§ Hilltop [Part II]

In Part One I showed you the hilly trails at this park. Mentioned yesterday about the spoils of bike paths and trails and hard cemented paths scarring the beauty of such places to go for exercise and in my case, bird watching.... I find it even with trails cutting through landscaping and such, I continue to reach my step count goal!!!  And perhaps, if you look at it like I do, even tho I would prefer all natural, I  would be missing out on too much beauty otherwise working out indoors.  Besides, if you look at it through someone's disabilities, I also consider the 'cut trails are assisting those that are handicapped,  giving them a chance to enjoy; making the preserves accessible to them also.

Now, I will take you along to let you experience the natural surroundings...This nature center has a very dense forest of live oak, and several species of trees. So thick in most areas, even if you DO HEAR the birds, they're hidden from the camera and the naked eye. After all, I go walking for the most part to 'go birding'!!   I did, however, see a few. These two; A Couch's Kingbird and Northern Mockingbird:

Other birds that morning were sparrows, [house sparrows and a NEW first time ever sparrow species from the extreme northern parts of Old Mexico and trickling into the southern border of Texas], doves, woodpeckers, cardinals, two hummingbirds, blackbirds. I think I saw a crested titmouse, but by the time I got my binoculars up to view, it had flown the coop! Not to be spotted again. Oh well. As I stated, LOTS OF TREES...

...with lots of Spanish Moss and Ball Moss:

...this time of year, wildflowers, along with some intentionally planted like the yellow Esperanza, are a bit scarce, but I saw a few flowers AND some going to seed, like the hedge bindweed:

Nature and Nature's Observation Gazebo

I couldn't go without stopping to photograph the web. It was such a work of genius. And there are plenty of gazebos nestled in the trees and along the trails. Sometimes there is run-off water, making a babbling brook here and there giving a beautiful ambiance to backdrop of those gazebos. There is another gazebo photo in part one [link above]. This concludes part two, and what photos I took of the Hilltop Community Nature Park..

§ Hilltop

Along the coastline and throughout Texas, the hotspot birding areas are numbered. There are signs [brown federal points of interest] that show you the number of the area...this one at Hilltop Community Nature Trail is CTC 76 [Central Texas Coast #76]. In my area the Trails are shown in "loops" and they're found throughout the coastline and near Corpus Christi, from Houston to Brownsville...Corpus to Victoria, San Antonio and Austin.

From an online website of birding trails of Texas, this is posted about Hilltop: The nature trail here traverses native brush habitat, so search for migrants as well as for residents (Groove-billed Ani, Pyrrhuloxia, Olive Sparrow). Walk along the creek and look for a variety of sparrows in winter (Swamp, Lincoln’s)...listen in late spring for the incessant "chick three beers" song of the White-eyed Vireo.

Personally, I find it more in the likeliness of an exercise trail most of the year. There are birds to be seen, but quite scarce in my experience. Tho, this last week, I did see a few 'resident' birds that are here year 'round as I traversed all the intertwining trails. Migration season is better. But, I rarely go here. I decided to go walking here 'cause of the shade! It's covered with dense tree growth and a bit of a temperature drop from full sun...on the paths on a hot summer day.

If you know the state of Texas's terrain...the Hill Country is very popular [and beautiful for all seasons]. Well, this community nature trail is as close to "hill country" as you get on the flat coastal landscaping. In fact the trail is most ALL up and down...some hills quite steep. A real good work-out.

With this post I am sharing the pathways!  To give you a 'view' of just how hilly it is.  No it's definitely nothing like my home state of Colorado and the Rocky Mountains, but being acclimated to sea level, like I am, your calves and back muscles feel the pressure of being exercised in a whole different degree than walking on the beach.  In another post I'll share some other scenery....but, for now, bring your water bottle.  It's hot, humid and miles of paved trail; twists and turns, up and down like a roller coaster hike...

I'll continue my walk in the next post with more of "nature" photos instead of traipsing the trail system. Part II coming soon to a blog near you...

CTC website with the loop numbers listed

§ Hilltop....

My trail walking yesterday was at Hilltop Community. It's on the outskirts of metro Corpus Christi. The trail is VERY hilly and is a great area to walk for a cardio-workout! Up and down, down and up...twisting and turning through the tree shaded paths. And quite popular for those that know of the area. And those that don't know about it...they don't know what they're missing. More than likely I'll be hitting this trail and others close by until my favorite areas on the islands; Port Aransas and Rockport on the mainland, are repaired and back to normal. In other words, within the next year or so, I'll be walking closer to home than I have in the past...and the beaches to the south instead. The nature area provides outdoor enthusiasts two miles of walking trails, a skateboard park, gazebos, many many work-out stations just off the trail, playground equipment, three nature overlooks, foot bridges, multipurpose sports field,horseshoe pits, a picnic pavilion with BBQ pits, as well as a covered bandstand rotunda. ( I only found three downed trees from Hurricane Harvey along the trails! )

...along the paths, I spotted these scenes:


The moon was still visible in the sky; the sky was a clear, deep blue. A perfect day to traverse in the great outdoors!

At the early morning hour very few birds were active, Golden Fronted Woodpecker, Inca Dove, White Winged Dove and Loggerhead Shrike, plus the Northern Mockingbird.

,,,The paved trail and wooden foot bridge nestled in the oak trees.



New growth of Spanish Moss dangles and sways in the breeze...

...a stately cottonwood tree remains upright [Cottonwood trees are scarce in this area of South Texas.  The trees most commonly seen are palm, mesquite, live oak, and willow].  I was happy to see it wasn't harmed during the storm of the century!!

...the Old Man's Beard [wild clematis] was quite abundant and as the sun hit the dangling seeds, they sparkled with dew.  There are many different species of this trailing [vine] plant in America and throughout the globe.  Can be invasive.

When I finished my walk, my Health App told me I didn't quite reach my goal of steps, so I went across the highway and stopped by the historic cemetery of Nuecestown and tried to capture some photos of interest there....

§ Over the Trails and Through the Woods...

Hilltop Community Trail is one I haven't been to in nearly two years.  It's located in a suburb of Corpus Christi, Annaville [now annexed into the city].   And I was in for a big surprise. The city has added several new paved trails in the area, and more work-out for me. That means...more hills!! For those that don't know this area of the city, it IS hilly. You can't very well judge it when driving the streets, but when you're out walking, yes you can. I enjoyed this walk along the new paths, and walking the old trails! The weather was near perfect, the wildflowers were gorgeous, the birds...tho not seen, were showing me the way by singing to me throughout the tree canopies! This community hilltop area, with the paved pathways also has several stopping areas for those that want to exercise...stations that have outdoor cardio, stretching, pull-ups, things of that sort. The new trails have several look-out platforms where you can stop and take in the views of the tree-lined hills along with more creek-bed bridges and signage that will assist anyone interested in the wildlife of this particular part of town.  Across the highway is an historical graveyard from Nuecestown circa the 1800s, plus the trailways also has an historical 'community' including an historical schoolhouse which I posted photos of the interior and exterior when a woman was generous enough to unlock the school and allow me to take photos... seen HERE -posted at Hootin' Anni's in 2012!! And a slideshow video of the Nuecestown Historical Graveyard can be viewed HERE. -I posted in 2009!!

All righty then.  This is a collection of my most recent walk-about at Hilltop Community...



...the Trails


...some Flora





...Wanna Do Some Work-out?

[just two of several equipment stations throughout]


Needless to say, I was impressed with the improvements and additions. Like General MacArthur during WWII and the promise to his troops and the Philippines... said: "I shall return"!!