Lake Creek Pleasant Seventies Amphibian Watch Sunday, November 13, 2016

It is finally starting to feel like fall. Nice rains in the past week caused everything to green up and some blooms to return after several months of unusual heat and dryness.
Five of us enjoyed the clear air and pleasantly cool temps. Thank you Bill, Kathy, Carolyn, and Myra for coming out on a Sunday night with me this month.

Environmental Conditions (at 17:35):
Air Temp: 17.8C
Water Temp: 19.9C
Sky: 0 (clear)
Water Level: Above Average
Relative Humidity: 75%
Our general area in NW Austin had received between 2.5 and 3 inches of rain in the past 7 days, ending on Tuesday, November 8. There was some debris along the banks and below the dam from past high water flow. However, the pond water level was about 3 inches below the top of the dam, and the creek area below the dam was dry except for a very few stagnant pools. The pond area was clear of floating algal mats and the water was clear.

General Observations:
It was a quiet night all around. We saw an egret flock of five circling and heard several herons complaining - squawk!! There was very little insect activity, and we saw no water snakes for the first time in many months. We visited the big limestone block walls after the normal monitoring period and did see several scorpions, which totally glowed green in the blacklight.
Here is link to scorpion observation: http://www.inaturalist.org/observations/4571476

Amphibian Watch Report:
We did not hear any amphibians calling during the monitoring period of 17:35 to 18:35. We did not see any either during the official monitoring period.
Afterward, we did see two chirping frogs (C0) in the limestone wall, as well as one Gulf Coast Toad (C0). Here is the picture of the toad wedged into a crack between blocks:
http://www.inaturalist.org/observations/4571470

Publicado el noviembre 14, 2016 07:07 TARDE por weathergaltx