Observations by kharenichino

March 11, 2016. Cloudy with occasional sprinkles, misty. 2:57 PM central time. Hornsby bend trail away from bodies of water. Walking along trail, where there are no marshes, just surrounded by trees, a cardinal was perched on a tree. It had a light red body and dark head with black eye patches. Determining from the vibrant color, it is a male. It was alone and was not interacting with other species.

March 12, 2016. Cloudy, 70 degrees Fahrenheit. 3:30 PM. The squirrel was seen running around the golf course,escaping in holes on the ground and occasionally climbing up the tree. The species was identifiable due to the extreme phenotypical gap between squirrels seen on UT campus. This squirrel has a long, narrow body with short ears, big nose, and big eyes. The most distinguishable characteristics are the brown streaks accompanied with white spots down its back. The tail is not bushy but rather tamed and long. They were seen on the ground more than on trees, interacting with species of their own by chasing one another.

February 20, 2016. 3AM, the weather was 56 degrees Fahrenheit, clear sky. Upon coming home from a night out, there were rummaging near the dumpster in front of the apartment complex. When approached, the mammal was started yet did not run away and continued to rummage through the trash. It was about 2 feet in length, had beady eyes, rough looking hair with patches of gray and dark gray, with a white face. The ears were protruding out from its white face and had long, firm, hairless tail. It was alone and was tearing at the corner of trash bags.

April 8, 2016. Sunny, 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Willbarger Creek in Austin, Tx. The carpsucker had golden scales with light orange coloration on all the fins. The most distinguishable characteristic was their plump lips that protruded out. The body itself was about a foot long. They were found in the creek where the water is murky. They were caught in some nets laid out. Aside from interactions with other carpsuckers in the same bucket, no interactions were observed.

February 13, 2016. 66 degrees Fahrenheit. Sunny, clear sky. While seining the Blanco river at Barton Creek Habitat Preserve in Austin , Tx the Blacktail shiners were predominantly seen in many sizes. They are slender and has a black dot, very distinguishable at the base of caudal fin. There were other Cyprinidae and species captured along with it but the interactions are unknown.

March 15, 2016. 10:30 AM central time in South Texas. The weather was sunny, 75 degrees Fahrenheit. The neighborhood is located on a gold course where there are no fencing and a pond is present. South Texas does not have severe winter so many flowers from the garden blossomed in March. The hummingbird was foraging around a bush where flowers of unknown species was blossoming. The red throat was notable and the body was green with a hint of brown. The beak was slim and long. It was beating its wings very fast as it stationed itself in front of a flower and then proceeded to the next. Due to the red coloration of the throat, it can be identified as a female. It was alone and foraged for about 5 minutes as it flew off elsewhere.

April 30, 2016. Aroudn 4:30 PM central time. The weather was sunny, no clouds, blue sky and 82 degrees Fahrenheit. Walking on the main trail consisting of of rocks and with little vegetation (cactus, low ground shrubs, etc.) While observing turkey vultures soaring above, Gray Hawk was spotted. The only view was the overhead view but the tail was banded widthwise with most the darkest color towards the end of its tail. The outer ridge of the wings were also dark in coloration. It had barred gray breasts and was fairly small. The hawk was flying alone, in circular motions, possibly foraging.

March 11, 2016. 66 degrees Fahrenheit, sunny, clear sky. Barton Creek Habitat Preserve in Austin, TX. The Northern Cardinal was spotted on a grassland surrounded by trees. The cardinal was red, the body slightly less than the head. They had black eye patches with a pointed crest. The vibrant coloration indicated that it was a male. It was perched on a naked tree, alone. It was perched for about 5 minutes without any interactions.

May 1, 2016. 9:06 AM central time. The weather was overcast, about 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Mammal traps were set around Dolan Falls in Comstock, TX. The mouse was caught in a mammal trap set by a tree where the foot of it was covered in dead leaves. The tree was located across the river from our camp site, next to a small pool of water assumed to have been created by the overflow of river water. The mouse was about 3in. long and tan with white belly. The penis was observed to be about 2mm, identifying it as a male The tail was shorter than the white footed mouse and the tail's color gradient was more distinguishable. The mouse was attracted to the oats set by the trap, indicating their food source. He was scruffed while observations were made. When scruffed, he became relaxed and did not try fighting.

April 1, 2016. 3:09 PM central time. Cloudy with occasional sprinkle, misty. The wood duck was identified as a female due to lack of vibrant coloration like the males and white eye patch.The female wood duck was seen at Hornsby Bend, sitting on a log at the bank of a lake. Exact coordinates unknown, but the lake was located off-trail, surrounded by many vegetation. The female had a male wood duck swimming around the log she was on, but not engaging in any activity and interactions with other species was not seen.