Swamp guards alert birds that photographer is in the swamp.

While I was out shooting at the Cattail Marsh Scenic Wetlands and Boardwalk in Tyrrell Park in Beaumont, TX, these Black-Necked Stilts would be quick to spring from the marsh and to warn other birds that I was a threat.  They would fly throughout the nearby marsh screeching their warning.

They would also fly over me to take a good look and apparently to let other birds know of my presence.  It was a behavior I had seen in other areas, but these watchbirds were much more aggressive.

I was out at Cattail Marsh and caught this group of mud brothers trying to dry out with very little sun to share.

Glowing sky is a glimmer of hope for rain swamped SE Texas

A soft glowing sky settles over Beaumont, TX -- hopefully a sign of better times to come as the region tries to recover from the torrential deluge with which Harvey swamp our area.

Fire-breathing sky

A fire-breathing sky  in Beaumont, TX settling in for the night.

Sunset: Flecked, brushed, hatched and pied

Flecked, brushed, hatched and pied, this sunset from last week caught my eye as it gave calm comfort to the ending of a busy day.

This is a sunset shot taken from a I-10 overpass on the south side of Beaumont. Tropical Storm Cindy probably had a large hand in the color scheme -- tropical systems seem to make sunsets more interesting as the systems approach

Sky flying wrestlers

A wrestler takes a flying leap at his opponent -- seeming to flaunt his personal safety -- at a Mexican festival in downtown Beaumont.

Head twisting lizard gives me the twisted eye.

This young lizard was hiding out in our canopy in the back yard.  I think the green color made him think it was a tree.

If you look at the images below,  he was watching me with his right eye.  In image two, he begins to twist his head. In image three, he has his head twisted all the way around to see me with his left eye.  It was as if he had to give each eye a chance to figure out if I was going to spoil his nap.

Sprinkle bedazzles morning flowers

These beauties woke up to a morning shower that added some shine to their faces.

Storm monsters charge at us with empty threats

For the second night in a row, the storm monsters charged at us from the northeast, eating up the sky, but became cold and sleepy before they could dump their left overs on us.

We did get a great dark-falling breeze out of it.

Night-fall boast by rushing storm

This night-fall-rushing front blowing off from a thunderstorm over Beaumont didn't bring any rain for our area, but sure boasted it wanted to.

Remembering Hurricane Rita

This was the part of the scene of destruction from Hurricane Rita in Southeast Texas, 10 years ago today.

Watchful white-winged dove

As long as I kept a reasonable distance, this white-winged dove in my backyard didn't mind me snapping a few shots.

Grackles grapple with glass of goodies

The guy on the bottom seems to be saying "I tell you there's a way to get those seeds out.  I saw that little bird do it.  It CAN be done."  (They didn't figure it out.)

Ominous clouds can't deliver on rain threat

This was the weather system that blew past our neighborhood last night. Ominous as it might look, it was all bluster and no rain.  The air cooled down to about 80 degrees, and it turned breezy  -- but not even a sprinkle.

Feather-flustered grackle

Size does make a difference.  This grackle was frustrated because he couldn't fit on the small lip around the bird feeder and all of his blustering and puffing was to no avail.  The smaller birds were thrilled to see him fly off feather-flustered.

Dragonfly defends his territory, but puts up with photographer

This dragonfly and I had a long visit, as I tried to photograph him with a short lens.  As I moved closer, he had a certain distance of comfort.  If I came into that space, he (she?) would take a short flight to assess the danger.  But in a few minutes he would be back on his perch. I suppose this stick gave him the best vantage point to watch over his neck of the ditch.  

There was another dragonfly (that had the same color markings) nearby.  But this guy made sure he stayed a couple yards away.

I suppose his little area was a prime one for hunting.  The stem was about a foot and half off the water of the ditch.  But the water was very high from recent rains.  I wonder if he will move when the water goes back down.

Black-Bellied Whistling Duck duo dodges danger

This pair of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks were out on the Brentwood Golf Course but flew off in the direction of our house.  As we were walking home, I noticed they had taken to the safety of the top of neighbor's house.  According to eBird reports, this is about as far north as they are see in our area. They are more commonly see at the Terrell Park Cattail Marsh.

Hiding lizard is outed

 

I caught this crafty little guy hiding in one of our outdoor wall ornaments.  He was hiding between the letters in "God Bless Texas."  Despite his cloak and dagger posture, he was willing to pose for a couple of shots before he went off to his clandestine duties.

Grasshopper get going when the door opens

This new best friend, and me got a real good close look at each other when I opened the garage this morning.  As much as he appreciated our new friendship, I am sure that spending the night in the garage was not what this grasshopper considers luxury.   He quickly made his exit with hardly a word.