Nature as Normal

ABNC’s beloved Conservation Director and Chief Naturalist, the late Mark Kramer started his Nature as Normal blog in 2020 to provide some sense of normalcy with a dose of Armand Bayou. In his blog posts Mark offered nature as a form of nurture to remind us that things are still happening as normal in the bigger picture. He drew inspiration for his powerful blog posts from his decades of admiring the natural world at “this treasure of the Gulf Coast.”

Wood Storks

Wood storks use Armand Bayou briefly as a “stop over” point in their travels. My observations typically see them here for only a day or two as they travel onwards after dispersing from their Mexican breeding grounds.

Mark KramerMay 13, 2020Armand Bayou Nature Center

Texas Turtles

Turtles still carry a fascination for most people and seem like they’re on the perfect vacation lifestyle. Their RV is on their back, dinner is fish which is always eaten slowly and enjoyed one bite at a time. They finish the day alternating between swim breaks and sunbathing.

Mark KramerMay 6, 2020Armand Bayou Nature Center

Buntings Be Here Now

These small birds are a vivid blue. For most people at first viewing, the response is a questioning of reality. Can that really be THAT blue? That’s a color I’ve never seen before. Is that a REAL bird?

Mark KramerApril 29, 2020Armand Bayou Nature Center

Monarchs on the Move

Monarch butterflies are also in trouble. Their populations have plummeted over the last 20 years and experts believe that there are a number of contributing factors in their decline.

Mark KramerApril 24, 2020Armand Bayou Nature Center

Great Egret and the Rising Tide

Like a moving buffet line carried by the rising tide, the Great Egret has found dinner in a school of juvenile Gulf Menhaden.

Mark KramerApril 22, 2020Armand Bayou Nature Center

Spider Lily

There is none finer in all of the prairie than the spider lily. Pure white and striking from across the field, with a fragrance that’s intoxicating when close at hand, the spider lily is the largest and most handsome of all ABNC prairie wildflowers.

Mark KramerApril 17, 2020Armand Bayou Nature Center

Marsh Wren

Wrens are small birds with huge voices. Difficult to see even under the best conditions, their call is an intricate melody that can mesmerize a drifting kayaker into a different world.

Mark KramerApril 15, 2020Armand Bayou Nature Center

Peregrine Falcon

Peregrine falcons were listed as an Endangered Species the year ABNC opened. Their populations have now recovered.

Mark KramerApril 10, 2020Armand Bayou Nature Center

Texas Prairie Dawn Flower

Even though the Texas Prairie Dawn Flower grows in an area of no public access, you can enjoy knowing that this critically endangered species’ habitat is being conserved and restored at ABNC.

Mark KramerApril 8, 2020Armand Bayou Nature Center

Redwing Blackbird

Redwing blackbirds are icons of marshes and wetlands all across North America. This is the beginning of the nesting season for redwings in the marshes of Armand Bayou.

Mark KramerApril 3, 2020Armand Bayou Nature Center

Pileated Woodpecker

The largest woodpecker in North American makes its home in the Coastal Flatwoods Forest along Armand Bayou.

Mark KramerMarch 31, 2020Armand Bayou Nature Center

Wood Duck

Most ducks and geese are on the move in the spring, migrating for more northern latitudes with nesting on their minds. Wood ducks are an exception and stay in Texas to raise their young.

Mark KramerMarch 30, 2020

Eagles on the Bayou

Bald eagle populations are on the rise in the Bayou City. There are active bald eagle nests on Clear Creek, Taylor Bayou and Armand Bayou.

Mark KramerMarch 30, 2020Armand Bayou Nature Center