The avocet female lays her eggs on the ground in slight depressions in mud or grass. To protect such an exposed nest, a parent avocet screams an alarm whenever a predator is spotted. This call brings all the avocets together and as a group they drive the intruder away. The muskrat is a common resident of wetlands. This rodent likes to feed on cattails, a plant that is abundant in marshes.
Muskrats use cattails to build their lodges.
A muskrat lodge looks like a small beaver lodge. Canada geese sometimes build their nests on top of muskrat lodges because this height provides the geese with a lookout for predators. If you are a careful observer, you might see a garter snake swimming in the water. Garter snakes are found throughout Texas and are excellent swimmers. They eat insects, earthworms and frogs.