Category Archives: Nature Photos

Never eat more than you can lift

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Man is the only animal that can remain on friendly terms with the victims he intends to eat until he eats them.
— Samuel Butler

A great egret (Ardea alba) perched on a log with two Texas river cooters (Pseudemys texana) sunning nearby (2009_06_21_024660)

As I processed that photo of a great egret (Ardea alba) perched on a log with a couple of Texas river cooters (Pseudemys texana), I giggled at the thought of the egret trying to munch on one of the turtles.  Obviously the size of the reptiles would prohibit that.  But the same could not be said of a small turtle I watched become breakfast for a yellow-crowned night-heron (Nyctanassa violacea).

A yellow-crowned night-heron (Nyctanassa violacea) trying to eat a small turtle (20080722_09794)

Along the bank of one of the nearby creeks, a bit of movement caught my eye.  It was the night-heron trying to eat something.  I couldn’t quite determine what was in its beak.

A yellow-crowned night-heron (Nyctanassa violacea) trying to eat a small turtle (20080722_09800)

The bird dipped it in the water, bludgeoned it against a rock, tossed it to and fro, and appeared to be resigned to not eating it since it couldn’t break it open.

A yellow-crowned night-heron (Nyctanassa violacea) trying to eat a small turtle (20080722_09812)

It was at this point that I got a better look at the food and realized it was a small turtle.  Here’s a crop of that image.

A yellow-crowned night-heron (Nyctanassa violacea) holding a small turtle in its beak (20080722_09812_c)

You can see the legs sticking out and the head hanging down, though the whole thing is covered with mud and identifying marks are obscured.  Still, it was definitely a turtle.

It seemed too large to swallow whole, and the bird had struggled with it for several minutes such that I felt certain it would give up.  After all the banging and washing, the carapace remained intact.  Unless the heron could pull the flesh from the shell by the dangling bits, it seemed breakfast would not be served this day.

But then…

A yellow-crowned night-heron (Nyctanassa violacea) swallowing a small turtle (20080722_09813)
A yellow-crowned night-heron (Nyctanassa violacea) swallowing a small turtle (20080722_09814)
A yellow-crowned night-heron (Nyctanassa violacea) swallowing a small turtle (20080722_09815)

In one swift move, down it went.  The whole turtle.  Shell and all.

After which the heron turned, took a drink of water, and proceeded to look quite satisfied.

Close-up of a yellow-crowned night-heron (Nyctanassa violacea) (20080722_09852)

It stood around for a while after that.  I’d probably need a rest, too, if I’d spent all that time and energy trying to break open breakfast only to swallow something as hard as a brick lest I be forced to give up the entire meal.

I was left to wonder how long it would take to digest the intact turtle.  And some time later, I was left to giggle at the thought of that scene as I watched the egret and its turtle companions.

put on your faces – diamondback water snake

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Close-up of a diamondback water snake (Nerodia rhombifer) slithering through dry leaves (2009_03_08_012928)

Diamondback water snake (Nerodia rhombifer)

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W. C. Fields once said, “I always keep a supply of stimulant handy in case I see a snake—which I also keep handy.”  Humorous though it is, it speaks to something I’ve never understood: ophidiophobia (or ophiophobia), the excessive fear of snakes.

I can understand the fear of being bitten by a venomous snake.  That goes hand in hand with the fear of being in an airplane crash or falling into a vat of acid.

But the general and overriding fear of all snakes no matter the circumstances or level of threat?  That I just don’t comprehend.

My symphony

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A male great-tailed grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus) standing on the pier and staring at me (2008_12_07_001404)

To live content with small means, to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion, to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich, to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly, to listen to stars and birds, to babes and sages, with open heart, to bear all cheerfully, do all bravely, await occasions, hurry never, in a word to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common, this is to be my symphony.

— William Ellery Channing

[male great-tailed grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus)]

Pungent

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I could smell it from twenty paces away.  It didn’t help that the gentle breeze coming off the lake picked up the perfumed cloud and carried right to me.  It settled over me like heavy fog, an olfactory assault of such magnitude that it made me want to run away.

The limbs of Mexican Plum (a.k.a. big tree plum or inch plum; Prunus mexicana) covered in bunches of brilliant white spring flowers (2009_03_08_012583)

As I approached, I could see the tree was abuzz with insects drawn by the brilliant white blossoms and the sticky scent hanging in the air.  Every branch held countless bunches of spring flowers, together the mass of them producing a siren call to pollinators far and wide.

The brilliant white spring flowers of Mexican Plum (a.k.a. big tree plum or inch plum; Prunus mexicana) with insects buzzing around (2009_03_08_012589)

A woman passing by mentioned how she loved the tree, adored the subtle and spicy aroma of its show.  Subtle and spicy?  I would hardly have called it that.  The longer I stood in its presence, the more nauseated I felt from the overbearing sweetness of it, as though I swam in a pool of licorice-scented perfume.  It could only be called subtle if Rush Limbaugh could be called subtle.

A close-up of the white spring flowers of Mexican Plum (a.k.a. big tree plum or inch plum; Prunus mexicana) (2009_03_08_012591)

Though I tried to approach for some closer shots, especially of the hoard of buzzing insects flitting about the branches, I simply couldn’t stand it any longer.  I was overcome with the pungent, heavy air.  I had to get away.

Several days later as I walked with a friend, we passed that same tree.  I pointed it out, noted that it remained a cloud if insect activity, and mentioned the potent smell.  My friend smiled and said, “Oh my yes!  I love Mexican plum.  In spring it smells like fresh corn tortillas.”

I shook my head in wonder at how three people could have such disparate impressions of the tree’s bouquet.

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Photos of Mexican Plum (a.k.a. big tree plum or inch plum; Prunus mexicana).  It does generate its own insect cloud in spring, in large part due to the abundance of flowers and the strength of its redolence.  It also seems to demonstrate how people can have widely different impressions of the same stimuli.

In the first and second photos you can see small portions of the veritable swarm of flying insects buzzing about the tree.

Playful

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A nutria (a.k.a. coypu; Myocaster coypus) looking playful as it climbs the bank of White Rock Lake (2009_04_10_014727)

A canine friend ready for a frolic.  A puppy prepared to pounce.  A million other familiar references.

This picture has always tickled me, always put a healthful smile on my face.  A trick of angle, sure, for anyone watching from a different vantage would have seen nothing more intriguing than a nutria (a.k.a. coypu; Myocaster coypus) climbing the inclined shore of White Rock Lake in Sunset Bay.

Yet my vantage, lying prostrate on the ground uphill from the water’s edge, made it look as though this behemoth rodent was in fact getting ready for some rough-and-tumble play.