Backyard Nature
September 13, 2020
June 6, 2019
An outflow-boundary triggered thunderstorm and at least seven bat colonies emerging from their caves.
May 26, 2014
A lightning-illuminated photo taken at 1:47am out our front door during a signficant rain event for Houston and its suburbs.
By morning, the water had gone down a little. Note the high-water mud line on the new patch of driveway.
Augst 28, 2014
Hawk in our backyard.
June 20, 2014
The Waugh Bridge Mexican Freetailed Bats.
May 10, 2014
Green Heron at Sam Houston Park in downtown Houston.
May 2, 2014
Red-shouldered hawk
March 12, 2012
Caroline Anole lizard eating a moth.
February 26, 2012
Molting Anole lizard.
May 26, 2011
This red-shouldered hawk was on our fence this morning, looking for sticks. It flew down into our yard after studying the ground from its perch on the fence. It grabbed a stick with its beak and returned to its perch on the fence. It then moved the stick to its right foot and flew off.
Its other leg and foot is tucked into its feathers.
May 22, 2011
Not yet...
Now!!! A Green Heron going for the catch...
This Green Heron was fishing at the pond in Sam Houston Park in downtown Houston during the Art Car celebrations.
The heron used its bill to spear the fish.
Baby Muscovy Ducks. Cute now, ugly later.
December 24, 2010
A Portuguese Man o' War that washed up in Galveston
September 25, 2010
We found a praying mantis at the park.
January 1, 2010
A hawk above our neighborhood.
July 17, 2009
July 7, 2009
Common Loon at East Horsehead Lake, near Harshaw, Wisconsin.
October 12, 2008
We went to a garden/nursery shop called Enchanted Forest in Richmond on the 12th.
A Giant Swallowtail in our backyard.
Our photos of the effects of Hurricane Ike
September 1, 2008
August 24, 2008
April 12, 2008
April 12 video "Chrysalis Formation"
This is a time-lapse video of two monarch caterpillars turning into chrysalides on our house number sign. We have about two dozen chrysalides around our yard. Our "butterfly weed" (Asclepias tuberosa) bushes are completely bare of leaves and small stems.
Taken at one frame every two seconds (0.5 fps). 30 fps displayed rate / 0.5 fps taken rate = 60x speedup.
April 11, 2008
Monarch chrysalis and caterpillar
Monarch caterpillar
Monarch chrysalis
A juvenile, 1 foot long blotched water snake (non-venomous) in our yard on April 14, 2006.
A common Anole lizard (male). The females lay a single egg every two weeks from March to October.
The male's "dewlap."
An approximately six foot long diamond-backed water snake (non-venomous) we found in our yard on the evening of July 3rd, 2005.
As the snake approached the tree I said to Heather that there is no way the snake could climb that tree. It's too steep and there are not enough features for it to "grab" onto. The snake proceeded to slowly but delibrately climb the trunk of the tree. We were amazed.
