Back to Mitchell Lake Audubon

One of my very favorite nature Volksmarches in San Antonio is the Mitchell Lake Audubon wetlands. I go frequently because it is very close to our RV park and I always see a variety of wildlife. Bob came with me today. We walked 10K (6.2 miles) in two hours ten minutes which included stopping to spot and watch birds and taking photos.

What was so nice today is that the temperature took a plunge overnight. During the night we had very loud thunder, loud rain, and lightning. I remember waking up at 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. to rain pounding on the roof. Because San Antonio has had quite a bit of rain in the past three weeks, things are greening up beautifully. Walking today was pleasant with cooler air and light breezes. That's good because there isn't much shade on the Mitchell Lake walk.

First up on the critter-spotting radar was a nice-sized lizard on the railing leading up to the Visitor Center.

Texas spiny lizard

The first third of our walk we only saw mockingbirds, but once we got to the poulders (ponds), bird sightings were more frequent. When we signed in at the Visitor Center, we noted that a number of people had signed in for a Bird Tour. We weren't sure if they would still be out on the trails. Sure enough, they were. One of these days, I am going on the Bird Tour. They have one on the second Tuesday of the month.

We spotted quite a few different birds today. I asked the lady in the Visitor Center if the fall migration had started yet and she said no. I'm definitely coming back to look for unusual birds in a few weeks!

Semipalmated sandpiper (Calidris pusilla)

Least sandpiper.

The Bird Tour group below. If you have seen the movie "The Big Year" with Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson, you will know that this photo shows bird-watchers in their element. It's a funny movie. If you haven't seen it, give it a shot. These people were not posing for me, I caught them doing what bird-watchers do.

The Bird Tour group.

American pelicans in flight formation.

American pelicans.

In the following photo, you can see a portion of the hundreds of birds hanging out in this poulder.

Great egrets, tri-colored heron, American avocets, coot.

Tri-colored heron.

Roseate skimmer dragonfly.

Cool-looking pods.

American pelicans in flight.

Black-necked stilts.

Least sandpipers.

Cute coot retreating.

American avocet.

American avocet.

Good comparison in differences between the black-necked

stilt versus the American avocet.

Adult scissor-tailed flycatcher.

Ground cover with tiny magenta flowers.

The beetle in the following photo was running across the ground. I was having a hard time getting a photo until he got up next to the rock where he stopped and froze in place. This black beetle is about 2" long.

Big black beetle (Calosoma macrum)

Laredo striped whiptail lizard.

I always get my nature fix walking the trails at Mitchell Lake. I hope you enjoyed the show.

After our walk, we rested and had lunch. I did the laundry, though Bob offered, but I knew he wanted to go to work for a bit.

And now for a couple of kitty photos...

We have totally conquered the mousy plaything.

So sweet. (Believe me, they weren't this quiet at 4:00 a.m.!)

The rest of this lovely Sunday Bob went to Random event center to see his son, Randall, and to talk to his boss. I stayed home and did chores: vacuumed, hand-washed delicate laundry, filled new hummingbird feeder, cleaned and filled the cardinal feeder with seed that is supposed to be bitter to squirrels (we'll see how that goes), and put some new Velcro in our laundry hamper to hold in the laundry bag.

In the evening, I watched "60 Minutes" and when Bob came home we watched "The Amazing Race" (with channel flipping for him to see bits of the Dodgers/Atlanta game).

I hope you had a good weekend too. Enjoy your week.

The end.

Travel Bug out.

Illston circular via Burton Overy, Little Stretton, Kings Norton

Led by me, with Maureen and Eddie. Very hot, good underfoot. Same as walk a week ago. About 8 miles.
The same route as last Thursday's walk, but without the unintentional strayings. I won't describe the route in detail here.
If you look at the photo above really really carefully, you may just see the waymarked yellow post among the leaves. This is at grid ref SP691984. To be fair the path is now clear on the ground, as the hay has been harvested. Last Thursday I was distracted by a wide opening in the hedge about 50 yards to the right!



After crossing the minor road close to a cattle grid, we cross a field with cows, and another piece of grassland, then join the minor road again as it goes downhill to Burton Overy. We've cut a corner off by footpath.

These cows had no intention of leaving the shade of the trees - wise beasts.

Burton Overy church lies to the west of the path

We walk through Burton Overy, noting that the Bell is open later. We find the path and take this as far as the footpath to Little Stretton. It's not very clear through the last cornfield.
Little Stretton Church was and is dependent on Kings Norton.
There is a bench in the sun, but in today's heat we decide to shelter in the porch for our break.
Then its through cornfields and pasture to Kings Norton, where we have a peep inside the church.

This is a photograph of an eighteenth century painting of the Fortrey family. William Fortrey was responsible for the rebuilding of Kings Norton Church between 1757 and 1775. For more about the village British History Onlinehas a page with loads of information.This monument was erected by William Fortreyin memory of his parents, William (d. 1722) and Anne (d. 1733).

More tagged cows, with Kings Norton Church on the horizon.

We make our way back past Illston Grange and its horses - who are all thirsty today.We drive by a slightly roundabout route to Burton Overy - a pint of iced lemonade!

Ahhh

Remember all those things we were going to do today? We did all of them except go to see the Mexican free-tailed bats. Tomorrow night is when we anticipate seeing the bats.

After going to the Visitor Center, walking to Upper and Lower McKinney Falls, and going grocery shopping, we were in mellow vacation mode.

McKinney Falls State Park

Upper Falls Swimming Hole

Upper McKinney Falls swimming hole--dry falls.

Upper McKinney Falls swimmin' hole cypress trees.

Visitor Center at the park.

At the Visitor Center, we saw man-made chimney swift towers. Chimney swifts historical natural nests used to be hollow old-growth trees. However, since most old-growth trees were logged years ago, the swifts adapted to man-made structures. The towers are for birds to roost and nest in.

Chimney swift tower.

Short walk to Lower McKinney Falls. Can anyone identify the flowers? The photos aren't very good. The first flower is white with yellow center. The second is like a jack-in-the-pulpit. There's a pod with a very small purple "head" poking out.

Swimmin' hole at Lower McKinney Falls.

We can't wait to go swimming!

Interesting potholes in the rock.

For dinner, I fixed herbed chicken breasts and caramelized red peppers served with coleslaw.

Bob finished reading "The Madoff Chronicles," by Brian Ross which he enjoyed. (Thank you Mona Liza of The Lowe's Travel Adventures!) I've been catching up on blogs because I'm way behind reading them.

After
Bob finished the book, we started a campfire so we could make s'mores.
It has been a very long time since we've had a campfire. The s'mores
were yummy. When we finished those, I also had a turkey hot dog because I
really wanted a campfire-cooked hot dog. So tasty.

The campfire and our new roasting sticks.

On the right, a s'more waiting to be eaten.

Just a gooey, melted marshmallow.

We sat outside by the fire and talked for a bit before heading inside for the night. The moon is so bright we can see our shadows! And we never did receive more rain this evening. The storms must have parted and gone around the campground.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Safe travels from Travel Bug and Bob. Over and out.