2023 Daily Photos

3/22/2023 - by Bill J Boyd

Black-Bellied Whistling Duck

3/21/2023 - by Bill J Boyd

Leia and Luna at WFC

3/20/2023 - by Bill J Boyd

Leia and Luna in Bluebonnet patch at WFC

3/19/2023 - by Bill J Boyd

Red-Wing Blackbird

3/18/2023 - by Bill J Boyd

Squirrel

3/17/2023 - by Bill J Boyd

Ring-Neck Duck

3/16/2023 - by Bill J Boyd

Carolina Wren. Small bird with a loud voice

3/15/2023 - by Bill J Boyd

For the 13th consecutive year, Athena is nesting in Sotol planter just above the entrance arch. This is the first thing guests see when they arrive to visit WFC. I am the Owl Docent

3/14/2023 - by Bill J Boyd

Lesser Goldfinch

3/13/2023 - by Bill J Boyd

Photographer taking photos of Athena. This lady is on our Fauna Survey team and shoots with a Nikon D5 and a 600mm Prime lens.

4/12/2023 - by Bill J Boyd

Red Buckeye... Native from North Carolina south to Florida, west to central Texas, and as far north as Illinois, Aesculus pavia is a handsome shrub or small tree with showy thyrses (often called panicles) of deep red or yellow, campanulate flowers in early spring. The flower clusters are 6-10 inches long, and the individual flowers are 1-1 1/2 inches long. The stamens are rarely much longer than the top petals, usually shorter. The leaves are made up of 5 leaflets joined at a central point on a stem as long as the leaf. They are fine-toothed, glossy dark green above and whitish beneath. The leaves usually drop by the end of summer.

3/11/2023 - by Bill J Boyd

Another view of the Cecropia Silk Moth. This is a male on the outside of our mating cage. They have a 5-inch wingspan and only live for about 14-days because they have no digestive system.

3/10/2023 - by Bill J Boyd

Carolina Wren

3/9/2023 - by by Bill J Boyd

Cecropia Silk Moth...This is a wild male mating with a female in one of our mating cages at WFC. Like other members of the giant silk moth family, the adult cecropia moth lacks functional mouth parts and a digestive system. Due to this, they survive approximately two weeks. To find a mate, the female cecropia moth emits pheromones which the male detects with its sensitive antennae. Male cecropia moths can detect these pheromones from up to a mile away, although a male may fly up to 7 miles while searching for a female. Mating typically begins early in the morning hours and lasts until the evening. After mating, the female will lay up to one hundred eggs. These eggs are a mottled reddish brown and are usually found on either side of a host leaf. These eggs will eventually hatch into tiny black caterpillars.

3/8/2023 - by Bill J Boyd

Athena’s nest is in upper right corner of entrance arch in the Sotol planter. This is her 13th consecutive year to nest in this location. Thousands of people walk under nest every day. We will see Owlets in mid-April

3/7/2023 - by Bill J Boyd

Butterflies are now active with our warmer weather

3/6/2023 - by Bill J Boyd

Hooray! ATHENA has returned. Last Wednesday she was checking the nest out, gone on Thursday, then returned last Friday. She is now hunkered down low in nest which tells me she has laid at least one egg. She should lay eggs over a 4-day period and we hopefully will see Owlets in April. This is Athena’s 13th year to nest at entrance to WFC. Thousands of people walk under her nest every day.

3/5/2023 - by Bill J Boyd

Golden Groundsels. Lots of plants in bloom at WFC Golden Groundsel is a rosette-forming perennial with several runner-like stolons terminated by similar rosettes. Slender flowering stems rise to 1 1/2 ft. above the rosettes of oval leaves. Flower clusters are few- to many-headed; the yellow flowers heads occuring on slender pedicels. Golden Groundsel brings color to shaded spots in the landscape. Once established, it colonizes quickly and creates an effective, evergreen ground cover. It is often one of the earliest bloomers of the year.

3/4/2023 - by Bill J Boyd

Grandkids visit WFC. Luna is 2-years old and Leia will be 5 next month

3/3/2023 - by Bill J Boyd

Cedar Waxwing....BTW, regarding yesterday’s photo of Athena. Sad news, she has already abandoned her nest.

3/2/2023 - by Bill J Boyd

Athena is back. Her nest is at entrance to WFC in Austin and she returned yesterday, March 1, 2023. This is her 13th consecutive year to nest and raise her owlets. It takes 35-37 days for eggs to hatch. Owlets should be visible in April and fledge in May.

3/1/2023 - by Bill J Boyd

Phoebe

2/28/2023 - by Bill J Boyd

Carolina Wren

2/27/2023 - by Bill J Boyd

Texas Madrone is now blooming. We only have one of these at WFC and it blooms February to April. Its habitat range is the Edwards Plateau and Trans Pecos. It is a member of the Heath Family of plants Usually multi-trunked, Texas madrone is a 20-30 ft., evergreen tree. Its colorful, exfoliating outer bark reveals polished, red, inner bark. Stout, crooked, spreading branches form a distinct crown. Dark-green, leaves are red-tinged on edges and undersides. Petioles up to 1 1/4 inches long, blades to 3 1/2 inches long, ovate to elliptic, of a leathery texture, margins usually smooth. Flowers white, small, urn shaped, in wooly clusters, appearing in early spring. Fruit red or orange berries, spherical, up to 1/3 inch in diameter, in elongate clusters, edible. It is reported that the fruit of this uncommon species is edible and that the fruit of related European species has narcotic properties. The wood has been used locally for tool handles. The species name, xalapensis, refers to the city of Jalapa/Xalapa in the east Mexican state of Veracruz.