Houston Arboretum, July 2012

The Houston Arboretum is a prolific site for snakes with 3 out of 4 trips producing a herpetological highlight. The Coral Snake and Copperhead still evade me, but a Ribbon Snake was seen early on before the condensation on my lens had cleared.

A small feeding party of birds crossed the path ahead with Carolina Chickadees, Tufted Titmice and a Red-bellied Woodpecker passing through quickly. Only a Downy Woodpecker took his time and showed for the camera.

With birds being quite scarce, I was glad to make up the rest of the morning with dragonflies and reptiles. The Ribbon Snake was seen in the pond by the visitor centre. I was hanging around to wait for the centre to open in the hope that I could get some bug spray. The bitey insects were quite nippy this morning and my threshold is low as far as they are concerned. If you want to avoid being bitten early in the morning, bring your own repellent. If you can cope with a few bites before 08.30, the visitor centre keeps a few bottles of spray and offers a free squirt to anyone who needs it.

Just as the condensation cleared from the lens, a Green Heron flew in and posed nicely on a log jutting from the pond. Dragonflies were up early on this warm day in late July, with Blue Dashers being especially abundant.

American Beauty Berry Bushes were showing off their fruit as it reached ripeness along the branch. The Inner Loop was open with a new layer of chippings and lots of cut timber along the path. The Outer Loop Trail is currently undergoing maintenance and is closed. Many of the distinctive Loblolly Pines have died off and are being cut down to avoid too much standing dead wood in this popular walking area.

At the Swamp Boardwalk, a pair of Common Green Darners were flying in tandem, stopping occasionally for the female to deposit her eggs while the male stayed jealously attached.

At the Meadow Lake, Eastern Meadowhawks were very common. While I was there, a Red-tailed Hawk took to the sky, easily found a column of warm air and rose quickly out of sight.

I found use for the red pen today in the form of a Slaty Skimmer, Libellula incesta. It is not possible for me to tell whether this is a male or female as both sexes take on the state grey colouration as they mature.

Birds seen; 16

Green Heron 1, Black-crowned Night Heron 1, Red-tailed Hawk 1, White-winged Dove 25, Red-bellied Woodpecker 1, Downy Woodpecker 1, Blue Jay 15, American Crow 6, Carolina Chickadee 8, Tufted Titmouse 6, Carolina Wren 3, American Robin 4, Northern Mockingbird 4, European Starling 40, Northern Cardinal 4, Great-tailed Grackle 60.

For more posts from Houston Arboretum, follow the links below;
http://redgannet.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/houston-arboretum-and-nature-center.html

http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/10/yellow-is-new-purple.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/herping-in-houston.html

Visit the dedicated USA and Canada Page for more from Texas including White Rock Lake, Dallas.

Damselflies on White Rock Creek, July 2012

From Google Earth ref; 32°57'13.79"N  96°48'36.86"W a track leads down to the White Rock Creek. It was a slow start since I turned 50 this week and had a little party to mark the occasion last night. The short cycle ride had started my blood moving again, picking up the sludge which had settled in my sump and sending it straight back to my head, which reacted by thumping.

Thankfully there were very few birds to stop me as I cycled along beside the stream in the pleasant shade. The few that did catch my attention did not merit photographs. Carolina Chickadees, Tufted Titmice and Downy Woodpeckers showed themselves briefly and a Green Heron flushed from the river bank.

I only stayed for a short while and most of my time was spent in a patch of grass looking at damselflies. The one above I shall take to be a Comanche Dancer, Argia barretti.

The Powdered Dancer, Argia moesta  were very common, but I am taking this identification with a pinch of salt. It is not a perfect fit for the field guide specimen, but I can’t see a better alternative. The juvenile/female, below,  corresponds quite well.

The Blue-ringed Dancer, Argia sedula was another common ode that did not quite match its description in the book.

Especially when the colour matches between individuals varied so.

Also seen along the creek and in a nearby pond were Swift Setwing, Dythemis velox, Eastern Pondhawk, Eurothemis simplicicollis, Black Saddlebags,Tramea lacerata ,and Eastern Amberwing, Perithemis tenera.

