The Social Distance Biobltiz at Gus Engeling

I recently did the May Socially Distant Bioblitz. https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/socially-distant-bioblitz-5-3-2020 I choose Gus Engeling WMA because I wanted to see their pitcher plant bog. It has a newly discovered, endangered dragonfly called the Sarracenia Spiketail. https://texasnongameprogram.wordpress.com/2016/02/09/texas-rarest-dragonflies-closely-tied-to-rare-natural-community-pitcher-plant-bogs/

Unfortunately, I didn't find the pitcher plant bog. It's not marked on the park map and I didn't see any signs for it. I picked a spot where I thought it might be, a swampy area along Catfish Creek. I parked my car and started taking photos of the weeds nearby. I could see lots of large white birds in the distance through the trees and heard squawking. I walked toward the birds and turned a corner on the trail. It was an ibis rookery! There were too many of them to count, and many were flying back and forth with sticks for their nests. I thought it was odd that I the birds didn't fly away as I approached. Later I looked up the white ibis on Google, and they're so protective of their sticks and their spot that the pair won't leave them unguarded unless they really have to. However, they will happily steal sticks from other ibises if they can. Silly birds.

I took a few pictures of the birds, then walked back because I was worried that staying there too long might disturb the birds too much.

I went back to look for the pitcher plants the next week and still didn't find them, but I had a lot of fun photographing flowers that I don't get to see in the Longview area. The first time I went, the nearly two hour drive didn't bother me, but it did the second time. I suddenly got a migraine and had to make the long drive back in a lot of pain. I want to go back in the spring, but book a hotel for the weekend so I don't have to drive so much, and I have a place nearby to rest if I get too hot, too tired, or sick.

There is another global social distance bioblitz on May 24, Memorial Day Weekend. https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/socially-distant-bioblitz-5-24-2020 I plan to go to White Oak Creek WMA because it's much closer and only has 28 observations! https://www.inaturalist.org/places/white-oak-creek-wma Most of those were done by researchers for the Fishes of Texas project.

Posted on May 16, 2020 02:34 AM by