Soil Conservation Service Site 2 - 9/10/2022 (4:30pm - 6:20 pm CDT)

Decided to go on a quick hike-n-herp with a snake hook and some cut/puncture-proof gloves accompanied by a friend. The temperature remained at about 93F, with passing clouds and 34-36% humidity.

There is construction occurring nearly everywhere directly North and South of the pond; mostly urban developments such as housing. There is much debris from the construction; including felled trees, cardboard, mulch, paper, wire, beer and soda cans, plastic bags and bottles, etc. There are many native flowering plants, about 10in tall brush all about the place, and more considerable vegetation closer to the shore of the pond. It is in this thicker and taller vegetation that much of the debris is found. The soil was cracked, but very soft and muddy, as rains have recently come across Central Texas and caused the pond to flood about 5ft further than usual.

First flip of the trip, a large piece of cardboard in the shortest of the grasses, yielded a decently sized adult Thamnophis proximus bearing numerous scars along its dorsal and left ventral scales. It was quite lively, and I let it go very soon after capture. I did not measure or sex the individual. It travelled North along some short wire fencing upon release.

We then hiked West, searching the thicker brush and flipping any debris in hope of finding some herps, to no avail. We adjusted to hike North, towards a rotting structure. We flipped over a fallen wall of the small thing, causing a snake hiding underneath to dart under one of two circular metal lids nearby. We flipped the lid, revealing a small Coluber constrictor ssp. flaviventris. We took some photos, returned the wall and the lid to their original placements, and released the racer without sexing or measuring it.

After this, we went North along a gravel road at the peak of a steep hill until we reached the Northern shore of the pond, where we turned East to begin completing our circle around the water. We encountered a concrete structure that went about 1m down into the ground, with much trash along the bottom. I flipped some of this trash, disturbing a gecko (which I did not get to identify before it disappeared) and a Gulf Coast Toad (Incilius nebulifer). This toad would be the last find of the trip, as we completed the trek back without any further observations.

Publicado el septiembre 12, 2022 02:58 MAÑANA por