Walk In The Park: A Frog Emergency...

The moon was full and provided good light for our work.

...or maybe just an excuse to go out into the wild.

Did they say there would be snakes???

Yes. Yes, they did.

Finally spring rains brought a little relief from the drought conditions that had dried up ponds all over central Texas. The wet weather ponds just a few miles away from the house had shown a little movement towards recovery. Water birds have been returning and a frog call, a first for us, had been heard midday.*

Then we got the call (actually it was an email) from the Amphibian Watch gang. Numerous frogs, toads, and snakes had been observed at and near our regular sites. Water was standing in spots we had wanted to explore previously. People were concerned that we would miss them if we didn't take this opportunity. Plans were made. People signed up. We got in the car.

Friday evening took us to Devine Lake Park.** We arrived in time to see a number of rather stunted wildflowers where the mowers had been at work. The trees had been eating kites. People were fishing and milling around and threatening to drop from the sky.***

I've always called these wild verbena...it's officially something else, but I'm using common names for the flowers.

Blue-eyed Grass

Evening Primroses (Pink Ladies)

Wild Onion or Wild Garlic

We headed a few blocks over to a drainage structure at the back of some subdivisions and were immediately overwhelmed by the frog and toad calls. We heard Narrow-mouthed Toads, Rio Grande Leopard Frogs, Blanchard's Cricket Frogs, Cope's Grey Tree Frogs and Green Tree Frogs. We caught and/or photographed the RGLF, BCF, CGTF, and a couple of snakes.****

Rio Grande Leopard Frog

It was a decent size RGLF - note the broken dorsolateral fold.

Cope's Grey Tree Frog on the left/Blanchard's Cricket Frog on the right (I saw the cricket frog swim away and managed to scoop it up one handed - that's never happened to me before).

We heard the calls so knew it was a Cope's and not just the "Grey Tree Frog"

Red Stripe Ribbon Snake

Another Cope's

More identifying markings.

Blotched Water Snake

You can see this Blotched Water Snake was at a bit of a distance.

Detail of the above photo. We later watched this snake go streaking after a Rio Grande Leopard Frog.

This is a "throw away" photo. This frog came floating by as we headed back to the cars.

We then went back to the park where we heard Cope's Grey and Blanchard's Cricket Frogs, saw two more snakes (big ones), observed the Mediterranean House Geckos in their usual spot, and finally said our farewells. It was a long evening, but so productive. We all went home with audio tapes of the frog chorus.

We All Stand Together

Win Or Lose, Sink Or Swim
One Thing Is Certain We'll Never Give In
Side By Side, Hand In Hand
We All Stand Together

Play The Game, Fight The Fight
But What's The Point On A Beautiful Night?
Arm In Arm, Hand In Hand
We All Stand Together

Keeping Us Warm In The Night
La La La La
Walk In The Night
You'll Get It Right

Win Or Lose, Sink Or Swim
One Thing Is Certain We'll Never Give In
Side By Side, Hand In Hand
We All Stand Together

~ Paul McCartney (1983) ******

NOTES:

*It was a Spotted Chorus Frog. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/10497605
[I had thought it was a Cajun Chorus Frog, but I was wrong. Either would have been a first. And for a nature nerd, it was a big deal.]

**We went to Berry Springs Park on Saturday, but only heard the regular cast of characters.

***Some guy in a "para-motor" was flying too low over the park and disturbing everyone. People are so inconsiderate. Then he came back with a friend.

****Leaches and a few other things. I ran out of power in my cell phone twice. I know better.

*****Our regular watch is scheduled for next week. We will have to go early...and maybe stay late.

****** Dear heavens! How did I ever miss this? http://www.mibepa.info/bv/bv903b.htm for lyrics and video clip of Rupert Bear and the Frog Chorus. It's worth the trip.

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WARNINGS: CREEPY STUFF INCLUDING SPIDERS