Observations by amyshin2010

We went night hiking from the Stengl Biology Station to the man made pond on site. Pond was wet but not muddy because of the sandy soil in the area and the forest floor was cover in leaves and pines. There was a lot of heavy brush that cover the point as well as reeds and tall grass. We spotted a cricket frog by eye shine in the shallow water. We grabbed the cricket frog. We were able to identify it as a cricket frog by its irregular patterning on its back and its bumpy skin. It was also bright green with darker green coloring. I think that this cricket frog was cooling off or feeding in on insects or larvae in the water. They like to sit at the edge of still waters like the man made pond and feed on insects. There were a lot of cricket frogs communicating loudly back and forth. We found lot of cricket frog either near the water or in it. 58 Fahrenheit

We went night hiking from the Stengl Biology Station to the man made pond on site. Pond was wet but not muddy because of the sandy soil in the area and the forest floor was cover in leaves and pines. There was a lot of heavy brush that cover the point as well as reeds and tall grass. We spotted multiple cricket frogs by sound and eye shine. They have distinct call. We caught one and was able to identify it as a cricket frog by its distinctive irregular patterning its back. It's skin also had a bumpy texture. I think that the frog was communicating with other cricket frogs because of how loud it was at the pond. I think that they like to congregate around the same area that has little to no moving water because we ended up finding a few cricket frogs in a row. They were probably communicating to each their location or possibly about potential threat as was move through the habitat. 58 Fahrenheit

We were hiking around the Stengl Biology Station and found this lizard underneath a large rock. We were able to identify the lizard as the Texas spiny lizard by its grayish brown coloration, spiny texture and pattern. It also had long claws. We found it underneath a rock. I think the lizard might have been hiding for cover from us or feeding on insects that were also underneath the rocks. I think its more plausible that the lizard was feeding because many of the rocks and stumps we turned over had beetles and other insects which is their main diet. The area we hiked was heavily forested. Even though it rained over night, the ground wasn't muddy because of the sandy soil. The forest floor was littered with dead leaves and pines making it also dry.

We hike to an area at Hornsby Bend that had a pile of rusted tin. We flipped over tin to see if we could find snakes underneath. They are ectotherms and the sun around noon is too hot for them to sunbath so they hide under cover like sheets of rusted tin. We found two snakes a coachwhip and ratsnake. The ratsnake was easy to identify because of its intricate square patterning on its body. We noticed that the snake was molting by how opaque its eyes were. We also notice that it was more aggressive than the coachwhip probably because the ratsnake could not see. Even though the snakes might hide under the tin for shade from the sun, the ratsnake is probably hiding for cover from possible predator because its extremely vulnerable when its molting. The area where we found the snakes was covered in high grass and thorns. There was a lot of shady trees as well as artificial covering like tin sheets. 68 Fahrenheit

I spotted a Ornate Tree Lizard on Ridge next to Devil's Rivers. The Canyon ridge was rocky with a few brushes and a lot of different cacti and desert plants. We spotted a lot of lizard on the ridges or in between crevices of rocks. It was hard to see because it was well camouflaged. I think that enough of the sun went down in the area and the temperature cooled for the lizard to come out and be active.There were a lot insects and mayflies around the river area which might mean feeding time. We caught it with the wrangler and was able to look at the underside of it belly and throat which was a bright light blue. We were also able to identify by its speckled patterning on the back. 80 Fahrenheit

I spotted this crevice spiny lizard while hiking through a valley near Dolan Falls. The lizard I think was sunbathing on the ledge in the open. There was a lot of tree cover and brush in the rocky valley. Even though they normally don't come out so far out of their crevice, the shady tree probably didn't provide him much warmth to sunbath. I think if we weren't there disrupting the habitat, the lizard might have ventured further out to get more sunlight. The area we hiked was a rocky valley with few trees shading the area and a lot of cacti and brush. I was able to identify the lizard with the help of my TA who pointed out that it was a crevice spiny lizard and could tell by the large scale, the dark band by the collar and the long striped tail. Interestingly, the dark collar on his neck also had vibrant blue scales speckled throughout.