Birds seen;

Great Egret 1, Green Heron 1, Eurasian Collared Dove 2, White-winged Dove 2, Mourning Dove 2, Downy Woodpecker 1, Blue Jay 10, American Crow 4, Carolina Chickadee 4, Tufted Titmouse 6, Great-tailed Grackle 60.

Visit the dedicated USA and Canada Page for more from the area, including White Rock Lake and a selection of posts from Houston.

Khalij Pheasant at Charleston Slough, San Francisco

There has been some interest in the Khalij Pheasant that I saw at Charleston Slough, San Francisco.
EBird will mark the sighting as invalid on account of its probable status as introduced or escaped, but it has caused a sudden traffic spike on that post, so I have found a couple of extra pictures.

Apologies for the quality. I came upon the bird suddenly and we were both a little surprised.

The pheasant was nervous and moved quickly into cover. Perhaps this would indicate a feral bird rather than a recent escapee. I did not follow it, but allowed it to move down the slope and melt into the treeline that runs alongside the creek flowing out from Charleston Slough.
The pictures are available in higher definition to anyone who has an interest. Write to redgannet@gmail.com and I will gladly send them.

The Perpetual Flame

There are universal constants that hold true wherever in the world one might be. It is possible to predict for example that a stroll in Mote Park at 06.30 on a weekday morning is likely to be a tranquil affair with only like-minded early risers for company.

To find a crowd of thousands being serenaded by an enthusiastic drum band was a surprise. Their lurid outfits and rhythmic thumping were enough to ensure that my wildlife viewing was spoiled to the extent that there were more civil dignitaries flapping around than birds.

Then came the joggers. Along with dog-walkers, they are a common part of the early morning scene in the park and are usually seen with their heads down and earphones in, tramping the path around the lake.

I am led to believe that this was the launch of Apple’s new i-Torch. It looks a little unwieldy to me, but the crowds seemed to love it. In line with current policy, security was subtle and unobtrusive.

The Olympic Flame was carried through Maidstone on 20th July 2012 with just a week to go before the opening ceremony. It stayed overnight at Leeds Castle and was brought to Mote Park in a small brass lantern to light the torch of Chris Bury before heading off on day 63 of the procession.

Ho Chung Valley (nearly), Hong Kong, July 2012

A visit to Ho Chung Valley went slightly awry this morning as I found myself in a village full of angry dogs barking themselves hoarse as I passed. The website of the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society gave me the idea to visit, but I guess I didn’t follow the instructions carefully enough and ended up in Luk Mei Tsuen.

As I stepped from the bus, a small path led into the trees on the left. I followed the path and immediately began finding birds. Masked Laughingthrushes and Common Tailorbirds made plenty of noise while the Oriental Magpie Robins lent a more tuneful quality to the early morning chorus. There were plenty of birds to find, so it didn’t immediately occur to me that I might be in the wrong place.

Soon I came into the village where dogs came out from almost every house and began barking, one of them even snapped at me. I was feeling uncomfortable, so I checked with a passerby and found that I was not in Ho Chung as I had hoped. On asking how to get to Ho Chung, she pointed me towards a path, but warned that it was very dangerous with lots of snakes. This counts as flirting in my book!

Red-whiskered Bulbuls were especially common this morning and with the red pen from yesterday barely dry, another sighting of a Hair-crested Drongo was had.
No snakes were found, but I came out onto a concrete drain with a road leading left and right. As it happens, I should have turned right and followed the drain upstream to reach Ho Chung, but I decided to bail out and return to Sha Lo Tung instead for the rest of the morning.

For next time, minibus number 1 goes from exit C2 of Choi Hung MTR station, heading for Sai Kung.

It goes across a roundabout, then over a small contained river before stopping opposite the Marina Cove Supermarket at Google Earth ref; 22°21'21.03"N 114°15'5.20"E . Retrace your steps to the river and follow it upstream to Ho Chung Valley.

Species seen; 17

Black Kite 2, Spotted Dove 12, House Swift 4, Hair-crested Drongo 2, Blue Magpie 3, Eurasian Magpie 2, Large-billed Crow 4, Barn Swallow 6, Red-whiskered Bulbul 30, Light-vented 3, Common Tailorbird 4, Masked Laughingthrush 3, Oriental Magpie Robin 6, Black-collared Starling 3, Crested Myna 8, Fork-tailed Sunbird 2, Eurasian Tree Sparrow 10.