Estero Llano and Rio Hondo

Estero Llano Grande State Park

Low Water Bridge

Rio Hondo 

July 15, 2015

This is the entrance to Estero Llano Grande State Park.  The park covers 230 acres of diverse habitats in which many different types of plants and animals can be seen.  This was one of my favorite places to visit.  It was yet another place that I did not know existed.  

                                               

One of the animals in this wildlife park made it's appearance in this natural site.  I was able to take a picture of a jackrabbit that didn't want to pose for a picture.  In one of the trails, I spotted the exoskeleton of a cicada.  This confirms that cicadas live in the area, but I was unable to spot a live specimen.

Sabal Palms are evident in this area as they are in Sabal Palm Sanctuary in Brownsville, Texas.  I did not know that the palm trees that I have are Washingtonia Palms and not Sabal Palms.  The difference between these palms are that the Sabal Palm has smooth     fronds and the Washingtonia has spikes.

                    

The view outside the office of Estero Llano Grande State Park shows the shallow wetlands with cattails in the forefront and diverse grasslands and trees in the background.  One of the trees that called my attention was the blooming retama with its yellow flowers.

At the Rio Hondo Vertical Lift Bridge, we were able to see numerous mullet along the bank where there is oxygen.  As the barges stir up the silt and unoxygenated water, dead or dying fish come up and seagulls follow barges to take advantage of the dying fish.