake, especially along the 2km perimeter. Alligators, too, so no swimming.
Libellula croceipennis. Blast from the past. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Austin, Texas.
Xylocopa virginica. Blast from the past. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Austin, Texas.
Great Egret. Blast from the past. Riverstone Wetlands. Sugar Land, Texas.
Blast from the past. Riverstone Wetlands. Sugar Land, Texas.
(Footloose) Great Egret carrying branch to a nest in progress. Resoft County Park, Alvin, Texas. (Hey, photography
Circus hudsonius. All over North America.
Wood Storks Mycteria americana. Cullinan Park, Sugar Land, Texas. Ardea alba. Polishing pond, Cross Creek Ranch, Fulshear, Texas.
Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus) in the fore, Black-bellied Whistling Ducks (Dendrocygna autumnalis) in the rear. Edgewarter Lake, Sugar Land, Texas.
Blast from the past. Riverstone Wetlands. Sugar Land, Texas.
Great Egret landing two-tenths of a second later than the previous post, encountering a disruption (another egret) on the way down. Riverstone Wetlands, Sugar Land, Texas.
Chiang Saen (Thailand) is located in the Golden Triangle, the area where the borders of Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar meet at the confluence of the Ruak and Mekong rivers. Most of the world’s heroin came from the Golden Triangle until the early 21st century when Afghanistan became the world’s largest producer, as if we didn’t have worse problems today! The several hill tribes in the area are mostly of Tibetan origin. A Chinese businessman in Chiang Saen saw me attempting to photograph these young women in their tribal attire and intervened to herd them together. 20.345, 100.074
Lophodytes cucullatus. Found in the pond (puddle?) at the intersection of I-69 and Hwy 360 in Beasley, Texas, not far from Darst Road, a favorite birding spot. Hooded Mergansers are common all over the States and southern Canada, but are nonetheless attractive.
Fond memories of the harvested rice fields off Darst Road in Beasley, Texas, only six weeks ago! But in the meantime have discovered Topaz DenoiseAI, which does improve these M43 photos. The birds are both Snow Geese and Ross
Fond memories of the harvested rice fields off Darst Road in Beasley, Texas, only six weeks ago! But in the meantime have discovered Topaz DenoiseAI, which does improve these M43 photos. The birds are both Snow Geese and Ross
White Ibis (Eudocimus albus) At Riverstone Wetlands, Sugar Land, Texas. This was an un-post-able photo 14 months ago. Is Topaz cheating? What do you think?
Great Kiskadee (Pitangus sulphuratus) in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. This was an un-post-able photo 16 months ago. Is Topaz cheating? What do you think?
The Ajanta Caves are 29 rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments dating from the second century BCE to about 480 CE in the Aurangabad District of Maharashtra state in India. Universally regarded as masterpieces, the caves include paintings and rock-cut sculptures described as finest examples of ancient Indian art. I toured the caves in 1969 after two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in the south of India. By then I had exhausted all my Ektachrome and Kodachrome, and my budget, too, and necessarily resorted to locally-purchased B&W film. The pathways about the 29 caves were being improved at the time. These women were breaking big rocks into small rocks to be mixed with cement for new pathways.
If not a Solitary Sandpiper (Tringa solitaria), then certainly a solitary Sandpiper, all alone on a dock on Double Lake, Sugar Land, Texas. Native all over the Americas.
Muscovy Ducks (Cairina moschata) are native to the Americas, from the Rio Grande Valley of Texas and Mexico south to Argentina and Uruguay. Small wild and feral breeding populations have established themselves in the United States. Judging from my neighborhood in SE Texas, Cairina moschata is an especially fecund species. Resoft County Park, Alvin, Texas.
This is Andre, a long-term resident of Resoft County Park in Alvin, Texas, who is about to be re-homed to a petting zoo for diluting the gene pool with other species of ducks in the pond. After watching these Muscovys waddle on land, it
The name of this soccer field (football field to the rest of the world) is Sandhill Crane Soccer Field. And, what do you know, Sandhill Cranes. Galveston, Texas.
Standing in the parking lot of the 4.4-acre, suburban Riverstone Wetlands. Photographing the Ibis and other white waders that habituate the wetlands, even at its periphery. What a place! Only a couple miles from the house. No wonder my gallery is so heavily biased in this direction. Sugar Land, Texas.
The fishing pier on 40-acre lake in Brazos Bend State Park in Needville, Texas, does, indeed, attract fisherfolk, but probably more photographers. Lots of birds in this, well, 40-acre lake, especially along the 2km perimeter. Alligators, too, so no swimming.
