Cibolo Creek, Texas

A recent outing along the mostly dried bed of Cibolo Creek just outside of San Antonio didn't yield many birds of note, but a few interesting rock formations. 

Upon our arrival, we were greeted by a Western Kingbird (a lifer for me!), who only lingered long enough for a good look, and then disappeared.  There was, however, a cacaphony of cardinals among the trees lining the river bed.  I have never seen or heard so many in one place before.  Vultures soured overhead, both Turkey Vultures and Black Vultures.

Tracks abounded in the dried river bed, mostly those of coyotes and raccoon, but this track was of interest to me because of it's roundness, like a flower petal. 

However, it was the rocks that peaked our imagination this day.  I'm no geologist, and I tried to do a little digging, but wasn't able to uncover much information that I could understand.  I believe it's mostly limestone in this area, dating back to prehistoric days when the area was covered by the sea.

Here is a picture of the dried up river bed showing the fossil remains of hundreds of shells.

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And upon closer inspection...

The rock formations along the bank of the river were incredible.  One looked like the profile of a face.

and for scale

We scrambled over rock formations, climbed down and across crevices, peeked into "caves", followed paths cut out by flowing water.

It was almost "other worldly".

We found treasures galore.

This would make a lovely necklace!

And this looks like a skull, abandoned and alone.

Evidence of flooding, 8 - 12 feet above the creek bed was everywhere.  Here is a small bird's nest, probably American Goldfinch, that had been ravaged by rushing waters.  It's amazing how something that appears to be so small and delicate, is strong enough to withstand nature's wrath.

We accessed the river bed from an overpass off the highway leading out of the city.  This shot from between the railroad tressles is looking back toward the highway.  See the gorgeous Live Oak off in the distance.

Cibolo Creek runs for 100 miles before joining up with the San Antonio River. I hope to continue following the creek bed further along on my next visit to the area, providing it is at a time during the year when there are no snakes!!