Journal 2

This bird was just sitting on tree right outside my friends house. I found this bird on October 18, 2020 in San Antonio, Texas (latitude and longitude below). The temperature that day had a low of 73 degrees and a high of 91 degrees. I found it at 11:58 am so it was probably in the mid 80s at that time. Titmouse help control the population of insects and also help trees spread their seeds. Their usually best in trees, stumps, nest boxes, and even abandoned woodpecker holes. Kingdom: Animalia, Phylum: Chordata, Class: Aves, Order: Passeriformes, Family: Paridae, Genus: Baeolophus, Species: B atricristatus.

I went to visit my family in Hawai’i this past week and these snails were in my mom’s planter. I found these snails on October 15, 2020 in Honolulu, Hawai’i (latitude and longitude below). The temperature that day had a low of 75 degrees and a high of 86 degrees. I found it at around 3:45 pm so it was probably around low 80s at that time. The African Giant Snail provide calcium and other nutrients to the soil. Interestingly, they can actually feed on more than 500 types of plants. Kingdom: Animalia, Phylum: Mollusca, Class: Gastropoda, Superfamily: Achatinoidea, Family: Achatinidae, Subfamily: Achatininae, Genus: Achatina, Species: A. fulica.

This gecko was under a rock in my backyard. I found it on October 18, 2020 in San Antonio, Texas (latitude and longitude below). The temperature that day had a low of 73 degrees and a high of 91 degrees. I found it at 9:12 pm so it was probably around mid 70s at that time. Since the Mediterranean Gecko can breed fast, it’s been able to uphold a steady population. Since they’re so commonly found and fairly easy to catch, they’re actually kept as house pets quite frequently. Kingdom: Animalia, Phylum: Chordata, Class: Reptilia, Order: Squamata, Family: Gekkonidae, Genus: Hemidactylus, Species: H. turcicus.

This was a gecko I saw in Hawaii outside my house this past week. I thought it was interesting to compare the two geckos I could find in both San Antonio and Honolulu. I found it on October 15, 2020 in Honolulu, Hawai’i (latitude and longitude below). The temperature that day had a low of 76 degrees and a high of 85 degrees. I found it at 4:10pm so it was probably around mid 70s at that time. Fun fact: this gecko is actually the gecko that is the mascot of GEICO. Their diet consists of soft, sweet fruit and pollen and nectar from flowers. Kingdom: Animalia, Phylum: Chordata, Class: Reptilia, Order: Squamata, Family: Gekkonidae, Genus: Phelsuma, Species: P. laticauda.

This parakeet was outside of my house. Rose-Ringed Parakeets are actually very common in neighborhoods in Hawai’i and just fly around. I found it on October 14, 2020 in Honolulu, Hawai’i (latitude and longitude below). The temperature that day had a low of 71 degrees and a high of 85 degrees. I found it at 11:13 am so it was probably around mid 70s at that time. The Rose-Ringed Parakeet make nests out of things like old woodpecker holes and just trees. They’re able to live in a variety of environments and adapt easily to live in disturbed habitats. Kingdom: Animalia, Phylum: Chordata, Class: Aves, Order: Pstittaciformes, Family: Psittaculidae, Genus: Psittacula, Species: P. krameri.