Was a very productive day. I actually found some stuff for a change, redeemed after getting wholey skunked last week. Well, this week we were literally skunked, flipped a big board and underneath was a somewhat woozy skunk bedding down for the day. He was more gracious about it though, and let us get away un-scented.
Anyway, the finds this week were:
4 Texas Patchnose snakes (Salvadora grahamiae lineata) - one particular big one that actually bit me, they're normally quite docile snakes. [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]
1 Texas Blind snake (Leptotyphlops dulcis) - we all thought it was a big earthworm at first, until one of our group pointed out that it was a blind snake. Not something we look for intentionally much. [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img] Weird species.
1 Prairie Kingsnake (Lampropeltis calligaster) - very nice animal.
1 Texas Garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis annectans) - a good find, these are actually more rare than you would think.
1 Western Coachwhip (Masticophis flagellum testaceus) - speedy gonzales. Took three of us crashing through the bush to grab him. [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]
1 Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox) - the calmest snake all day. He just laid under the tin flicking his tongue, so we let him be.
4 Blotched Watersnakes (Nerodia erythrogaster transversa) - one we found was a big female, looked like she had gotten in a fight with a weed wacker. We were finding dozens of shed skins from watersnakes all day.
Narrowmouth Toad - cute little guy, another unexpected find buried in the mulch layer.
Several Gulf Coast Toads - these guys are almost everywhere in TX.
A Leopard Frog - pretty common too, but this one was in an area we don't normally see them. No complaint. Catching these guys is difficult at best. I don't normally carry a net.
A Cliff Frog - literally on a cliffside, I climbed up to a ledge about 15 feet to see what was there. Neat little frogs. I'm told they are incredibly easy to breed... just throw a bunch of them into a moist mulchy substrate and wait. [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]
A Green Anole
A Texas Spiny Lizard
Several Ground Skinks
A couple of large centipedes, a riot to catch with their nasty bite.
Ah well, it was a good day. [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]
