Author: Justin Case
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The Scrawled Cowfish—a Charming Gulf Resident
Story and photo by M. Kathy Raines, Texas Master Naturalist The sloping forehead of this multi-dimensional fish ends in a tiny, puckered “o” of perpetual awe or surprise. This is silly, of course. All fish wear fixed facial “expressions”, so to speak. Still, given our propensity to personify our fellow creatures, scrawled cowfish…
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The Loggerhead Shrike AKA “Butcherbird”
by M. Kathy Raines The Loggerhead Shrike AKA “Butcherbird” The masked white songbird perched on a twig, watching and waiting. Then, hawk-like, this loggerhead shrike swooped down upon a sparrow, and, with powerful, hooked bill, battered it, piercing its neck. After a few nibbles, it flew off with the limp, dangling corpse, then slid it…
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Bobcats Among Us
by M. Kathy Raines Rounding a bend at Sabal Palms Wildlife Sanctuary about noon, I startled to see a sizeable spotted cat with a large cub walking the trail five yards ahead. While the youth retreated into brush, the mother froze horizontally across the path. Then, swiveling her head, she stared at me, the intensity…
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Jetties Creatures: A Few Varied Invertebrates
by M. Kathy Raines Lace-trimmed waters crash, swirling among jumbled blocks of granite, exploding in shimmering mist. Carpets of bright green algae glimmer in sunlight. Terns and pelicans criss-cross skies, plummeting for fish. The jetties at Isla Blanca Park vibrate with life. Octopuses ooze through crevices. Sea urchins rest in washes between rocks. Sea…
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Green and Brown Anoles: One Native, One Introduced
by M. Kathy Raines Glancing from my book, I delighted to glimpse the ballooning speckled pink dewlap, or throat fan, of a green anole as it did push-ups against the wall of the gazebo. Noticing me a few photographs later, it leapt onto a nearby leaf, instantly changing from green to brown. “It’s…
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Welcome, Hooded Warbler!
by M. Kathy Raines Fall migration is in full swing, and the charming little hooded warbler is resting and filling up on Valley insects as it journeys from the eastern U.S. to the tropics. A black hood, like Batman’s cowl, encircles the lemon-yellow face of the male, making it one of our most easily identifiable…