Every day on the bayou brings something unique and interesting but this day brought something downright weird. I didn't even know what it was until I did some searching online and discovered the world's largest rodent has invaded Texas. The capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) is a semi-aquatic herbivore from South America, about two feet tall and weighing up to 150 pounds. Knowing the stinky mess my daughter's guinea pig makes, my guess is someone decided to abandon their high-maintenance pet. Armand Bayou, Pasadena, Texas

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A young cottontail showed no concern as it munched breakfast goodies outside our shelter at Dolan Falls on the Devils River, Val Verde County, Texas.

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"But OMG, what an eye!" to paraphrase Paul Cezanne. Cropped closeup of an adult Brown Pelican on a tree stump in Armand Bayou near Bay Area Park.

Tags:   Brown Pelican bird macro crop nature wildlife Armand Bayou Pasadena Texas kayak gseloff YBS23Nature

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An American Avocet tries to get next to his sweetie (she's the one over on the left, yeah, that one) near the Galveston jetties at Bolivar Flats. As noted in song by John Mayall, he can't give his best without room to move.

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Requiring an extra-long runway, an American White Pelican struggles to get airborne on Horsepen Bayou.

Unlike their more tolerant Brown Pelican kinfolk, American White Pelicans are overly suspicious and rarely give strangers benefit of the doubt. As soon as my kayak cleared a point and the foursome came into view, they abandoned their low perches and began crisscrossing the water, slowly angling away from me. Though they stopped briefly to pose with a Great Egret (previous post), as the light breeze pushed me in their direction, they fidgeted nervously and took flight while I was still some 40 yards distant. But contrary to their reputation for callousness, as a gesture of kindness they launched almost directly for my position, crossing my bow as they gained altitude and beelined south toward Galveston if not Cuba or beyond.

Tags:   American White Pelican bird flight launch water reflection splash nature wildlife Horsepen Bayou Pasadena Texas kayak gseloff

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