by M. Kathy Raines
Neotropic Cormorant
photo by Javier Gonzalez “Diving ducks!” we cried as sleek, streamlined black cormorants seamlessly slipped…
Turkey Vultures – Nature’s Sanitation Crew
photo by M. Kathy Raines Hundreds of massive black shadows patterned the frond-strewn pathways at…
The American White Pelican – A Treasured Visitor
photo by M. Kathy Raines Iced confections spring to mind when I view clumps of…
Texas Tortoise
Like an actor parting the curtains, a Texas tortoise took the stage from behind foliage…
Wood Thrush
This wide-eyed thrush—pot-belled, brown-spotted and robin-like in posture—traipsed among eager photographers at the South Padre…
Snowy Egret
The snowy egret slipped its yolk-yellow feet, toes first, into waters of the saltmarsh and…
Lizard Watching: the Texas Spotted Whiptail
The long-tailed, striped lizard, its limbs splayed out like a gecko’s, suddenly materialized on the…
The Brahminy Blind Snake
We lifted a small log, one with critter-enticing voids and cracks, exposing an expected assortment…
Northern Mockingbird, Champion Singer
“Hush, little baby, don’t say a word! Papa’s gonna buy you a mockingbird!” begins a…
The Spinybacked Orbweaver — a Backyard Jewel
A spiky, ornate gem sat amid an expansive web projecting from the fence, arresting me…
A Striking Red Bird—the Summer Tanager
During April, the peak of spring migration in South Texas, one often spots a summer,…
Black-necked Stilts
A cartoon animal springs to mind when I watch this round-headed, needle-billed, tuxedoed bird that,…