By Brandt Mannchen
It’s good to get out, even in the city, to see what Nature has to offer. Recently, the Sierra Club had an outing at Willow Waterhole Bayou, in the Willow Waterhole Conservation Reserve (WWCR), which emphasized birding, walking, and general Nature appreciation.
The seven people who partook of this outing were great to meet, walk with, and be around. They made the outing! I want to thank Michael, Janet, Ginger, Lucy, Nandu, and Linda for sharing this outing with me.
We first met at Triangle Lake, one of six detention lakes that Harris County Flood Control District constructed and operates to reduce flooding in southwest Houston in the Westbury Area.
This area has a special meaning for me because I grew nearby and attended Westbury High School, which is about ½ mile from the WWCR. This flood detention lake project, also has benches, picnic tables, planted trees and landscaping, gazebos, bridges, trails, a prairie garden, and a 15-acre prairie conservation area.
There are several trails in WWCR including the Kevin Shanley Trail, 2.2 miles (Westbury Lake); Brown Foundation Trail, 0.9 miles (Triangle Lake); John M. O’Quinn Foundation Trail, 0.4 miles (Scout Lake); Audubon Trail, 0.5 miles (Heron Lake); Kinder Foundation Trail, 1.4 miles (Willow Lake); and the Cullen Foundation Trail, 1.5 miles (Prairie Lake).
We first walked around part of Willow Lake and enjoyed seeing wading, shore, and other birds like Northern Mockingbird, Neotropic Cormorant, Little Blue Heron, Lesser Yellowlegs, American Coot, Rosette Spoonbill, Royal Tern, American Avocet, Short-billed Dowitcher, Great-tailed Grackle, Yellow-rumped Warbler, and unidentified gull and duck species.
We then backtracked and visited Heron and Scout Lakes and looked at some of the native trees, Willow Waterhole Bayou, and Killdeer, White Ibis, Great Egret, American Crow, and Snowy Egret.
We then took our lunch and crossed to Westbury Lake and walked around this detention lake, found a picnic table in the shade, and had a leisurely lunch in the cooler fall weather (that sun still was intense even at 78 degrees). During our walk back to Triangle Lake we saw Eastern Phoebe, Northern Cardinal, and an Osprey.
After four hours of walking, talking, and birding we left about noon. However, Michael and I drove over to look at Prairie Lake, which is separated from the other five lakes by South Post Oak. As we walked up the trail to view the lake, a large bird flushed and flew away. Michael identified this bird as a juvenile, Red-shouldered Hawk.
What a lovely way to end this easy, languid, day. An outing with good companionship, Nature learning, and lots of laughs and friendly discussions. If you have a little time and want to stretch your legs and get a hint of Nature, go visit Willow Waterhole Conservation Reserve. You’ll be glad you did!
Photo courtesy of Linda Mundwiller.