Berry Springs Preserve Herps of Texas report, 15Jul2017

Although some nearby areas had received over an inch of rain earlier in the day, Berry Springs only got a brief sprinkle, so the ground was still parched and we will have to wait for a heavy rainfall there to bring out the narrowmouth toads. But with the clouds and nearby rain, the air temperature had dropped down into the 70s - it was a wonderful evening for mid-July. We saw Rio Grande Leopard Frogs, but weren't able to catch any, and they weren't calling. But the Green Tree Frogs and Blanchard's Cricket Frogs were calling enthusiastically (both recorded at Call Index = 2), and we caught and took photos of a silent Gulf Coast Toad as we were leaving the ponds.
We saw a Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Chimney Swifts, and bats flying over the ponds before sunset. Three mystery nighthawks (Lesser Nighthawks ?) were also seen flying over the creek and the park to the west. Back at the parking lot, as we were about to leave, we heard a distant Barred Owl down at the creek.
The monitoring period was 20:35 - 21:35.
Participants were Kathy, Diane, and Sondra.
Environmental Conditions at the main pond at sunset:

• Air temperature = 76.8 deg F
• Water temperature = 78.5 deg F
• Sky = Mostly cloudy
• Water level = Average
• Relative humidity at sunset = 72 %

Julkaistu heinäkuu 16, 2017 04:00 IP. käyttäjältä k_mccormack