Brazos Bend, with a Friend

My good friend Debbie joined me yesterday, for a lovely daytrip to Brazos Bend State Park.  Debbie is not a focused birder, as that would be too limiting of an adjective for her extraordinary life.  I’ll share with you one of her many extraordinary attributes:

She is planning a trip to Antarctica.  No, no—that’s not what’s most extraordinary.  Here it is:  when Debbie visits Antarctica, she will have spent time on EVERY continent of this great big world.  Can you imagine? 

Although not a birder, she is an extraordinary outdoorswoman, and we had a great time.

It was a treat for me to have a friend in the field, who shares a love of Mother Nature’s creation.  And Brazos Bend’s summer residents put on their own extraordinary showing for my friend:

The bird of the day was certainly the Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, or as Debbie nick-named them:  those Stormy-Night Ones:

We had great fun watching the locals move about the springtime-fresh Lotus plants:

And do you see it?  This one is what makes this park memorable to most visitors:

See it now? 

And if you know the name of this beautiful flowering vine, please share:

The summertime Purple Gallinules were out and about:

And a lovely Great Egret displayed for us, in a purple-blooming field of Water Hyacinth.  Do you know which one doesn’t belong here?—and is terribly destructive to the habitat?

And the Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks gave Debbie a good show throughout the day, with their unique face, behavior and whistling calls:

Thanks, Deb, for joining me.  What a fun day! I hope Brazos Bend memories will help keep you warm when traveling to Antarctica…