HOLY
TOLEDO, BUCKAROO!!! IT'S THE RICKUBISCAM PAGE !!
(sometimes
known as the "rick, don't touch that!" page.)
A
FRIENDLY REMINDER: ALL IMAGES, VIDEOS, AND TEXT ON THIS
PAGE, AND ALL MY PAGES ARE COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL AND MAY
NOT BE USED ANYWHERE WITHOUT PERMISSION
FROM ME.
Images
and
contents on this page copyright © 2001-2025 Richard M.
Dashnau
LAST
UPDATE: 03/20/2025 PREVIOUS
UPDATE: 03/04/2025
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--LET'S SEE WHAT THAT RASCAL RICKUBIS IS UP
TO!
------------------------------- - 
DOES THE CAPTION SAY "IT'S
LIVE"? IF IT DOESN'T, IT ISN'T.
(Actually, it hasn't been "live' in a long, long time.)
Recent Updates of other pages:
Page or file name
Date of update
Description of update
Grackles
02/21/2025 Added
newly-edited video clips and photos from 2022.
Ibises
02/15/2025 NEW PAGE!!
Moved my images of these species onto their own new page. More stuff
to be added soon.
Grackles
02/15/2025 NEW
PAGE!! Moved my images of these species onto their own new page. More
stuff to be added soon.
Coots and Gallinules
01/31/2025 Added 5
new video clips from 2006, 2009,2011 and 2017 to
this page over the last couple days.
Coots and Gallinules
01/28/2025 NEW PAGE!!
Moved my images of these species onto their own new page. More stuff
to be added soon.
Osprey
page
12/23/2024
Added 30
pictures of an Osprey observed feeding at Fiorenza park on 02/10/2024.
Gar page
(garfish)
12/02/2024
New material from this year. Lots of images, and
some edited videos.
Gar
page (garfish)
12/01/2024
NEW PAGE!! With some much material, the gar fish have a separate page,
pulled from material I've posted on other pages.
Kites page
10/16/2024
NEW PAGE!! Inspired to create
this page because Kites aren't exactly like other
raptors...so they got their own page.
Water Insect page
10/11/2024
NEW PAGE!! Inspired to create this page
due to research I've just done. First time uploads of OLD
pictures, and new materials.
Just
Rick page
09/26/2024 Added
new videos and photos from 2003, driving an ARGO ATV to crush
vegetation at Brazos Bend State Park
Alligator Behavior
Walking etc. page 10 09/05/2024
New Page!
Added new posts with imagery from 2023
Rick's General Oddities
08/27/2024 Added
new video and pictures from August 11 and 20 2024 (long camera
sticks).
Internal Martial Arts page
07/30/2024 Added
new video and pictures from July 2024 (a few days before Beryl).
Piper the Pup's Page
06/19/2024 Added
some pictures and a couple videos from June 2024.
Ichnology page 4
05/04/2024 Added
more material from summer 2023. Cicada killer drama.
Osprey page
03/21/2024 Added a
lot of pictures and a video clip of an Osprey observed feeding at
Fiorenza park 05/29/2023.
Rick's General Oddities
12/13/2023 Added some
pictures and a video of me tossing boomerangs at Scobee Field.
Rick's
3D model Page 5 (gator den; ver. 2) 07/04/22
I
once
used Solidworks at work. Now Solidworks has access I can use at
home, so I'm modeling an alligator den. My attempts are here.
Rick's 3D model Page 1 (gator den) 05/27/22 I once used Solidworks at work.
Now Solidworks has access I can use at home, so I'm modeling an
alligator den. My attempts are here.
2008 2010
Videos of folding bicycles from 2008 & 2010
Update
03/18/2025 -
03/07/2025
Cullinen
Park. As I've talked to various
birders and Nature enthusiasts that
I've met over the years at Brazos
Bend State Park and Fiorenza Park,
I've heard many stories about
Cullinen Park, and the birds visible
there. When I would visit Cullinen,
I didn't have much luck, so I
stopped going. About 4 or 5
years ago (it's 2025 as
I write this), Limpkins
(Aramus guarana) began to establish
a population in Texas. It was big
news at the time. So when I'm doing
Nature Interpretation on the trail,
I mention Limpkins,
since I still feel excitement that
this new species is here. But
they've been here for some years
now, and the novelty has apparently
worn off for many birders. Over the
last couple
years, I've had folks tell me
they've seen ten or twenty Limpkins
at a time at Cullinen Park. But, I
was content to watch Limpkins at
BBSP--until someone told me there
was a
Limpkin nesting at Cullinen
Park. So I went to see
it. I found the nest, and
returned the next day with my
longer-range camera. I captured a
lot of Limpkin behavior I hadn't
seen
before, and it's taken me a couple
weeks to organize it for these
pages. So--here it is. I was lucky
to see the Limpkin stand up and
adjust its eggs, captured on video
and photos.
