Journal archives for December 2017

December 16, 2017

Berry Springs Preserve Herps of Texas report, 15Dec2017

Due to the very cold and wet forecast, we moved the monthly amphibian monitoring at Berry Springs Preserve up one night. Susan Blackledge, the park manager, welcomed the first nine frigid frog fans who made it through the Friday night rush hour with Christmas head gear - thank you, Susan !
Two others joined us on the way down to the ponds where we saw Western Mosquitofish, crawfish, a raucous Belted Kingfisher, and a Great Blue Heron. After sunset, we heard a couple of nearby coyotes practicing a few howls. Amy and Mike photographed a Blanchard's Cricket Frog (Call Index = 0), but after 30 cold, quiet minutes, we decided to follow Mike on a walk around the ponds to see the evidence of beaver activity. Images of these mammals had recently been captured on a game camera, and we saw two distinctively-chewed tree trunks, large holes in the pond banks, and a wide, vegetation-free channel in the water in front of one of these holes. Thanks, Mike ! When we started the hike, we also saw an armadillo scurrying around next to the boardwalk below the dam.
Larry had told us that the International Space Station (ISS) would be passing overhead, so when we got back to the parking lot, we looked to the north-northwest, and after spotting a small satellite, we then saw the bright ISS moving in a straight line until it disappeared behind the Earth's shadow. What a great way to end the year !
The monitoring period was 17:30 - 18:30.
Participants were Kathy, Heike, Carolyn, Amy, Christie, Larry & Marek, Tonja, Mike & Carol, and Hunter.
Environmental Conditions at the main pond at sunset:

  • Air temperature = 46.4 deg F
  • Water temperature = 62.3 deg F
  • Sky = No/few clouds
  • Water level = Average
  • Relative humidity at sunset = 34 %
Posted on December 16, 2017 03:44 PM by k_mccormack k_mccormack | 2 comments | Leave a comment