Observations by mdfay

I observed a single Eastern Softshell Turtle (Apalone spinifera) in the UT turtle pond, located at the corner of University and Inner Campus Drive. The Softshell was the only one of its kind and the rest of the turtles were Red-eared Sliders (Trachemys scripta). At one point, the turtle briefly interacted with one of the Red-ears in that the Softshell swam underneath the red-ear and stayed there for a moment, but then it swam on.

The small, male starling was simply walking around in the grass, occasionally pecking at the ground in what was likely an attempt to find food.

I could tell it was a male European Starling due to the distinct yellow beak, black head, greenish-blue coloration on the body and wings and white speckles on the body.

This fox squirrel was initially digging small holes in the ground. I believe that this behavior is a sign of either storing food or digging up food for eating. It was clearly a fox squirrel due to the slight reddish coloration, bushy tail and distribution.

As I walked closer, the squirrel actually approached me and I had to shoo it away. This squirrel was seen off of the University of Texas at Austin, so I would not be surprised if it was habituated to human interaction.

The female mockingbird was picking up small sticks and twigs in her mouth. I could tell it was a mockingbird due to the long tail, gray and white coloration, and distribution of the species.

I hypothesize that it was collecting fodder for her nest.

Seen at Hill Country SNA on a rock. It was not resting however, because I scared it from it's initial resting point. The lizard had lost it's tail at some point because the end was replaced with a short black tip.

I knew it was C. texanus due to the distinct patterning on the back and two black bands on the dorso-lateral area of the body.

One of three large longnose gar seen around 30 feet from the falls at Dolan Falls on the Devil's River. Had a very long nose, although the body was yellow with black spots throughout and was initially identified as a spotted gar. However, Chad identified it as a longnose gar due distribution of the species.