Then things
got really interesting. After the
Limpkin stopped adjusting the eggs
in the nest and rested on them, I
thought it would be quiet there. I
looked away to watch other birds
in the area when there was commotion
behind me. I turned back around to
see two Limpkins fighting.
Before the fight ended, I was able
to capture some video. One of the
combatants
went back to sit on the nest. The
images below are frames from the Limpkin Nesting
and Fighting Video.
I noticed this Limpkin foraging 100
yards away or so. It seemed to be
catching a lot, so I filmed it for a
while. Two American Coots (Fulica
americana) foraged near the
Limpkin, and
a Pied-Billed Grebe (Podilymbus
podiceps) popped up for a
brief surprise appearance! The
images below are frames from the Limpkin and Coots
Video.
I
saw a Limpkin
hurry across
the floating
plant mats
with a snail
in its
beak. It
moved close to
another
Limpkin, and gave
the snail to
it! I
only pointed
the camera
after the
hand-off,
(or beak-off)
so didn't
record the
exchange. But
I watched for
repeats of
that behavior
and filmed it
two more
times. The
next one
happened an
hour later.
This one was a
relatively
small snail.
The images
below are
frames from
the video.
The
second
exchange, was
about 5
minutes later.
This time, a
Limpkin found
a really large
snail, and the
other Limpkin
hurried over
to take it.
From the
amount of it
was being fed,
and especially
after watching
it handle this
large
burden--I
guessed that
this was a
juvenile
Limpkin. It
seemed to have
a harder time
with the large
snail. The
images below
are also
frames
from video.
Both examples
are in this Limpkin
Sharing Video.
When
this apparent
juvenile
started on the
snail, it had
a much harder
time. It
set the snail
down close
enough (about
20 yards away)
for me to
capture good
imagery. Apple
Snails
(Pomacea
sp.) lay egg
masses that
are toxic, on
surfaces out
of the water.
The organs
that produce
these eggs are
also toxic.
Some animals
that eat these
snails can find
and
discard these
glands!
This
fascinates
me. I
think the
technique used
by Limpkins to
breach the
shells of
molluscs is
also
amazing.
So I've tried
to capture
this whenever
I have a
chance.
This young
Limpkin
was in a great
position for
me to film it
at work. In
fact, it would
turn the snail
from
time-to_time
so I could see
into the
opening of its
shell. I've
collected
the
techniques in
this longer Limpkin
Dissecting
Video
In
the series of
images below,
the snail's
operculum is
still attached
in the first
two images,
but is gone in
the second two
images.
The
first two
images below
show the
removal of two
different
parts of the
toxic pink
glands
(another piece
is on the leaf
to the left).
In the second
two images,
the Limpkin
had stopped
to put the tip
its beak into
the water. I
thought this
was to wash
any
bad-tasting
material off the
beak. After
that dip, it
went back to
the snail.
More videos
and Limpkins
from earlier
times on my
Limpkin Page..
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Certain
natural
observations that first appeared on this page have been moved
to my other pages. Go back to my home page, Welcome to Rickubis.com for links to those pages.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update
03/04/2025 -
03/02/2025
When I
got to the park at 8am, was already
a fine day but after an while it got
really interesting. This
juvenile Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus
leucocephalus)
flew over me at 10am when I walked
West past the Observation Tower. A
few visitors had reported Limpkins
were foraging over that way, and
they hadn't been when I went by
earlier.
More about Eagles on my Eagle Pages
(this is the most
recent).
Finally,
this Anhinga (Anhinga
anhinga)
kept basking
on this stick
next to the
bank, next to
the short
wooden bridge.
I watched it
for a while,
and it bent
over and
slipped under
the water.
I thought it
would start
hunting, so I
watched for
the Anhinga's
head and neck
to
surface--hopefully
with a fish
impaled on its
beak. A
few park
Visitors had
come over to
see the
Anhinga and
had also seen
it dive. We
all looked for
the
Anhinga.
This male
Anhinga has
more color
than usual
(such as the
blue around
the eyes),
since it will
be courting
soon. The
last
image below
shows the tiny
serrations on
the front half
of the
Anhinga's beak
which help
prevent
impaled fishes
from sliding
off too
easily.
I
was looking in
the wrong
direction when
it surfaced
with a fish
and swallowed
it, so just
caught the
ending. But we
all kept
watching for
it, with no
idea where it
would pop up
next.
