Crickets ...and Cricket Frogs

We headed to Devine Lake Park for the regular monthly Amphibian Watch. A summer spot-shower and the setting sun gave us a rainbow. We prayed it was a sign. We saw a few burned spots in the ditches.

It is dry - ridiculously dry. The little bit of lake was visited by the domestic ducks always found there, a Great Blue Heron, a number of egrets (I identified a couple of Great Egrets, but the others were too far out), and a vast flock of Black-bellied Whistling (Tree - I insist) Ducks. [Dang, I love these silly ducks!]

The Blanchard's Cricket Frogs called at a CI-3. The water (the little bit be could access) was 25 degrees Centigrade. The wind made recording audio difficult, but we made the effort. We also walked across the lake, sinking in a few times, breaking through the dry crust. A few water snakes were out hunting. I only photographed the Diamond-back Water Snake - the smaller of the two. It had a bulge in the middle (cricket frog, maybe?). Bats flew overhead. Spiders crawled. Crickets hopped on the dry lake-bed distracting us.

We need rain.

Posted on 05 de agosto de 2018, 07:59 PM by alflinn329