We found this gulf coast toad by flipping over large rocks in the area. The area we hiked was sparse with few brushes and cacti but overall just large boulders and rocks like a desert setting. There was Dolan creek near by with grass and brush and then tree on the opposite side. We found this gulf coast toad underneath a large rock, probably hiding from the beaming sun. It was particular humid and hot. I think the toad was trying to conserve moisture and not get dried out by the sun. It was very close to the creek which is probably where the toad goes at night to cool off. We were able to identify the toad as a gulf coast toad by its dark coloring over all with light tan line down the middle of its back and speckled brown coloring of its legs.

We netted the green sunfish in the still waters in Barton Creek. The creek bed is laid with large rocks which are covered in algae. There are some aquatic plants that line the creek but under water was murky making it very difficult to walk in. We found the sunfish in an area of the creek were the water was relatively still. Sunfish in general don't like turbulent waters. The area was perfect for them because the large rocks and plants allowed them cover from predators. By walking through the creek bed, we were disrupting the creek floor and mudding up the waters. The green sunfish might have been searching for insects and larvae near shallow waters might have retreated back to the rock crevices below. We were finally able to net the fish. We had trouble identify it as a green sunfish because of its red eye. However it was similar in size and shape as well as other morphology as the longear sunfish. We came to the conclusion that it was a green sunfish. 81 Fahrenheit

We netted the longear sunfish in the quiet still waters in Barton Creek at the Barton Creek Preserve. The creek is laid with large rocks and some trees which are good for cover. There are some aquatic plants that line the creek but under water was murky. The rocks were uneven and covered in algae making it very difficult to walk in. We found the sunfish in an area of the creek were the water was relatively still. Sunfish don't like turbulent waters. The area was perfect for them because the large rocks and plants allowed them cover from predators. They like to be in shallower water but because we were disrupting the water floor and mudding up the waters, the sunfish was hiding between rock crevices and vegetation. We were finally able to net the fish by fishing it out of the hiding spot with a stick. We were able to identify it as a sunfish by it spines and fin as well as the long "ear" on its sides. 82 Farenheit

It rained the night before and in the morning into late afternoon. It continued to rain lightly throughout the day. It was cloudy and wet. I spotted the three deer grazing on the Frost Bank parking lot lawn coming out of HEB. There's not much greenery around this area because there's a much of apartment complexes, restaurants,and stores, but there some patchy forest and landscaped lawns. I think that the heavy rain the night before and the fact that there are only a few grassy patches in the area where the deer could feed drew them out into the open.Normally the deer would be scared being so closed to human traffic, but the weather might of provided cover or they were driven there by hunger. I saw three of deers grazing. I think at least two of them are female if not all of them. One of the deer always kept watch while the other two were feeding. It only dropped its head when no cars or people were nearby. When the deer sense us getting closer, it ushered the other deers to move further away which is why I think it might be a male deer but I'm not sure. I identify them as white tailed deer because when it was walking away I could see the white coloring on the underside of its tail.

I saw two Eastern Fox Squirrels chasing each other in the short ivy brushes next to the pool and gym at the Ridge Apartment Complex. One of the squirrels was much lighter and grayish brown and its bell was bright golden yellow. It was small in size. The other squirrel was a darker brown with a duller golden yellow. I was able to identify them as squirrel by their body shape and distinctive bushy tail. I think that the two squirrels were probably related. The bigger one was probably a mother and the smaller one its offspring. There are open trash cans scattered around the apartment complex and not much greenery. They have probably adapted to finding food by looking around the trash can rather than foraging in the forest and trees. I think the mom was trying to teach her young how to search for food. They were playing and chasing each other as well. The Ridge Apartment complex doesn't have a lot of greenery except for landscaped bushes, ivy and few sparse trees. The squirrels and birds like to hang around the pool and gym area because it offers some cover from predators and threats. The squirrels would either hunch down on all fours in the ivy/bushes when people came by and if they really felt threaten run up the tree. 60 Fahrenheit