Some
folks sitting
on the
bench under
the Oak Tree
were surprised
when it
surfaced right
in front of
them--again, I
was too slow,
but I think it
had had a
fish. It was
fun seeing the
surprise from
various park
Visitors as
the Anhinga's
head and neck
popped up in
front of them,
then slipped
back under
without a
ripple. The
Anhinga stayed
in the area,
foraging in
that
corner of
40-Acre Lake
until it swam
back to that
stick. Then it
climbed out of
the water and
opened its
wings to heat
itself. The
first image
below shows
how much
the wind was
wrinkling the
surface of the
water. The
Anhinga was
scratching its
neck in the
last image.
More about
Anhingas on my
Anhinga page.
03/07/2021 Sometimes, one of the park gators
seems to say:
Just pay attention to the sign, okay?
04/08/2012---Easter Sunday at BBSP
gets very busy. This year, I had time to put a camera on my bicycle
handlebars and do a quick ride on the Elm Lake Trail before it got
busy. I was
experimenting with doing "virtual" trail tours of the park.
I'm not sure if this works or not, but here is an edited
version of the footage I filmed. A surprise unique to the park
happens near
the 6:47 mark. Links to the video are here (files are about 200mb):
Elm
Lake trail mp4 .
11/06/2013---Piper
the
Pup 
now has
her own page. For Piper-related stuff, you can go here,
but I don't update often.
Pages that show where mom gator has left babies, possibly so
she can forage: 03/06/2016 03/14/2016 12/05/2021
and two times when a mom left after a bellow bout:
02/16/2020 08/28/2022
I have created all the content on *my* pages. That means that I have
either shot the video, taken the pictures, or performed any
demonstrations. That also means that I've edited every image on
these pages, that is, I've cropped,
enhanced, resized, labeled, and otherwise optimized *every*
single image on my pages. That means that I've also edited,
enhanced, extracted images from, recoded (in two or three or four
formats) every *video clip* on these
pages. I've also, for better or worse, composed all the text and
layout on these pages. I've had to learn to use the various
utilities for doing all of this, as well as finding and legally
getting copies of them in the first place. I'm also
responsible for all the hardware used to do this. I also pay
for the server space used for all of this information as well as for
my access to it. It costs a lot of money, time, and effort to put
these pages out here...hopefully to
entertain and to inform. And this is *after* I spend time at my "day
job". People are welcome to the information here, but if it's
used elsewhere, then I deserve credit for my effort. If it is used
for someone else's profit, then I
deserve part of that profit. *That* is the purpose of my notices
about copyright.
I'VE USED MUSIC IN SOME OF MY VIDEO
PRODUCTIONS AND CLIPS. IT HAS BEEN LICENSED FOR MY USE, ROYALTY-FREE.
IF YOU'D LIKE TO PURCHASE LICENSED MUSIC--FROM A HUGE
STOCK OF AVAILABLE TYPES--FOR A VERY REASONABLE PRICE (HEY,
EVEN I CAN AFFORD IT) THEN YOU CAN GO TO:
-------------------------------------------------------------
CLICK
ON THE IMAGE, OR CLICK HERE
TO GO THERE. I'VE BEEN BUYING MUSIC FROM THEM SINCE 2003.
DO NOT EVER APPROACH ALLIGATORS. THEY CAN BE EXTREMELY
DANGEROUS IF THEY FEEL THREATENED, JUST LIKE ALMOST ANY ANIMAL.
DON'T DISTURB ALLIGATORS AT THIS PARK, OR ANYWHERE ELSE.
For the story of my hip
replacements, click here. I've come to think that these pages are
less about me than what I'm writing about, but I've been talking to lots
of old folks (like me) that
wonder how that surgery works.. So, this page shows my experiences with
it.
.Click here for the RICKUBISCAM GALLERY! ----a
chronicle of past rickubiscam images (16 pages starting
from the year 2000!!)
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---
RICKUBISCAM on the RICKUBISCAM on
the RICKUBISCAM on
the....
REPTILE
GLASSES
This gif was made in 2011 (I had more
hair!)
This gif was made in 2011 (I had
more hair!)
This page was born 9/16/1999. Rickubis
designed it. (such as it is.)
Go
back to my home page, Welcome to
Rickubis.com
I'm
on Mastodon for now, but I was never very active on "social"
media.
How many
come by to see the RICKUBISCAM ? Well, lets look at the counter
provided by: WEBCOUNTER.
Counter started June 18, 2001. 1/10/2012
= 10473 || 3/25/2014 10904 || 11/19/2015
= 11137 || 2/16/2017 =
11326 || 6/16/2019 =
11678 || 6/21/2020=11856 || 12/27/21=12199
|| 2/3/2022=12237 || 7/22/2022 12404 || 01/09/2023=12651
7/26/2023=12926 || 12/1/2023=13059
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