Ladybug, ladybug, where are you going?

Hello, ladybug, I could watch you for hours.

Looks like a Coccinella septempunctata. A seven-spotter. Not the elusive nine-spotter that is the subject of the Lost Lady Bug project.

A snake in the garden

We didn't see any butterflies while working at the Baytown Nature Center's butterfly garden, but this small snake added some excitement. A BNC staffer says it is a juvenile whipsnake.

It will probably be the last time the speedy creature will let itself be caught.

69 species on March bird count

Birders and bluebonnets

Although leader David H. was surprised 24 Blue-gray Gnatcathers were spotted during our bird walk through Baytown Nature Center March 19, we could have used a million gnatcatchers.

Even after a dousing in bug spray, we were eating and swatting gnats during the first hour of the trek. Finally a breeze from the north gave us some relief.

Other highlights noted by Hanson:
* Also high counts for Pied-billed Grebes and Blue-winged Teal
* White-winged Scoter spotted off of the Scott's Bay Overlook that moved quickly down toward Wooster Point.
* Clay-colored Sparrow around the butterfly garden.

A white Ibis strikes a pose while David H. looks for a Scoter.

 
69 Species
2    Black-bellied Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna autumnalis
27    Gadwall Anas strepera
5    American Wigeon Anas americana
7    Mottled Duck Anas fulvigula
23    Blue-winged Teal Anas discors
2    Northern Pintail Anas acuta
4    Green-winged Teal Anas crecca
7    Lesser Scaup Aythya affinis
1    White-winged Scoter Melanitta fusca
28    Pied-billed Grebe Podilymbus podiceps
11    Neotropic Cormorant Phalacrocorax brasilianus
4    Double-crested Cormorant Phalacrocorax auritus
3    Brown Pelican Pelecanus occidentalis
3    Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias
6    Great Egret Ardea alba
17    Snowy Egret Egretta thula
1    Little Blue Heron Egretta caerulea
12    Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis
8    White Ibis Eudocimus albus
1    Black Vulture Coragyps atratus
1    Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura
2    Osprey Pandion haliaetus
1    Northern Harrier Circus cyaneus
9    Killdeer Charadrius vociferus
4    Spotted Sandpiper Actitis macularius
3    Lesser Yellowlegs Tringa flavipes
2    Wilson's Snipe Gallinago delicata
150    Laughing Gull Leucophaeus atricilla
18    Ring-billed Gull Larus delawarensis
8    Herring Gull Larus argentatus
10    Forster's Tern Sterna forsteri
1    Royal Tern Thalasseus maximus
2    Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) Columba livia (Domestic type)
15    White-winged Dove Zenaida asiatica
6    Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura
1    Great Horned Owl Bubo virginianus
2    Belted Kingfisher Megaceryle alcyon
4    Red-bellied Woodpecker Melanerpes carolinus
1    Downy Woodpecker Picoides pubescens
1    Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus
1    Pileated Woodpecker Dryocopus pileatus
1    Eastern Phoebe Sayornis phoebe
1    Loggerhead Shrike Lanius ludovicianus
1    Blue Jay Cyanocitta cristata
6    Northern Rough-winged Swallow Stelgidopteryx serripennis
1    Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica
1    Carolina Chickadee Poecile carolinensis
1    Tufted Titmouse Baeolophus bicolor
2    Marsh Wren Cistothorus palustris
4    Carolina Wren Thryothorus ludovicianus
24    Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Polioptila caerulea
3    Ruby-crowned Kinglet Regulus calendula
2    Eastern Bluebird Sialia sialis
15    Northern Mockingbird Mimus polyglottos
25    European Starling Sturnus vulgaris
3    Orange-crowned Warbler Oreothlypis celata
3    Common Yellowthroat Geothlypis trichas
7    Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) Setophaga coronata coronata
1    Clay-colored Sparrow Spizella pallida
8    Savannah Sparrow Passerculus sandwichensis
2    Swamp Sparrow Melospiza georgiana
4    White-throated Sparrow Zonotrichia albicollis
15    White-crowned Sparrow Zonotrichia leucophrys
14    Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis
15    Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus
1    Common Grackle Quiscalus quiscula
5    Great-tailed Grackle Quiscalus mexicanus
35    Brown-headed Cowbird Molothrus ater
2    House Finch Haemorhous mexicanus

Great Horned Owl baby not quite ready to leave the nest

Just a baby.

There were two babies. Now the nest the Great Horned Owl has been tending looks like it may break apart any day under the weight of the remaining fledgling.

Go soon if you want to see the fat baby in the tree along Golden Bloom Pond Trail at Baytown Nature Center.

Bullfrog make a surprise guest appearance

Today's chore of removing grasses from the pots of Lizard's Tail plants got a jolt of excitement when a Bullfrog jumped out of a pot on the work table at Sheldon Lake.

Was I the one who yelped when the frog made its escape leap?

No. But it wasn't in the pot I was working on. 

Pretty eyes.

One more pic before returning it to the grow-out pond.

The pots on the left have been cleaned. Only half a jillion more left for the Welands Team to complete. On this blustery day with temps in the upper 50s, we worked only on the Lizard's Tail.

In other amphibian encounters: On Monday I uncovered a hole and Gulf Coast toad hopped out. I guess it thought I was knocking.

Slithering leaf mates: snake and skink

There is still no sunshine but on Saturday the temperature was approaching 60 degrees so it was a good day to spend a couple of hours raking leaves and pulling weeds before it started raining again.

However when you start raking, you disturb creatures under the leaf litter.

First I found this tail sticking out when I swept away an inch of crunchy leaves.

Exposed tail.

The tail belonged to a Rough Earth Snake that didn't want me to look at its face. 

A few minutes later I uncovered a skink that wasn't as pliant as the snake. It wanted to slither away from me as quickly as possible.

Let's admire those stripes on this Little Brown Skink.

Cute legs.

These little lizards are garden friends. According to the Galveston County Master Gardeners:

Generally skinks are no longer than 8 inches. Most skink species have short legs that are well-formed and a few have no legs at all. They often look like a snake crawling about. Skinks are very beneficial to the garden because their prey includes grasshoppers, snails, slugs, cockroaches and even small mice. Most skinks are active during the day and prefer hanging out on the ground rather than climbing trees. Some skinks like to burrow.

Even though you may not be well-acquainted with, or even aware of, skinks; tribes of these sleek-bodied mini-hunters are hopefully stalking pests in your garden as you read this. They help to maintain a natural balance and protect your plants.

I tossed the snake and the skink under the deck where I also throw a lot of leaves when I'm feeling lazy. There should be plenty of good hiding places under there.

Greetings from the Sheldon Lake freshwater coastal prairie wetland

Marissa Sipocz, Urban Wetlands Program Team Leader, wades out to point out some wetland plants.

I reconnected with some buddies from the 2013 Galveston Bay Area Master Naturalist class at Sheldon Lake State Park March 6.

The new class was learning about wetlands, and I audited their sessions after I had fulfilled my greeter duties.

It looks kind of brown, but we could see green Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata) peeking up along the boardwalk. It should be a colorful hike this spring