Tag: Creatures Among Us
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The nine-banded armadillo
—Texas’ official state small mammal by M. Kathy Raines Mirroring traits of the quintessential Texan, the nine-banded armadillo is “a hardy, pioneering creature,” one possessing “deep respect and need for the land, the ability to change and adapt, and a fierce, undying love for freedom,” according to 1995’s Texas legislature. Armadillos’ migration to Texas…
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The Painted Bunting—a Joy to Birders
by M. Kathy Raines Painted buntings don’t know about the coronavirus. Oblivious to our fears and “shelter in place” orders, they, along with other exhausted, migrating birds, are stopping in South Texas in April and early May to rest and feed before flying northward, where they will merrily mate and nest. Though confined to…
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Anhinga—the snakebird
by M. Kathy Raines What a large, peculiar-looking cormorant! I thought, spotting an anhinga on a branch overhanging a resaca at the Gladys Porter Zoo last November. A youth or female, its long, creamy neck formed an ‘S’, with its chest an abrupt buff color above its black posterior, its wings flecked with silver. The…
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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…