I think most folks have mental images of Texas topography that derive from scenes of the Hill Country and West Texas - dry hills, rocks, deserts and vast plains. The Coastal Plain, however, has more of the green, lush look associated with Louisiana or Mississippi. Here are some shots from the Matagorda Birding Center, which is located adjacent to the Colorado River and not far from where the river dumps into Matagorda Bay the Gulf of Mexico.

Jer

A footbridge through a low spot at the Center:



A swampy area:



A bird blind tucked into another swampy place;



Green stream 1:



Green Stream 2:



Some friendly space aliens met along the way:

[manishved]

Love the footbridge - great POV

[sealonsf]

I'm sweating just looking at these pictures. I know how hot it can get there! Thanks for posting these.

[UpNorth]

Thanks for sharing Jer.
You're right - Having never been there, I had no idea parts of Texas were so "Louisiana-ish".
I'll bet in the heat of mid-summer that Birding Center gets pretty sticky with all that built-in humidity!

Tim

[Rupert]

Nice shooting and a good lesson on the geography of Texas. Mile high mountains, high plains, deep forests, sandy Gulf beaches, rolling hills....it is all here in Texas. I tend to go west, preferring the dry climate, but even in Big Bend there is lush vegetation along the Rio Grande. Best Regards! I enjoyed!

So....Did you get a lot of bird shots? Will we see them?

Along the banks of the Rio Grande....Mrs Rupert tries to cool off.....

[Bob Harris]

Jer, I was curious about the birds also. Usually we visit bird sanctuaries and never see any, sort of funny. Did you know the Colorado River that is in Texas is the 18th longest river in the US and starts and stops in the state of Texas. Many people get it confused with the larger Colorado River that starts in CO and dumps into the gulf of CA. Rupert always says that is his wife, but I think it is his daughter, IMHO. Bob

[Sailor]

Love the footbridge - great POV

Thanks much,

Jer

I'm sweating just looking at these pictures. I know how hot it can get there! Thanks for posting these.

Not too hot the day we were there, but I suspect it'll be a cauldron in the summer. Our last visit was also our first, so I don't know how much help the sea breeze will provide. I'm glad you enjoyed the view of hot - and green - Texas.

Jer

Thanks for sharing Jer.
You're right - Having never been there, I had no idea parts of Texas were so "Louisiana-ish".
I'll bet in the heat of mid-summer that Birding Center gets pretty sticky with all that built-in humidity!

Tim

Hey, Tim - my pleasure. As I said above, I've not been to Matagorda County in the midst of summer, but I'm betting it'll be excruciating - sorta like where we live.

Jer

Nice shooting and a good lesson on the geography of Texas. Mile high mountains, high plains, deep forests, sandy Gulf beaches, rolling hills....it is all here in Texas. I tend to go west, preferring the dry climate, but even in Big Bend there is lush vegetation along the Rio Grande. Best Regards! I enjoyed!

So....Did you get a lot of bird shots? Will we see them?

Along the banks of the Rio Grande....Mrs Rupert tries to cool off.....

Never saw bird one, Rupert, but thanks for looking and the nice comments. Mrs. Rupert seems to be in command of the situation, as usual.

Jer

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Last edited by Sailor; 05-09-2011 at 04:06 PM.

[Sailor]

Jer, I was curious about the birds also. Usually we visit bird sanctuaries and never see any, sort of funny. Did you know the Colorado River that is in Texas is the 18th longest river in the US and starts and stops in the state of Texas. Many people get it confused with the larger Colorado River that starts in CO and dumps into the gulf of CA. Rupert always says that is his wife, but I think it is his daughter, IMHO. Bob

Hey Bob - no birds (actually I don't care that much, because I'd rather shoot other stuff anyway). I did get - what for me - is a good deer shot, which I posted earlier.

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/post-your-photos/142207-nature-not-headlights-time.html

I didn't know, but assumed, that "our" Colorado River is different than the "real" Colorado River. Actually, I've spent more time over the decades looking at the "real" Colorado river than ours, which I've only viewed from the Gristmill Inn in Greune, TX and the look I got the other day.

Jer

Here's our version; not much to brag on but it does contain water.

[Bob Harris]

Gruene, we have been there a couple of times, in fact we now know it is pronounced "green". I bet there are a lot of people up in Northwest Texas that would love to have that water flowing there. take care. Bob

[photolady95]

Great look at the best part of Texas, Jer. TFS

I lived in Texas, north of Austin from 2004 to 2008, and we had mostly green there too.

[Sailor]

Gruene, we have been there a couple of times, in fact we now know it is pronounced "green". I bet there are a lot of people up in Northwest Texas that would love to have that water flowing there. take care. Bob

Yeah, I think they would, Bob. Even here there is a "Severe" drought - up there it's supposed to be . . . . I think the word is "Extreme."

My younger daughter went to undergraduate school at a small liberal arts college (Texas Lutheran University) not far from Greune, so we visited there a fair amount during that period.

Jer

Great look at the best part of Texas, Jer. TFS

I lived in Texas, north of Austin from 2004 to 2008, and we had mostly green there too.

Thanks much, PL.

Jer

[dcmsox2004]

any scary critters hiding in the woods or waters there jer?
that alien landscape looks like it's from 'the day of the triffids'.... dave m

[Sailor]

any scary critters hiding in the woods or waters there jer?
that alien landscape looks like it's from 'the day of the triffids'.... dave m

The scariest thing I saw was a deer (pic posted earlier) and the cactus I stumbled into. Thanks for looking, buddy.

Jer

[kengoh]

I like the 1st pic, beautiful!

[Sailor]

I like the 1st pic, beautiful!

Thanks much, Ken - I appreciate the nice words.

Jer