Pets and Critters at the Park
By Raquel
5 comments
As many times as I’ve walked through Hermann Park, I usually don’t see that much wildlife around…this time was a little different, as I saw a variety of birds, ducks; some rabbits and squirrels…and even a dog or two cooling off in the park’s reflecting pool!
Here is the first dog cooling off:
This little pup wanted to go into the pool but didn’t quite dare:
Finally the owner actually got into the pool and dipped half the dog’s body into the water. Maybe she was just cooling off its paws. I don’t know if she thought the dog was too small and would be covered by water (though the pup moved its legs as if dog paddling!) or if she simply didn’t want her dog in it (it does have a lot of algae in it) or getting its fur too wet. In any case, thank goodness no police were around!
I had never seen quite so many different kinds of birds at Hermann Park, most of which I couldn’t identify!:
I also saw plenty of ducks and geese:
I especially like this picture of them feeding and showing off their tail feathers!:
Some more swimming serenely by:
I also saw these beautiful turtles at the Japanese garden:
And of course there were a few furry creatures:
including a squirrel:
This tree is not a critter, obviously, but its roots reminded me of fingers coming out of the ground…creepy! lol so I included it here:
29 Jun, 2010
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Comments
I believe your grey bird is a yellow-crowned night heron & the turtles could be redbellies or river cooters - I'm not sure which are native to your area. I'm a turtle fanatic so it's nice to see turtle photos! I'd love to live near a park like that.
30 Jun, 2010
Thank you, Floribunda, you're very kind! I wondered about the roots, too, whether that was normal, but it seems to be because the other trees also had it except the roots were bigger!!
Lauram, thank you for the id of the grey bird - I had never seen it before! And also the turtles. I don't know about the native species, I really need to get a book on Texas flora and fauna, I've lived here 8 years but still haven't gotten around to it, sigh. I'm glad you liked the turtle picture!
1 Jul, 2010
I lived in Clear Lake (south of Houston) when I was a kid, and I remember lots of wildlife. Of course, it's horribly built up now....that was the 70s. We'd go down to the bayou and look for crayfish and cottonmouths & we wouldn't come home until it got dark. I'm sure not much lives there now - so many houses, so many people. In some ways for me nothing has changed - I'm 42 and still wander around looking for crayfish and cottonmouths! It has been suggested that that might be why I can't get a date, LOL!
I love those night herons; I rarely see them either.
1 Jul, 2010
Oh I didn't know you grew up in Houston! It is built up now, but you never know, even Buffalo Bayou, which is not the cleanest, has fish in it...so there might still be some in Clear Lake! You just need to find a man who's a biologist, so you can go looking for crayfish and cottonmouths together!
2 Jul, 2010
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Another lovely blog my friend! Water always looks so cooling when the sun is beating down~lots of wildlife there, and loved this photo of the roots breaking through the soil! Weird or what? lol!
29 Jun, 2010