Biodiversity…I Spy…Old Favorites
There are some animals that I never get tired of.
Barn Swallows.
Belted Kingfisher.
Great Blue Heron.
Southern Leopard Frog.
I don’t know all the dragonfly species that live here, but Dragonflies of Texas by John C. Abbott is helping me to learn them. This one is a Widow Skimmer female.
Blue Corporal Dragonfly, juvenile male.
I forgot to put it in yesterday’s post, but this is in response to Just Another Nature Enthusiast’s biodiversity challenge.
I find endless inspiration in nature. If I had unlimited time I could make so many art quilts and paintings based on what I see around me, but for now I feel that it’s more important just to get them documented and identified. In future years, I want people to be able to look back and see what we had here, to be able to tell how long their own favorites have lived or visited here.
I love the pictures.
Thank you. I hope that goofy blue heron made you smile as much as it did me! 🙂
Yes. He did.
Such beautiful photos, and such amazing wildlife! I am ashamed to be one ignoramus of an Englishwoman who did not know Texas included such amazing habitats as the Piney Woods – I’ve been reading it up on Wikipedia (inspired by your blog) and have learned so much. thank you!
Don’t feel bad about that! Most Americans think all of Texas looks like the settings in old John Wayne movies, which were filmed in Monument Valley in Arizona. And I myself am just beginning to appreciate all the biodiversity of this area.
And I don’t know anything about the different regions of the UK, either. There is so much to learn about this world, and then we’re lucky if we remember any of it. 🙂
Texas seems a world away, but I am always amazed that we (Missouri and Texas) share so many of the same plants and animals. I see my favorites in your lists, too. Often, if I am trying to identify something (today, it was a tree), I use ID guides from Texas resources. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center site has been a favorite for a long time. Love your I Spy series. 😀
Since I have been blogging, I have been surprised at how the different plants and birds show up at different latitudes at about the same time in spring, too. I always had this idea that the South had spring first and then it slowly traveled north, but it seems I read posts that “the robins arrived today” on the same day whether I am reading something from Georgia or Ohio. Very interesting, always something to learn.
These are beautiful photos. You are dispelling false stereo-type impressions of Texas’ biodiversity. I appreciate your ambition to identify and document species … that’s also the motivation behind my expanding connections to our wetland property.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and enthusiasm in the Biodiversity challenge, Textile Ranger 🙂
I am always glad to show Texas in a good light! I think we are very lucky here with biodiversity – a few times I have gone to “birding hot spots” in other states, and seen a display that said, “All these birds are routinely found on the Texas Gulf Coast,” or something similar, and I have thought, “I just need to stick closer to home!” 🙂
I had a lot of fun with the challenge and I appreciate all the effort you are putting into spreading environmental knowledge and awareness!