The First Green

When we arrived in mid-March at Big Bend NP, TX, there still were no leaves on the trees and shrubs. Spring was coming, though the nights were cold with temperatures in the 30's.

The first green plants that I found; yucca, lechuguilla, sotol, century plant, cactus, along with the ubiquitous creosote and ocotillo, stay green year round. Still, I found some green!

Chisos Mountains from Dugout Wells with yucca, creosote, cactus, ocotillo.

Mountain side from Lost Mine Trail in Chisos Basin with century plant,
sotol, creosote.

There are several species of yuccas in Big Bend and
all are members of the lily family.
Torrey Yucca is the most common yucca in the park.

Soaptree Yucca
Inside the trunk and roots is a slippery fluid
that was used by early Americans as soap.
This is the tallest yucca and may be 250 years old.

Thompson Yucca

Lechuguilla is an agave species which blooms once and then it dies.
The leaves are long, tough, and very sharp
which can penetrate clothing and even leather.
It is also called Shin-daggers.

Lechuguilla (lay-che-gee'-ya)
The fibers are still used today to make rope in Mexico.

Dried seed pods

After blooming, the plant dies

Stay tunned for more green stuff.

The references and gear I used for this blog are:
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: Canon EF100-400mm F4.5-5.6L IS USM
Camera: Canon EOS 10D
Lens: Canon EF28-105mm F/3.5-4.5 II USM
Steiner 10x42 Predator Binoculars

Hunting Birds with Green

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet." William Shakespeare

There are 8 birds fairly common to North America that have the word "green" in its English name and all of them can be found in Texas:
Black-throated Green Warbler
Green Kingfisher
Green Heron
Green Jay
Green Parakeet
Green-tailed Towhee
Green-winged Teal
Violet-green Swallow

On this trip, however, we only saw 3 of these, the Green Kingfisher, Violet-green Swallow and Green Heron. But are these green birds really green as their name implies? See below...

Black-throated Green Warbler

Green Kingfisher

Green Heron

Green Jay

Green Parakeet

Green-tailed Towhee

Green-winged Teal

Violet-green Swallow

Well, at least some visible part of each bird is green!

This was the second time only that I saw the Violet-green Swallow and the first time that I was close enough to see the green. They are beautiful birds and it was fun to watch them feed and then visit the Ocotillo to rest.

The references and gear I used for this blog are:
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: Canon EF100-400mm F4.5-5.6L IS USM
Camera: Canon EOS 10D
Lens: Canon EF28-105mm F/3.5-4.5 II USM
Steiner 10x42 Predator Binoculars
The SIBLEY Guide to Birds

Hunting Green

We started our trip south from Minnesota (early March). I know we went north to go south but we had to see the grandchildren first. Much of the grass along the roadsides in Minnesota and Iowa was no longer covered with snow but everything was brown, even the dull green of Michigan was absent. The snow had disappeared entirely and the ponds had lost their ice coverings in northwest Missouri but not a blade of grass grew until we reached Texas. When we arrived in Big Bend National Park in West Texas, even then, there were no green leaves on shrubs or trees and no plants and wildflowers.

My first colors were purple, yellow and red on shrubs that could not be called green. The Feather Dalea is a gray and the Creosote is an olive color.

Feather Dalea - Dalea formosa (Pea Family - Fabaceae)

Creosote - Larria tridentata (Creosote bush Family - Zygophyllaceae)

Creosote bush is an evergreen shrub with small leaves covered with a protective varnish to conserve its moisture. It is found every where in this Chihuanhuan Desert of Big Bend. No animals eat this plant except for the camels brought into the Big Bend area in the 1860 experiment by topographical engineer 2nd Lieutenant William H. Echols. It grows everywhere!

Ocotillo (o-ko-tee'-yo) also grows everywhere in Big Bend NP. It is my favorite plant of the desert but it is not a cactus. Every spring red flowers grow at the end of long thorny branches which usually appear lifeless. These flowers are very important food source for all kinds of insects, hummingbirds and orioles.

Ocotillo - Fouquieria splendens (Ocotillo Family - Fouquieriaceae)

Flower


Branch appears lifeless but it has the following flower on top

These pictures were taken in the 3rd week of March. Still no green on the trees or shrubs. I will continue to hunt for green here in the south.

The references and gear I used for this blog are:
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: Canon EF100-400mm F4.5-5.6L IS USM
Camera: Canon EOS 10D
Lens: Canon EF28-105mm F/3.5-4.5 II USM
Steiner 10x42 Predator Binoculars