Nalle Bunny Run 2016-09-03

I spent about 3 hours on Hill Country Conservancy's Nalle Bunny Run Wildlife Preserve this morning. Here are some highlights.

Bird activity up the hill was primarily mixed groups of White-eyed Vireos, Carolina Wrens, Northern Cardinals, Black-crested Titmice, Carolina Chickadees, and Blue-gray Gnatcatchers. All were very vocal. The only obvious migrants I found were a couple of Yellow Warblers, a Least Flycatcher, a heard-only Dickcissel, and two Mississippi Kites. Interestingly, no House Sparrows were observed.

Common Mestra butterflies were common west of the driveway, and I enjoyed a memorable few minutes watching three of them elegantly fluttering around me in the morning light. I got this photo of one of them:

Some plants that made an impression on me this morning were the blooming Bitterweed and Camphorweed. The Camphorweed was especially thick, making part of the northeast corner of the preserve very yellow:

There was also a beautiful patch of Indiangrass near the lake's edge. Was this planted?

In a mixed patch of Late Boneset (Eupatorium secotinum) and Frosted also near the lake, I was excited to find a dragonfly I've never seen before, this Flag-tailed Spinyleg. Look at his long and spiny those back legs are!

Here's my complete eBird List.

And here are more Photos on Flickr.

Attached are my observations.

Posted on Σεπτέμβριος 03, 2016 1116 ΜΜ by mikaelb