My parents live in Driftwood, Texas in the Hill Country Trail Region between Austin and San Antonio. Their property sits on acres of former ranch land turned residential. Because there is no hunting, the Whitetailed Deer abound. At the entrance to their neighborhood, LaVentana, there are several Longhorns pastured.  ​

Photos from one of my annual trips to Driftwood, Texas to visit my parents. I have to admit, although birds weren't a primary interest on my Texas trips at this point in my life, a spark of excitement began to grow for the avian kind. Instead of keeping my lens pointed at the deer and reptiles, birds began to take the spotlight. I recall sitting and watching the hummingbirds feed in the lantanas when a brilliant red Summer Tanager appeared nearby. From this point forward, birds began to appear much more regularly in my photo journals.  

Monday, 5:43 PM - Without any ponds or streams in my neighborhood, I had never seen a Great Blue Heron except as a flyover. But that all changed one afternoon when a confused juvenile came to visit!

I was on my way home from work and was on that last half-mile stretch of my 38 mile daily commute when I spotted a Great Blue Heron standing in a neighbor’s front yard, not 25-feet from the sidewalk. “Now that’s weird”, I thought to myself. He was standing alongside a dry, rock-lined drainage ditch like he was fishing for food. That little ditch only has water after heavy rains, and even then it is about an inch deep. I supposed the rocky edges and sun reflecting off the concrete lined rut had attracted his attention.
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Looking more closely, it looked like his feathers weren’t fully formed. Short, neatly rowed, un-tattered feathers lined his side and back. No long plumes down his back or from the crown of the head. Perhaps this was an inexperienced juvenile, striking out on his own to find new feeding grounds. Well, he wasn’t going to find any food in a dry, cement lined drainage ditch! 

Once again the deer abound in our neighborhood. In the evenings they congregate at a house near the front of the subdivision where a woman puts out corn every night. It is wonderful to see these creatures, but there are hazards as well. Being at the entrance of the subdivision, these deer often shoot across the busy road. 

Monday, 9:50 AM - out for a Memorial Day hike with my daughter on Cook’s Trail and SURPRISE!!!... an Eastern Kingsnake! I don’t seem to encounter as many kingsnakes as I used to in my college days, so it was a pleasant discovery. It was the first my daughter had seen in the wild. This one was a few feet long and getting bigger: his eyes were blue indicating he would be soon to shed. Cook's Trail is a 4 mile trail that runs between Sandy Creek Nature Center and Sandy Creek Park, two of our favorite local walking and boating recreation areas. 

Monday, 4:10 PM - Working as an animal control officer provides ample one-on-one photo opportunities with various creatures. The wonderful part is that I don’t have to spend hours going to hunt for wildlife, but people call me straight to them.
 
Throughout the spring and summer, many of our animal control calls are of the slithering sort. Even if just a harmless garden-variety snake, many people have an over-the-top fear of snake… and right away are up-on-top of a table and calling 911!
 
The main slithering subject of our animal control calls is the Eastern Rat Snake, or Black Ratsnake. About 85% or more of the calls are regarding Pantherophis alleghaniensis, the scientific name for this common eastern colubrid. Because of their abundance and ability to climb, they are no strangers to the insides of garages, sheds and even people’s living rooms!
 
Ratsnakes are terrestrial and arboreal. They are quite skilled at scaling the sides of tree bark and even brick homes. It is an amazing sight to place a Ratsnake on the side of a tree and watch him climb effortlessly, each scute grabbing ahold of the bark.
 
According to another website, in addition to their close proximity to households, they occur in many types of habitats, including agricultural areas, most types of hardwood forests, isolated urban woodlots, and forested wetlands. These snakes are often found in barns and old buildings where their primary prey, small rodents, occur in abundance.