River Legacy Parks: January 2017

My Monday morning earlier this week got off to a wonderful start in the fog at Village Creek Drying Beds.  But I was feeling greedy, so I wasn't content to call it a day.  Instead I hopped right next door to River Legacy Parks to see what I could see there.

Right away, an accommodating Northern Mockingbird perched right by the trail and let me get quite close.

It took a short flight to a yaupon tree, and I couldn't resist the chance to shoot the bird among the bright red berries.

Again, it seemed unperturbed by me standing there and clicking away.

The sun eventually peeked through the clouds, and the additional depth of field I gained made this my sharpest shot of the bunch.

Eventually my feathered friend got bored with me and flew off.  I headed down the trail, enjoying the warmth from the emergent sun.  So was this fox squirrel, contentedly snacking in a tree.

On the opposite side of the river I spotted a brown lump I was sure was an animal.  Then it didn't move, and I decided it was just a conspicuous stump.  Then it did move, and I was delighted to discover that it was a beaver!  The first I'd ever seen in the wild, actually.  I couldn't get as close as I would have liked because of, you know, the river.  But I'm still pretty pleased with this effort.

My most surprising sighting of the day was undoubtedly a small fairy village comprised of a few tiny houses, a translucent green sphere, and this little signpost.  I couldn't figure out who was responsible for building and maintaining it.  But I was glad that visitors to the park seemed to respect it.

A yellow oak leaf was nicely backlit, revealing all its veiny detail.

A telltale keening cry drew my attention to trees bordering Village Creek Drying Beds, where I noticed a Red-Shouldered Hawk scanning the terrain.

Extending my outing turned out to be a great decision.  Going from foggy landscapes to brightly lit wildlife was like two photo trips for the price of one!