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But doesn't quack like a duck. Instead, these ducks whistle, sort of like a tweet. They are very social and hang out together in large groups. Together they tend to make a lot of noise.
Three black-bellied whistling ducks (Dendrocygna autumnalis) on a small fishing/observation pier beside Elm Lake, Brazos Bend State Park
Hale Lake is an oxbow lake in Brazos Bend State Park formed when a bend in Big Creek got cut off when the creek changed its course.
Big Creek is a small tributary of the Brazos River, and this spot is near where the creek empties into the river. When the Brazos floods, water backs up into Big Creek and often into this lake. State Park staff occasionally pump water from the river or the creek into the lake, but it mostly maintains its water level through river flooding.
Brazos Bend State Park re-opened this week. Flooding of the Brazos River caused a two month closer. It was great to get back in there!
Brazos Bend State Park in SE Texas
The web spun by a golden silk spider, a.k.a. banana spider, usually looks much more organized than this. It was beside the trail around Creekfield Lake in Brazos Bend State Park and may have gotten doubled over by a passing person or some other animal. Whatever the case, this one is very atypical for them.
The other unusual thing is that the end of July is very late in the year for them to begin appearing around the park's trails. I have seen them as early as early June, and this is the first I've seen in 2023. We've had a very hot summer so far, so that might affect their numbers.
Turtle trying to camouflage itself on the edge of Creekfield Lake, Brazos Bend State Park
What appears to be a large hole in its shell may be evidence that this turtle survived an attack by an alligator. (Sometimes they do survive.) Or it might just be a shadow...
Lend me your ears! Snowy egret perched on the railing of the footbridge across the Pilant Lake spillway in Brazos Bend State Park
Other photographers approach as I huddle with the snowy egrets. I guess this is what our world looks like to a bird :) Brazos Bend State Park in SE Texas. 1/2017
Most of the time when you see green herons you don't see them with their neck outstretched like this. Nevertheless, they are herons, so they have longer necks than you might think.
Though it looks pretty cartoonish, the northern shoveler comes by its large bill naturally. The duck obtains its food by dipping its bill into the water and wagging it back and forth, straining out seeds and invertebrates. This one is a female.
We've been out irritating the snakes again. Exhausted from our efforts but obviously successful. Notice that even a harmless little snake puts itself in a defensive post and strikes although it doesn't do a bit of good.
This little sweetie was stuck on a sidewalk with high curbs. When we tried to assist it, the darned thing ran from us. After several attempts to help it out without hurting it (it was small), it turned on us. It did get help to get to the grass again.
The rule of thumb is DON'T ATTEMPT TO GET REAL CLOSE TO A SERPENT WITH EYES WITH SLANTED PUPILS OR AREN'T ROUND. This little snakes eyes have round pupils - non-poisonous.
No points for art with this set, but hopefully interesting. Brazos Bend State Park in SE Texas
10/2015
This was in very little light, but I was glad to get some record of my visit to the nest. 3/18/2015
f5.6, 1/100, ISO 6400
A 7-8 ft. (a bit over 2 m.) long alligator has found a spot underneath the small fishing pier on Creekfield Lake in Brazos Bend State Park. Earlier it had been sunning itself beside the pier, but as the day got warmer, it moved to a cooler, shadier spot.
This anhinga hasn't dried its wings enough for it to fly away, which enabled me to get rather close to it.
Elm Lake is a small lake in Brazos Bend State Park, Texas, with some small fishing piers jutting out from the path around the lake. The summer of 2022 was hot and dry, and as of the time of this posting (May, 2023), the lake doesn't contain anywhere near this much water.
A reprocessed photo from the archives
I will always be amazed watching these birds swallow a whole fish.
Brazos Bend State Park in SE Texas
Golden silk spider, golden orb weaver, banana spider - these are all names for this spider (Nephila clavipes). The name 'orb weaver' comes from the type of web that they spin, i.e., spokes radiating out from a center with connections between them, such that they look somewhat circular.
Alligators frequently open their mouths for thermal regulation during hot weather, sort of similar to dogs' panting. They have a flap over the throat, visible here, that keeps their windpipe closed when under water. They will open it to exchange outside air with air in their lungs in order to cool down.
On July 22,2016 ! After months of flooding the State Park was open to the public a few days ago. Cob- webs or spider webs every where
I don't know where the oil in this photo came from, possibly from some of the plant matter that fell into the water. This is an example of thin-film interference:
Large - about 12 ft (3.6 m) - alligator beside the trail around Elm Lake in Brazos Bend State Park
There ain't no fences in Brazos Bend...