View allAll Photos Tagged brazosbend
What appears to be some kind of eruption in the water of Pilant Lake is actually a fulvous whistling duck diving under the water's surface in pursuit of something edible. Another fulvous whistler pays it little attention.
This great egret wasn't holding its wing above its head to shield it from the sun, but it looks like it.
Brazos Bend State Park, TX
Several pairs of these grebes at this popular park, but still just about as shy the ones we get up north. My most interesting observation was of one pair chasing - yes, chasing - away an alligator that was about twice the size of themselves!
My wife hung back to avoid flushing the heron I was watching, then this big fellow crossed the trail between us. Brazos Bend State Park in SE Texas. 8/2018 (her phone pic in comment 1)
FYI this is a pretty common occurrence at this location. The gator simply wanted to get to the area across the trail. I have received a few messages about risky behavior. This was not the case.
Brazos Bend State Park has a spillway that runs like a river after a large rainfall. We had a pretty big rain last week. The water was running and lots of birds were feeding in it. I set up early Sunday morning and watched/shot for 4 hours. Great time!
Brazos Bend State Park in SE Texas
Beside the water of Elm Lake but nonetheless on the bank
This gator's right eye seems to be missing. If so, it probably lost it in a fight with another gator.
Two years ago, I purchased a small Olympus mirrorless camera (B&H Black Friday). Combined with a small ball head, this has allowed me to capture wider shots while in the field with a telephoto on my dSLR (I've always been uncomfortable changing lenses along the trail). Brazos Bend State Park in SE Texas. 11/2017
Falco sparverius
This American Kestrel had been preening when I pulled up next to him at Brazos Bend State Park yesterday. I was quite surprised and excited when he just sat and let me take photos at close range since that almost never happens in my experience. I just love the colors of these guys.
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I took yesterday off and made an early morning trip to Brazos Bend State Park. For a few hours it was nothing but the critters and me.
SE Texas, 12/2015
The cypress trees are showing a little fall color The egret pictured in my previous post can be seen here, in the right tree. Brazos Bend State Park in SE Texas. 11/2019
Hylatomus pileatus
My guest and I were thrilled last week out at Brazos Bend State Park when this Pileated Woodpecker gave us a fly-by. Thankfully there was lots of light for a photo.
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I don't know what kind of flower this is. The nearest thing I can find in my wildflower guidebooks is pickerelweed, but this doesn't look quite right. Beside 40 Acre Lake in Brazos Bend State Park.
OK, according to iNaturalist, this is a powdery thalia (Thalia dealbata), which I've never heard of, but it grows over much of southeast Texas and most of the southern U.S.
plants.buchanansplants.com/12250003/Plant/14534/Powdery_T...
This isn't as sharp as it should be, but I decided to post anyway because I love the bird. Hopefully I can get some better shots of this bird in the future! Brazos Bend State Park in SE Texas
10/2015
Yesterday I went out to find the owl nest and Brazos Bend, which was easy thanks to great instructions from flickr photographer backup1940 . Photography conditions weren't that great, but I did get some nice looks at this bird. If all goes well, this will be fun to watch over the next few months.
Brazos Bend State Park in SE Texas
Bench in Brazos Bend State Park with a back almost completely covered in caterpillars. These are tent caterpillars, which turn into a fairly nondescript kind of moth, according to the park's naturalist.
I finally managed to get a decent in-focus closeup of this bird, on the hiking trail around 40 Acre Lake in Brazos Bend State Park.
I saw this young gator, about 3 1/2 years old, lunge for something as if to eat it. When it finally raised its head from the water, all I saw in its mouth was this reedy stick. The stick may have had something on it, which the gator has already swallowed, but it seems to have broken in two, leaving the gator's jaws jammed open. The little gator subsequently was able to free itself from its predicament, though.
Until someone loses an eye
It looks as though this gator has incurred some major damage to its left eye. Going by its size, it's probably a male, and males will fight each other and do serious damage, especially during mating season. I took this in late March, which is near the beginning of mating season, so I'd guess this guy got involved in some kind of scrap over a female.
This young White Ibis provided a good bit of entertainment during a recent visit to Brazos Bend State Park. It had caught a relatively large fish and was struggling to get it swallowed as several other ibises tried to take it away. After about a ten minute struggle the bird finally did get its meal down.
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Eudocimus albus
While I like to catch these birds in the open, I think it's sometimes interesting to photograph them partially buried in habitat. I think an image like this works if the eye is unobstructed. Brazos Bend State Park in SE Texas. 3/2018
ISO 1600 (neglected to adjust when sun came out), 1/1000, f6,3 (metered +1/3 stop)
This Red-shouldered Hawk was making a lot of noise with its mate during a recent visit to Brazos Bend State Park. I hope they are very successful nesting this year.
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Buteo lineatus