Happily, the heron came down the beach to where we were sitting a little while later. And, I had the luck to capture it catching (and eating) a large fish.
After its meal, it flew even closer to us and hung out until a large truck came by and scared the heron off into the dunes.
I didn't know what I was taking a photo of when I snapped this picture. I thought it was a little house sparrow; I didn't know it was a little green bird. It's not a great picture, but I think this is a lesser goldfinch.
I'm not 100% certain these are oyster mushrooms (I'm not a mycologist!) but they look like oyster mushrooms to me. At any rate, these were huge -- each display was bigger than my head.
This little lizard was hanging out in between the slats on one of the birding gazebos in Charlie's Pasture. It wasn't too concerned about us watching it nap.
This little ghost crab caught our attention as we were leaving the beach. It very kindly hung around for me to take photos.
Close Up!
Recently found this lovely beast in the yard back by the garden. She had set up her web in the few feet between the garden fencing and the yard fence. I was shocked by her size -- her body alone is easily 3 inches long. I appreciate that she's been keeping the bug population down for us.
P.S. I named her Ariadne.
There are few animals in Texas as iconic as the nine-banded armadillo. Many people see them as vermin and it's more common to see them as roadkill than as live specimen. I didn't want to spook this one while it was foraging, so I was only able to get photos of its backside.
Of all the birds that migrate through Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge, snowy egrets just might be my favorite. Sizewise, they're not as impressive as great blue herons or American white pelicans, but they have gorgeous plumage. Plus, they tend to be less flighty than the other wild wading birds, which means it's easier to watch them (and take pictures).
There's a particular bend on one of the pad roads where you're almost guaranteed to see a snowy egret when they're summering in the area. My last visit was not a disappointment -- which made me happy since the refuge has been flooded almost the entire spring and summer and this was the first time this year that I got to see the snowy egrets at all.
Here you can see the snowy egret's yellow feet:
Event the lightest breeze can ruffle the bird's fluffy feathers:
There was either a turtle or large fish that was also hunting in the same area. You can see the disturbance on the surface of the water to the upper left in many of the photos:
I missed the moneyshot (the snowy egret had caught a fish) but I love how the water cascades in this photo:
I did manage to catch a photo of the bird just as he flew a coupld of feet closer to the bank. I love the light in this photo:
I adore turtles, but I have to admit that smooth softshells are just about the ugliest turtles ever. I mean, they're turtles and I still appreciate them, but they are not a species I want to be staring at close-ups of too often.
I had to stop and take pictures when I saw this turtle in the road. It's hard to tell from the photos, but she's huge. When I saw her shell from the car, I thought it was a hubcap that had been washed onto the road during the flooding last month. Her shell was easily 14 inches in diameter.
July is still breeding season for smooth softshells. I assume that this gal turtle's getting ready to lay some eggs. Unfortunately for her, she chose a spot in between the road and the parking area for the bird observation deck. Assuming someone didn't accidentally run her over before she finished, the eggs are unlikely to survive.
One of my favorite parts of visiting the Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge is the drive up to Sandy Point picnic area. As you get near the point, there's a stretch where we almost always see a roadrunner. Greater roadrunners are not a common sight around here so I'm always excited to look for this one.
Yesterday was not a disappointment! The roadrunner showed up and wandered around the road in front of us for a good quarter mile. He even stood still for me to take photos of him (from the car).
I think this is my favorite photo of him. He's looking back over his shoulder like he's checking that I'm still watching: 
Crown feathers up: 
—And back down:
