Berry Springs Preserve Herps of Texas report, 17Jun2017

It was the warmest night so far this year at Berry Springs Preserve, but there was a nice breeze, so it actually didn't feel that bad. We had a great turnout of both people and amphibians. Super teamwork led to photos and/or recordings for all five species observed at the main pond: American Bullfrog (CI = 1), Rio Grande Leopard Frog (CI = 1), Blanchard's Cricket Frog (CI = 3), Gulf Coast Toad (CI = 0), and Green Treefrog (CI = 2). Many thanks to April for sharing some of the photos that she took.
We saw a male and female Orchard Oriole at the parking lot before heading down to the main pond, and we saw swallows, Chimney Swifts, and bats flying over the pond before sunset. We also saw an odd-looking nighthawk flying over the pond - it seemed smaller than the Common Nighthawk, it flew lower and it's flight was not quite as erratic as the Common Nighthawk, and it wasn't calling. The Travis Audubon Society's Rare Bird Alert listed a Lesser Nighthawk siting in Austin on June 11th. More study required........
The monitoring period was 20:35 - 21:50.
Participants were Kathy, Carolyn, Diane & Donna, Marc, April, Jim, Alexis & Peter & Linda, Tonja, Larry, Christi & newcomer Ashley, along with newcomer Sondra. Welcome !
Environmental Conditions at the main pond at sunset:

• Air temperature = 88.2 deg F
• Water temperature = 80.4 deg F
• Sky = No/few clouds
• Water level = Average
• Relative humidity at sunset = 45 %

Julkaistu kesäkuu 18, 2017 06:13 IP. käyttäjältä k_mccormack