Lush, intricate melodies tumbled from a willow tree near the river at Sabal Palm Sanctuary one unusually quiet midday afternoon. But, searching treetops for the
Tag: Creatures Among Us
![](https://rgvctmn.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Red-tailed-hawk2-800x600.jpg)
A vanilla chest rippled with chocolate and an intense glare alerted me to this red-tailed hawk scrutinizing mesquite and yucca-dotted grasslands—and, incidentally, bicyclists and joggers—
![](https://rgvctmn.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Northern-harrier-for-newspaper-1-trail-dec-23-2021-copy.jpg)
Suddenly, from a tranquil ocean of grasses and brush, explodes an astonishing athlete—a low-cruising, long-winged harrier that deftly weaves under, over and through foliage, its
![](https://rgvctmn.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/javelina-ramsey-april-21-2021-copy-800x600.jpg)
A javelina is not a pig. It’s not even in the same family. Though the rather pig-like javelina (Pecari tajacu)—a lean, compact native creature with
![](https://rgvctmn.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/eastern-cottontail-bike-trail-april-19b-800x600.jpg)
The big-eyed cottontail, crouching amid a bed of purples, mimicked a garden statue. A four-foot bull snake sprawled nearby, alert to the slightest motion. Neither
![](https://rgvctmn.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Bronze-headed-cowbird-photo-by-Chuck-Lorenz-750x601-2.jpg)
A bronzed cowbird is not a bad bird for depositing her eggs in the nest of an unwitting host, whose own brood often dies. No,