Αύγουστος 12, 2017

iNat-athon Road-trip Preparations Reveal an Opportunity!

I was planning my route and stopping points for my big drive out to Southeastern Arizona, and decided that Balmorhea State Park would be a good place to stop for the day. I checked PLACES on iNaturalist, and discovered that NO OBSERVATIONS have been recorded for the place! That's crazy!! One of the premier permanent water sources in that end of the state has no observations?

I will have to fix that.

Posted on Αύγουστος 12, 2017 0211 ΠΜ by bogslogger bogslogger | 2σχόλια | Αφήστε ένα σχόλιο

Μάιος 03, 2016

Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge

For those of you who don't know, I have been an avid rock climber since before the invention of the spring-loaded camming device! With April coming to a close, and things settling down at work, I took some time to get back out on the rock with a couple of new friends and coworkers. The Wichitas are one of my favorite places on this planet. The scenery, the wildlife and the climbing are all world class! Generally, when you're climbing, your hands are full (either of the rock you're climbing, or the safety rope of the partner you're belaying) so taking photos is difficult. I have vivid memories of the Canyon Wrens I heard laughing at me, and the squirrels scampering nonchalantly across cliff faces I could never HOPE to climb! but no proof. Between climbs, however, I was able to capture a few images of some of the creatures that make the refuge a special place.

Posted on Μάιος 03, 2016 0814 ΜΜ by bogslogger bogslogger | 5 παρατηρήσεις | 0σχόλια | Αφήστε ένα σχόλιο

Port Aransas With Eastfield Science Club

April was an incredibly busy month! Both at work, and in my "leisure" time. Now, a couple of days in to May, I finally find myself in a position to catch my breath, and catch up on my journaling.

I spent Earth Day weekend in Mustang Island with a great group of science students from Eastfield College. We were there to at least make a dent in the accumulation of manmade debris that washes ashore on our Texas beaches. We worked hard, and left a couple miles of beach looking - at least temporarily - like it looked when Cabeza de Vaca found himself marooned. Because I was WORKING, not goofing off, I didn't get photographic proof of all the life I saw, heard, smelled and tasted. But I did snap pics of a tiny sample.

Posted on Μάιος 03, 2016 0756 ΜΜ by bogslogger bogslogger | 6 παρατηρήσεις | 0σχόλια | Αφήστε ένα σχόλιο

Μάρτιος 20, 2016

NORTH Padre Island for Spring Break.

My wife works in the Biology Lab of a local Junior College, so our vacations revolve around the academic calendar. While my wife's students were at South Padre working on their sunburns and hangovers, we visited Padre Island National Seashore. Sixty miles of undeveloped beach accessible by four wheel drive vehicle, and we explored every inch of it! When you're sixty miles from the nearest road, the crowds really thin out! We birded, fished, crabbed, and built sand castles. On our way back to civilization, we met a very nice local couple the turned out to be prime examples of citizen science in action.

As we were driving north on our last day on the island, we approached a large SUV that had a platform mounted on its roof. On top of the platform was a man with a sport fishing rod, and it was REALLY bent. It was obvious he had hooked something big. My wife (who has far more patience than me) is an avid angler, who hadn't had much luck on this trip. She wanted to stop and watch. She is also much more social than me, and had soon struck up a conversation with the man's girlfriend, and learned that he was pretty sure he had hooked up a Bull Shark. Sure enough, slowly but surely, the man, who identified himself as "Oz" brought to shore a 5-6 foot Bull Shark.

At this point I was steeling myself to witness some sort of chest-thumping, kill-the-monster, macho display. Instead, Oz and his girlfriend worked rapidly and efficiently to measure, tag, get tissue samples, photograph and release the shark in less than 5 minutes. It turns out that Oz has been participating in ongoing shark conservation research for many years, and gathered data on, and tagged over 100 sharks!

I'm going to send the two of them an iNaturalist invite!

Posted on Μάρτιος 20, 2016 0304 ΠΜ by bogslogger bogslogger | 22 παρατηρήσεις | 1 σχόλιο | Αφήστε ένα σχόλιο

Μάρτιος 08, 2016

Canoe Trip Down the Neches

I just returned from a 3-day paddle through the Big Thicket National Preserve -Lower Neches Corridor. Saw and heard a lot of cool stuff, and enjoyed the company of a wonderful group of long-time friends. I was paddling solo, so I didn't get to snap pictures of most of what I saw. I did get a few good photos for observations, but I'm counting on @kimberlywalks to post observations of some of the stuff I missed, since there were 2 people in her boat.

Spring is really cranking up in the Thicket, and around the Dallas area as well.

Posted on Μάρτιος 08, 2016 0532 ΜΜ by bogslogger bogslogger | 21 παρατηρήσεις | 2σχόλια | Αφήστε ένα σχόλιο

Φεβρουάριος 26, 2016

Bog Slogging Season Begins!

In honor of Fish Week on iNat, I decided to take what I refer to as a Bog-Slog (which is sort of a shallow water hike) through a marsh wetland at the upper end of Lake Ray Hubbard. I didn't expect to see much, as the water is still pretty cold, and the wind was pretty stiff (which can degrade water clarity). I was pleasantly surprised at how much activity there was. I found lots of fat female gar already in the shallows,but the water still needs to warm up some before spawning will begin. A few turtles cruising around. Near the end of the slog, I came across a big fish in the shallows. I almost dismissed it as another spotted gar, but the I noticed it had a snub-nose, and long dorsal fin. I was a BOWFIN! Gars and Bowfins are some of my favorite fish (not for eating of course) and seeing them is always a treat.

On my way out of the marsh, I flushed a bittern, but couldn't get my camera out in time for a photo. Shucks!

Posted on Φεβρουάριος 26, 2016 1241 ΠΜ by bogslogger bogslogger | 11 παρατηρήσεις | 0σχόλια | Αφήστε ένα σχόλιο

Φεβρουάριος 03, 2016

Projects......

Since starting my iNaturalist account a couple months ago, I have joined several Projects, and even started one of my own (Duck Creek Greenbelt). Unfortunately, over that same period of time I have also had to devote quite a bit of my free time to OTHER (less enjoyable) projects . I just completed the plumbing repairs to a leaking water line under my slab, now I have some concrete and tile work to do. I can finally see light at the end of the tunnel - LITERALLY! and should soon be able to spend time outdoors, making observations.

Posted on Φεβρουάριος 03, 2016 0606 ΜΜ by bogslogger bogslogger | 0σχόλια | Αφήστε ένα σχόλιο

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