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We had a fun-filled evening of nature nerdiness. Winds were calm and we had minimal interference from road noise for a change.
Seven of us covered the area above the dam looking and listening. Thank you Kathy, Myra, Tonja, Hunter, Carolyn, and Patty (woo-hoo, been a long time) for coming out with me this month.

Environmental Conditions (at 20:15):
Air Temp: 22.4C
Water Temp: 28.4C
Sky: 0 (clear)
Water Level: Average
Relative Humidity: 54%
Although some of the area had enjoyed a rain on Thursday 5/11, it looked like this far north was still dry. The water level was just average, there has been no overflow of the dam for several weeks, and the algal mats above the dam were covering the water surface up to about 50%. Ground surrounding the dam area was dry.

General Observations:
Although the amphibian activity was just moderate, we sighted a number of other critters to add to our evening enjoyment. Kathy found walking stick pairs (huge female with a tiny male on her back) on the sidewalk above the dam. We also saw a 12 inch Texas Blind Snake on the sidewalk. Later as we visited “The Wall”, we blacklighted a scorpion, spotted a very large wolf spider (would fill a 2 inch circle), and many large land snails. We did not see or hear any chirping frogs this month. The cracks between the limestone blocks were very dry and full of spider webs and debris.

Amphibian Watch Report:
The Blanchard's Cricket Frogs called intermittently the entire time we were at the monitoring site. There were at least four groups, some calling at a distance (C3), and two small groups in bushes and tall grass right at the edge of the dam. Recordings were taken.
Hunter netted a small Rio Grande Leopard Frog early in the evening. Pictures were taken. We heard just a few croaks, very faint, during the listening hour but nothing loud or long enough to record, so the record is (C0*), individual “in hand”.
That’s it for this month. We are hoping for a deafening cricket frog chorus all around the dam in June.