Butterflies at Medina River Natural Area

Little yellow, Pyrisitia lisa

Dainty sulphur, Nathalis iole

Orange sulphur, Colias eurytheme

Gray hairstreak, Strymon melinus

Reakirt’s blue, Echinargus isola

Orange skipperling, Copaeodes aurantiaca

Gray hairstreak, Strymon melinus

Ailanthus webworm moth, Atteva aurea

Vesta crescent, Phyciodes graphica

We went to San Antonio for a weekend getaway back in January with no real plans other than going to the zoo, eat at La Gloria on the Riverwalk, and going to the Alamo. I hadn’t been to the Alamo since I was in high school and I don’t know if Chris recalled when he had been, and it was Forest’s first time. We had driven by it several years ago but now you can’t even drive down in front of it, which is actually really great because it makes that area a walkable plaza. But, I digress…when we were looking for somewhere to hike we decided on the Medina River Natural Area south of town. It had been warmer in San Antonio and my grey mood from winter was ready to see some living things in the wild once again. We were rewarded near a planted area of agarita, which happened to be blooming, and saw several species of butterflies partaking in the mid-winter nectar feast of agarita and the herbaceous crow poison.

The park itself was really great, lots of trails to explore and I imagine the area is a great swimming hole in the summer! If you need to stretch your legs outside of San Antonio and do some nature walking, this was a great place to explore!