Birding? 10-21-2022
I attended the 3rd Friday Birding event for October in the Sanctuary of Headwaters at Incarnate Word. It was a beautiful morning. We saw/heard eleven different species of birds, but I only got two on camera. Butterflies and other insects were much more prevalent.
![]() The birdwalk was led by Laura Reynolds. She has a freakish ability to hear birds and identify them by sound. I have learned so much from her. |
![]() Pam Ball, the Executive Director of Headwaters at Incarnate Word, accompanied us on the birdwalk and told us about the projects in the Sanctuary as we passed them. |
![]() This is the first bird I got a picture of today. It is a great egret that was on a concrete wall near the Olmos Dam. |
![]() The Sanctuary trails were sunny and cool today. |
![]() This titmouse is the only other bird I got a picture of. A hawk was totally uncooperative, and I only got the tail of a phoebe. |
![]() I wish this shot of a variegated fritillary was darker so you could really see the orange. They are beautiful butterflies and are usually willing to pose with their wings open like this. |
![]() This is a very pretty sachem. |
![]() The gulf fritillary will also pose with open wings. They are a beautiful vibrant orange. |
![]() Chile pequins grow wild all over the sanctuary. This particular plant lives in the Circle of the Springs. |
![]() This southern dogface butterfly was hiding his face. I went ahead and posted because this is the best coloration I have ever caught in one of my shots. You have to catch them in flight to see their wings open. |
![]() This is a phaon crescent butterfly. |
![]() This is a really cool yellow-margined flower buprestid. The head is on the right. You can see the yellow on the sides. |
![]() This is a gray hairstreak. I have never seen one with its wings open... |
![]() ...until today! How is that for a serendipitous shot? |
![]() This is a mallow scrub-hairstreak |
![]() Yellow-shouldered drone fly |
![]() This is a bee fly (Poecilanthrax lucifer) |
![]() another variegated fritillary |
![]() common checkered-skipper |
![]() American beauty berry |
![]() Sleepy orange |
![]() male southern dogface |
![]() Southern dogface |
![]() female southern dogface |
![]() Monarch on the left... Queen on the right... |
![]() Monarch |
![]() American snout |
![]() Okay... I apologize for the low quality of the next few photos of a titan sphynx moth. This guy fought me like crazy. Instead of just going peacefully from blossom to blossom like a honeybee, he would break the sound barrier to go six feet away. I have several hundred shots of esperanza blossoms with no moth in sight. These were the only ones I got that he is actually in! |
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![]() This is a juvenile Texas spiny lizard. He was resting on the backrest of one of the benches. |