Early Spring Along Shoal Creek
We are between seasons. We have arrived at that time of year when we miss complaining about the heat. Winter’s done; spring’s brief appearance has been announced.
Read MoreNo Quack, No Waddle, No Duck
If a bird waddles like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck, right? Not every bird paddling around Lady Bird Lake or Shoal Creek quacks or waddles, though. If a waterbird isn’t a duck, what is it?
Read MoreThe Polar Vortex, or A Reminder Why We Love Austin
This morning I wandered down to Lady Bird Lake to see the polar vortex in person. The temperature at lakeside hovered around 25 degrees. Only a few die hards were jogging the trails. Once you become acclimated to Austin, your taste for cold weather mysteriously fades away.
Read MoreThe Hummer in Winter
Austin doesn’t do winter well. A blue norther whipped through Austin this weekend; we are faced with our first serious freeze of the winter. My tender plants are protected in a little plastic tent that I fashioned. But, the rufous hummingbird that frequents my yard has no such protection. He is at the mercy of the weather. But, there are a few things we can do with our feeders to help.
Read MoreRufous Returns
The bird weighs less than a grape, has a brain smaller than a pea, and flies thousands of miles each year between the place it nests and where it chooses to winter. The bird has returned to winter in my yard on Shoal Creek, precisely where it stayed last year. I know about bird migration, and I am aware of the staggering distances they are capable of traveling. But how do we explain one of the smallest birds flying such long distances?
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