Fungus Among Us!

Teri and I decided to hike the short Turks Cap Trail in the park to see how it had weathered the hurricane. Overall it was in pretty good shape, but a couple of areas were flooded from recent rains and we couldn't walk it all.

Column Stinkhorn

We did come across a group of interesting fungi that had an unpleasant smell. There were about a dozen of these growing up out of the some wood chips, some as long as six inches.

Column Stinkhorn

Once we returned to the trailer we identified the fungi as Column Stinkhorn. These apparently start out as separate columns that eventually fuse at the top. And like other Stinkhorn Fungi, they stink!! The inside of the columns are covered with a smelly brown slime which contains spores. The smell attract insects that then carry the spores off to different locations. 

During our walk we heard lots of Gray Catbirds. They get their name from the "mewing" sounds that they make. We hear them constantly, but don't see them very often. This one perched long enough for some pictures. 

Gray Catbird

We were also treated to a flyover by two Whooping Cranes. They were pretty far away but I did get a picture of one with it's "landing gear" down. Those are some long legs!

Mark

Whoop It Up!!

We led four bird walks this past week, and had weather ranging from hot and humid to cold, windy and rainy. A bird that many folks want to see is the Whooping Crane. We hadn't seen any until our final walk on Saturday, when Teri spotted a family group in a nearby marsh.

Whooping Crane Family

The folks on our walk were thrilled to see them. We were able to get even closer by using a new(ish) bird viewing platform installed in the park a couple of years ago.

Adult Whooping Cranes are nearly five feet tall, and white with a red crown.

Whooping Crane Adult

Juvenile Whooping Cranes, called "Colts" have a lot of rusty-brown plumage that they lose during their first year.

Whooping Crane Juvenile

Hopefully these guys hang around for future walks.

Mark

Walkin' and Talkin' about Birds

Teri and I are the "Bird Hosts" at Goose Island State Park for the months of November and December. This means that we'll lead bird walks 4 days each week. 

Our Wednesday and Saturday walks are Shorebird Walks, where we concentrate on beach and marsh areas. Thursday is the Woodland Walk, which stays in the campground area among the Live Oaks (and mosquitoes!).

Friday is the Big Tree Natural Area Walk, which explores a remote area of the park behind the famous "Big Tree". We didn't lead this walk when we were here two years ago, as the tract was newly acquired and not open to any activities. As it is, our bird walk is the only opportunity for the public to see this part of the park.

Our very first walk was a Big Tree Natural Area Walk, and we had three enthusiastic participants. Since our November walks are the first walks of the season in the park, it takes a week or two for many folks to find out about them. We expect larger turnouts as the season progresses.

We started in the Big Tree parking area, and learned a little about the folks on the walk. We often get folks who have never been on a bird walk before, and don't have binoculars. So we sometimes spend that first 15 minutes or so getting them acquainted with how to use binoculars (we have loaners), a spotting scope, field guides, etc. These are often the best groups as everything is new for them. This group had some experience with bird walks so didn't need the basics, and we started birding right away.

There are often good birds visible from the parking area, including the much (most?) sought after Whooping Cranes. It turns out that the Whooping Cranes have not arrived in our area yet, but the Sandhill Cranes have.

Sandhill Cranes

As they fly over making their distinctive call, we are always asked "Are those Whooping Cranes?". We have to break the news that they are not, but folks seem to appreciate seeing any cranes. 

Once we move into the Big Tree Natural Area we find several different types of habitat. The area was formerly a ranch, complete with several homes, an airstrip, and a hanger. The homes are rapidly deteriorating and are slated to be removed, so we avoid them on our walks. We do have access to some fantastic marsh areas, which should have Whooping Cranes on them in the next couple of weeks. 

In addition to birds we also like to show off the dragonflies and butterflies of the area. There are a lot of flowering plants still blooming, and plenty of mosquitoes for the dragonflies to eat!

Giant Swallowtail

Roseate Skimmer

After birding the marsh, we walk down the length of the old concrete runway, to the beach. Here we can find gulls, terns, and other shorebirds. 

While at the beach, we were treated to a flyover of a Roseate Spoonbill. 

Roseate Spoonbill

We've already done a special Saturday evening walk for a outdoor group from Texas A&M Corpus Christi, so in addition to our scheduled walks we are available for special requests as well. 

We love this area and are looking forward to exploring it with visitors over the next two months. 

Mark