River Legacy Parks

With the forecast calling for rain the entire rest of the week after today, it was time to get out and shoot. The closest location I'd yet to visit from the Great Texas Wildlife Trails list -- River Legacy Parks in Arlington.

The parks border a long stretch of the Trinity River, and are adjacent to the Village Creek Drying Beds where I had my encounter with the bobcat last month. I expected to have a chance at some birds, turtles in the river and hopefully some nice scenic shots of the water.  Eager to get a fairly early start once the kids were off to school, I pulled into the parking lot at 9 a.m.

Some very helpful folks in the Living Science Center provided me with trail maps and advice on where to go.  It's still a little bit early for the star attractions of the wildflower area.

Even a little past golden hour, the sun was still low enough to reflect nicely off the Trinity River.

Snider Creek flows slowly into the river right near the main trail, and provided some nice reflections of its own.

I saw plenty of turtles sunning themselves on logs, all of whom dove into the water surprisingly quickly when I approached.  This red-eared slider was caught out on land, and had no choice but to let me shoot him.  It does take a little patience to wait for a turtle to stick its neck out just far enough to get some nice sunlight on its eyeball, for what that's worth.

Cardinals were everywhere, and giving me my typical shots -- a little farther away than I'd like, and partly obscured by branches.

We have daffodils starting to bloom in our home gardens.  It was nice to see some along the trail, too.

The main trail is seven miles long, but I only covered a one-mile stretch before turning around and heading back.  Bikers and joggers were common, and I got all of my shots only after leaving the pavement and heading down one of the numerous dirt trails.  On the home stretch back to the parking lot, I came across this fellow in the midst of crossing.

I had ample time to set up and shoot him from a variety of angles.  Turtles have the reputation they do for a reason -- he certainly wasn't moving quickly.

Eventually he did resume his journey.  I was glad to have what I assumed was my last wildlife encounter, and got distracted watching a female cardinal to see if she'd exactly perch somewhere I could get a decent shot of her...

...and in so doing very nearly walked right into a bobcat lying in the middle of the trail.  It was literally just lying there, perfectly posed, facing me about 15 feet away.  I cursed my lack of attention under my breath as I set down my landscape camera and tripod as hurriedly as I thought I could without spooking the cat.  Just as I got my big glass out, she sure enough got up and walked into the undergrowth.  I thought I'd lost her.

Then I realized that the way she was headed would lead her to the main entrance road into the park.  So I hurried to try and beat her to the spot where I thought she might emerge.  Success!

I think she just wanted a quiet place to take a nap, which would explain the dirty look.

But she soon just lay down right there on the edge of the woods, keeping a wary eye on the cars and joggers passing by but otherwise content.

Content enough to close her eyes, anyway.  Some park staff including the naturalist eventually came out to see her, and the naturalist speculated that she was one of a pair of female kittens that were in the park the previous summer.  That's why I've been referring to her as "her."  I can't make that kind of gender ID on my own. :)

Eventually she realized she wasn't going to get the sort of peace she was looking for here.  So she got back up and headed back into the woods, only to emerge about 100 feet away and cross the road heading for the Village Creek Drying Beds.  I hope she did eventually get that nap!

Really enjoyable visit, definitely boosted by the friendly staff.  With six miles of trail still unexplored, I'll most definitely be back.  But since I was already sweating in winter, I can't imagine what it must be like in the summer!