Gyrinophilus porphyriticus
Date: September 4
Time: 2:07 PM
Location: 6.0 miles w. of Ashland, AL
Site: On the edge of a small, spring fed creek in a wooded area
Weather: Skies clear with the wind from the NNW at 10 mph
Temperature: 79o F
Notes: We found this Spring Salamander as it was out and about. Using it's vertically flattened tail, it could swim with surprising speed. On the ground it walked by stepping forward with one front leg and the opposite rear leg. This created a stiff looking serpentine motion. Occasionally it would leap forward a distance about its own body length - especially when it approached a pool of water to jump in.
Taeniopoda eques
Date: October 4
Time: 9:14 AM
Location: 11.4 miles n. of Study Butte, TX
Site: In an open area with sparse bunch grasses, shrubs, and cacti.
Weather: Skies clear, SSE wind at 12 mph
Temperature: 78o F
Notes: A wet spring and summer caused an abundant crop of Horse Lubber Grasshop-pers to hatch in late summer. When we arrived adults were everywhere. These large, beautiful black grasshoppers are accented with bright yellow markings and their wings are washed with red. A few of these hungry guys tried to nibble on us a little as we were enjoying them. Now we can add grasshoppers to the long list of "Things That Have Bitten Us".
Limenitis arthemis
Date: September 4
Time: 3:25 PM
Location: 6.0 miles west of Ashland, Clay County, AL
Site: In a wooded area along a creek.
Weather: Skies clear with the wind from the NNW at 10 mph.
Temperature: 81o F
Notes: While recording some video of salamanders we had just discovered, we noticed a beautiful Red-spotted Purple Admiral hanging out nearby. It landed on the field pack that we had set on the ground. Using it's proboscis (mouth part that is kind of a long, curled straw), it appeared to be searching the pack's fabric for some food. Before we moved on, it was coaxed to spend a few moments with Doug.
Lampropeltis calligaster callogaster
Date: June 21
Time: 8:32 AM
Location: 4.5 miles northeast of FM 2706 at Hwy 287, Anderson County, TX
Site: In a grassy field surrounded by a hardwood forest
Weather: Partly cloudy skies, wind 5 mph SE
Temperature: 82o F
Notes: After walking out of the woods into a clearing filled with fragrant wildflowers, a Prairie King Snake was encountered as it was out on an early morning hunt. This was the first one of its kind to be discovered by us here even though we had spent many hours exploring this area over the course of more than a couple dozen times in the years prior. What a pleasant surprise.
Caprimulgus carolinensis
Date: July 4
Time: 10:48 AM
Location: 1.1 miles East of FM 2706 at Hwy 287, Anderson, TX
Site: On a trail side in a hardwood forest
Weather: Clear skies, wind 7 mph S.
Temperature: 91o F
Notes: A couple of weeks prior, we had discovered two eggs that had been laid on the ground. When we returned, the mother Chuck-Will's-Widow tried to keep us from her fuzzy hatchlings. She flew past us and landed several yards away where she fluttered her wings as if injured. This behavior is successful in protecting their young by luring predators away from the nest. Once the enemy turns it's attention towards the mother, she flies off to safety.
Southwest Earless Lizard
Cophosaurus texanus scitulus
Date: July 23
Time: 5:36 PM
Location: 12.6 miles SE of Redford, Presidio County, TX
Site: On a solid rock wall a few feet above the gravel of a open canyon floor
Weather: Clear skies, wind 12 mph SE, thunderstorms building in the SW over Mexico
Temperature: 103o F Humidity: 28%
Notes: Instead of going straight up where it would have been out of reach, this Southwest Earless Lizard ran down onto the canyon floor and hid beside a rock. They are most comfortable on open ground where they can usually outrun their enemies. They are colorful lizards with green, blue and orange in their pattern.
Cnemidophorus gularis gularis
Date: May 12
Time:11:08 AM
Location: 11.7 miles SE of Hwy 67 at Hwy 163, Crockett County, TX
Site: Under a rock on a grassy slope with scattered Mesquite trees
Weather: Overcast, wind 14 mph SSW, rain approaching from the south
Temperature: 72o F Humidity: 83%
Notes: Whiptails are fast runners that are hard to catch on open ground. One of the best ways to nab one of these alert lizards is to surprise it as it rests under a rock or log. The row of light dots in the dark side stripes give them their name. This male has a typical dark blue patch on his chest. Muscular hind legs that have long toes provides them with speed and traction as they dart across sandy, gravelly soil.
Opheodrys aestivus
Date: May 12
Time: 9:38 AM
Location: 5 miles NNE of FM2706 at Hwy 287, Anderson County, TX
Site: In a Dogwood tree of a hardwood forest
Weather: Sunny and warm, winds calm
Temperature: 83o F Humidity: 49%
Notes: While exploring a forest in East Texas this sunny morning, Chad came across a Rough Green Snake as it was threading its way through the low branches of a Dogwood tree. These harmless, gentle snakes have a slender body that blends in perfectly with the greenery of the habitat they live in. Climbing among vines and shrubs a few feet off the ground, they search for soft bodied insects like katydids or the larvae of moths and butterflies to eat.
