Berry Springs Preserve Herps of Texas report, 22Oct2022

In spite of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, there was a small group outing to Berry Springs Park and Preserve again this month.
Four amphibian species were observed in the ponds: Rio Grande Leopard Frog (CI = 2), Blanchard's Cricket Frog (CI = 0), Gulf Coast Toad (CI = 0), and Western Narrow-mouthed Toad (CI = 0). Audio recordings were obtained for Rio Grande Leopard Frog, and photos were obtained for all four species.
We saw an armadillo at sunset and a mother wolf spider carrying her babies on her back.
According to the USGS gauge station at Berry Creek at Airport Road near Georgetown, TX (https://waterdata.usgs.gov/tx/nwis/uv/?site_no=08105095&PARAmeter_cd=00045), there had been 0.88 inches of rain five days before monitoring. The sloughs were still dry, the ponds were still lower than normal, no water was flowing over the dam, and the flow in Berry Creek was lower than normal.
The monitoring period was 18:50 - 20:20.
Participants were Kathy, Christie, Amy, and Carrie (welcome !). In addition, a family of five found three species (Blanchard's Cricket Frog, Gulf Coast Toad, and Western Narrow-mouthed Toad) for us within the first 30 minutes of monitoring.
Environmental conditions at the main ponds 40 minutes after sunset:
Air temperature = 77.7 deg F
Water temperature = 67.9 deg F
Sky = no/few clouds
Water level = much below average
Relative humidity = 36 %

Posted on October 25, 2022 01:20 PM by