weathergaltx's Journal

This is crazy!! We have had several serious cold fronts, but none seem to stick around. It felt like September out there.
Four of us enjoyed the pleasant early evening session. Thank you Myra, Carolyn, and Mikael for joining me. The final agthering at B B ROvers was equally enjoyable. Bill came to eat with us.

Environmental Conditions (at 17:35):
Air Temp: 21.6C
Water Temp: 19.4C
Sky: 2 (cloudy)
Water Level: Average
Relative Humidity: 74%
Wind was totally calm and street noise was unusually low. There was very little activity on the trail, so listening conditions were close to ideal. However, this late in the season, we did not expect much, if any, amphibian calling activity.

General Observations:
The algal mats covered about 20% of the area above the dam (nice calling perches for those so inclined). There were still some shallow pools of water below the dam a well as moist areas around hummocks and along the lower creek banks. We saw a few bats. Bird activity was unusually low.

Amphibian/Herp Watch Report:
We did not hear any amphibians calling during the entire listening hour.
We spent the last intensive monitoring period examining the limestone wall behind the housing complex and observed several species there. That wall has become a reliable source of sightings. We have photos of Gulf Coast Toads (4 to 6 individuals seen wedged in different cracks) and photos of two chirping frogs also hanging out in cracks.
We have poor images of a very small snake coiled up deep in a crack. Based on its color and what striping we could see, it looked like a Checkered Garter Snake and that is the ID that I offered in iNaturalist.