Terrapene carolina triunguis
Date: April 30
Time: 9:11 AM
Location: 1.4 mile east of FM 2706 at Hwy 287, Anderson County, TX
Site: In a sandy clearing at the edge of a wooded area
Weather: Overcast, winds 13 mph SSE
Temperature: 75o F Humidity: 78%
Notes: During an adventure in the woodlands of East Texas, a Three-toed Box Turtle was discovered as it was out in the morning searching for food. The old specimen's shell was worn and battered. Teeth marks, scrapes and chips told of the turtle's long life that had some tough moments of survival in the wild. Both of the rear feet had three long claws on the toes that give this type of Box Turtle thier name.
Crotalus atrox
Date: August 19
Time: 11:19 PM
Location: 20 mi. n. of FM 2809 on FM 2185
Site: On road
Weather: Clearing skies, wind 16 mph WSW
Temperature: 84 F
Other: Thunderstorms soaked the southern part of Culbeson County, TX in the late aft.
Notes: A newborn Western Diamondback Rattlesnake had bitten a mouse about the size of a pecan. The mouse made it onto the pavement where it died. The rattler followed the scent trail in the darkness and began to eat the mouse. This is when we came upon them. Being as careful as would could not to disturb it, we captured the event that took more than ten minutes for the little snake to swallow it. He then slowly crawled off into the night with a serious lump in his belly.
Black Widow Spider
Latrodectus hesperus
Date: July 27
Time: 10:17 AM
Location: 21.1 miles south of Alpine, TX
Site: A rock outcropping in the foot hills of the Davis Mountains
Weather: Clear with SSW winds at 10 mph
Temperature: 80 F
Other: It had rained several days earlier
Notes: Hanging from the underside of a rock ledge, a funnel shaped web protected the egg case of a female Black Widow. Her smaller mate with a golden stripped abdomen was nervously checking out things as the larger black female kept close watch on her eggs. Often times males end up being a meal for their mates after breeding. His sacrifice gives her much needed nutrition as she develops more eggs for the next generation.
Texas Horned Lizard
Phrynosoma cornutum
Date: August 17
Time: 9:32 AM
Location: 5 mi. E of Columbus, Luna Co, NM
Site: In a sandy field with desert shrubs, grasses and yuccas.
Weather: Skies clear, 5 mph SSE winds
Temperature: 79 F
Other: Area had received some light rain several days prior to our arrival.
Notes: When we approached this spiny guy, he took off in a short burst and then stopped suddenly. Every time we neared he would dart away again making a bit of a zigzag pattern while stopping briefly before changing course. Finally he allowed us to move in slowly for some close up shots.
Monarch Butterfly Migration
Danaus plexippus
Date: October 6
Time: 2:37 PM
Location: Irion Co, TX
Site: Road side (Hwy 67) elm tree between Barhart and Mertzon
Weather: Skies clear, wind N 18 mph
Temperature: 78 F
Other: A weak, dry northern front was passing across the area at the time of the encounter
Notes: Several thousand of the millions of Monarch butterflies on their annual autumn migration south into Mexico were using a large, lone elm tree to take a break. They had been flying for many miles using the strong tail winds of a cold front that was pushing through Texas.
Lubber Grasshoppers
Brachystola magna
Date: September 4
Time: 3:33 PM
Location: 7 miles south of Animas, Hildago county, NM
Site: On the road
Weather: Partly cloudy with winds out of the SE at 5 mph
Temperature: 81 F
Other: Scattered rain showers just to the south in the Animas and Peloncillos mountains
Notes: The road was littered for miles with the smashed bodies of countless Lubber Grasshoppers that had been run over. Stopping to get a closer look brought the discovery of live grasshoppers eating the remains of their own kind.
Western Slimy Salamader
Plethodon albagula
Date: June 13
Time: 10:17 PM
Location: County Highway H, Christian County, MO
Site: On the road
Weather: Warm and damp. It had sprinkled earlier in the evening.
Temperature: 74 F
Humidity: 92%
Notes: Doug's swift effort to rescue this guy from an oncoming car in the darkness only allowed enough time for a quick snatch from the pavement. By the time he got it to the safety of the grassy roadside, Doug's palm was pasted with the thick, gooey skin secretion these salamaders release when threatened by an enemy.
Bullfrog
Rana catesbeiana
Date: May 30
Time: 2:27 AM
Location: Hwy 97 near Dull, La Salle County, TX
Site: On the road, next to a pond
Weather: Warm and dry, with a light breeze coming from the south out of Mexico.
Temperature: 83 F
Humidity: 47%
Notes: Following a family tradition, it was 10 year old Blake's turn to capture a Bullfrog since he was the only guy in the truck who had not caught one before. This large male frog was two handfuls of Ultimate Frog Joy!
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