Two kinds of feathers

At Raab Park in Round Rock on August 18th I noticed quite a bunch of small feathers on the ground that seemed to tell the story of a bird having met its demise there. Because the feathers were so small and light, a few of them had gotten caught on nearby plants, including the firewheel seed head (Gaillardia pulchella) above and the camphorweed seed head (Heterotheca subaxillaris) below.

Eventually I noticed a much larger feather near by, which I picked up and photographed. I began to wonder if it came from a raptor that had killed the bird that all the small feathers belonged to. If an avian maven among you can shed light on these feathers, please fly to our rescue.

© 2020 Steven Schwartzman

Owl feather

As I began heading back from the farthest point on my April 17th outing under the power lines west of Morado Circle, I noticed a feather on the ground. Picking it up, I held it in front of me and took pictures of it in several positions. Chuck Sexton, a local expert on birds, says the feather is likely from the right wing of a great horned owl, Bubo virginianus. That’s the same species you caught a glimpse of, and only a glimpse of, in a recent post. Here’s a closer look at one part of the feather:

This feather proved to be the first of maybe half a dozen I found scattered at intervals along the trail. Seems likely the owl met its demise near by.

© 2018 Steven Schwartzman

Okay, so here’s the spider

Click for better clarity and contrast.

Now you get to see the Argiope aurantia spider that spun the web that snagged the feather that caught the attention of the photographer in Great Hills Park on October 19th.

© 2014 Steven Schwartzman

Small white feather caught in spiderweb

A few posts ago you saw an October 19th photograph of a hover fly on frostweed flowers in Great Hills Park (in fact only about a hundred feet from the place where, a month later, I took the frostweed ice trick picture you saw last time). Another thing I found during the October jaunt was a small white feather caught in the web of an Argiope aurantia spider. I tried my hand at a bunch of photographs, but due to the low light and the breeze—even a little air movement causes a lot of feather movement—I had trouble getting the whole feather in focus at the same time. In this image fortune favored me and most all the parts came out sharp.

© 2014 Steven Schwartzman