Lake Creek - Another Sticky Amphibian Watch Sep 15, 2018
Rain, rain and more rain! What an odd summer. We fried with 40 days over 100 F, were declared in drought conditions, yet we have had long periods of rain (or least spotty regional showers) every month. Texas. What can you say?
This month we delayed the amphibian monitoring a week because of heavy rains before the weekend of the 8th, and the water rushing over the dam made it impossible to hear any calling.
Three of us worked together at the dam for monitoring - thanks Reggie and Linda for joining me.
Environmental Conditions (at 19:40):
Air Temp: 25.8C
Water Temp: 26.5C
Sky: 2 (cloudy)
Water Level: MAA+ (Much Above Average - Overflowing) - central half of the dam was still in overflow at a depth of 0.5 to 1.0 inch.
Relative Humidity: 95% up to "Hi" on the meter.
General Observations:
There was no stranded algal matting on the dam, or any debris. It must have all been cleared and washed well down the creek due to earlier flooding. The pond above the dam was completely clear of any algal mats.
The water flow over the dam provided perfect 'fishing' opportunities for the water snakes. On the previous weekend Sue observed and recorded up to eight individuals in the fast-flowing churn at the bottom of the backside of the dam. This Saturday there were several snakes again actively fishing, working the flow areas for stranded minnows and fish fry.
Amphibian/Herp Watch Report:
This was a very quiet night at Lake Creek in terms of amphibian calling. However, the Blanchard's Cricket Frogs must have been busy in previous months because we saw many tiny (about 0.5 cm) individuals hopping around. This was a first, perhaps because the grass and even the sidewalk were both still wet from the continuous rains. Our visit to the limestone wall yielded the expected fat and happy Gulf Coast Toads, and we also got recordings of several Chirping Frogs.
We did take pix of the Nerodia spp. on the dam and Reggie caught a young Texas Brown Snake on the sidewalk for more pix.
The most prominent sightings this month were the very small Blanchard's Cricket Frogs hopping in the grass and all over the sidewalk close to the dam.
In all, two herp species and four amphibian species were documented for this month.
Observations
Photos / Sounds
What
Blanchard's Cricket Frog (Acris blanchardi)Observer
weathergaltxDescription
Hopping in grass along fence line near parking area.
Photos / Sounds
What
Blanchard's Cricket Frog (Acris blanchardi)Observer
weathergaltxDescription
On sidewalk next to ‘limestone wall’.
Another very small one, size of a dime.
Photos / Sounds
What
Gulf Coast Toad (Incilius nebulifer)Observer
weathergaltxDescription
Large adult on the limestone wall.
Photos / Sounds
What
Gulf Coast Toad (Incilius nebulifer)Observer
weathergaltxDescription
Youngster on sidewalk near the limestone wall.
What
Rio Grande Chirping Frog (Eleutherodactylus campi)Observer
weathergaltxDescription
In crack of limestone wall.
Sounds like a large individual, lower frequency call, so calling it a cliff chirper.
What
Rio Grande Chirping Frog (Eleutherodactylus campi)Observer
weathergaltxDescription
in ground-level crack of limestone wall
sound very high-pitched, so calling this a 'rio grande chirper'
Photos / Sounds
What
Blanchard's Cricket Frog (Acris blanchardi)Observer
weathergaltxDescription
One of many (8-10) tiny individuals hopping around the wet grass and wet sidewalks seen during an hour of monitoring.
Comments
Great post, Sue. Very cool about the tiny Cricket Frogs!
Add a Comment