View allAll Photos Tagged brazosbend
I saw something like this last weekend at Brazos Bend State Park, and now it seems to be all over the place. One of the park rangers told me he didn't know what it was, though it definitely seems to be some worm or caterpillar attacking the water hyacinth that has almost overrun the park in the last few years. The water hyacinth is an invasive species that, as far as I know, does not have any natural control organisms/pests in these parts. It seems that one has arrived.
One black-bellied whistling duck seems to have no interest in what's attracting the others' attention.
The Nature Center is the hub of the park's interpretive programs. The Nature Center houses several exhibits, informative volunteers and staff, and a gift shop. I think the building serves as the base for the park volunteer organization
The Sate of Texas purchased the park property on 1976 and the park opened in 1984. When in private hands, the Nature Center building served as a hunting/fishing cabin for the family that owned the property.
www.brazosbend.org/parkinfo/history.shtml
SE Texas - 11/2024
The cypress trees take on an amazing red in November. It was sunny and about 80 degrees yesterday afternoon so the park was too crowded for bird pictures, but the scenery did not disappoint. Brazos Bend State Park in SE Texas.
Texas brown snake (Storeria dekayi texana) on a trail in Brazos Bend State Park
When I first saw this snake I wondered if it were still alive, but then it moved its tail. Given the weather conditions (hot and sunny), I figured that, though it was alive, it probably wasn't in very good shape. By the time I returned to this point it was gone, possibly grabbed by a bird, picked up by a passing human, or it moved on its own.
I don't know what kind of flowers these are. They may be one of the several different flowers called camphorweed. This is beside the nature center in Brazos Bend State Park.
Woolly bear caterpillar, the larval stage of the Isabella tiger moth. They're usually black on both ends, but this one isn't, possibly because it's still a bit young for that to develop. Some people claim that the amount of black they carry indicates how cold the winter will be. If that's the case, we're in for a pretty warm one.
There were tons of bullfrog tadpoles surfacing and the LBHs were taking full advantage. Brazos Bend State Park. SE Texas
I watched this big guy stare into the muck for about a half hour when suddenly something caught his eye (or do they use sound to sense prey in such muck?)
f5.6, 1/800, 1600 ISO with a 400 mm f5.6 Canon lens. Back when I used 200 ISO slide film I would have just had to watch in such light.
Brazos Bend State Park SE Texas