Lake Creek Pleasant Evening Amphibian Watch Mar 10, 2018

We got a break in the weather this month. What a huge temperature difference from February!! It was a pleasant night, although rushing water did impact our ability to hear well.
Had several rain events earlier in the week so the the water was overflowing the dam at least 1/2 inch deep. There were still lots of thick algal mats in the lake above the dam and plenty had washed over the top and were collecting on the cement/limestone streambed below the dam.

Five of us monitored this month - thanks to Kathy, Bill, Myra and Carolyn for coming out.

Environmental Conditions (at 18:35):
Air Temp: 27.0C
Water Temp: 24.0C
Sky: 0 (clear)
Water Level: MAA ++ (Much Above Average - Overflowing)
Relative Humidity: 52%

General Observations:
Deer were cruising the lower stream bed as usual. There were a few swifts and bats taking advantage of some early season insects hovering over the water above the dam.

Amphibian Watch Report:
The Blanchard's Cricket Frogs stole the show, dominating the entire monitoring period. We heard and recorded waves of C3 full chorus calling which started intermittently early in the hour and grew to continuous calling by the time we left.
We visited the limestone wall during the last 15 minutes and took pix of Gulf Coast Toads (C0).
After the officialy monitoring hour, Kathy and I walked to the aereated retention pond to record individual Rio Grande Leopard Frogs (C1). They were just so loud that we couldn't resist!

Posted on July 18, 2018 12:55 AM by