Snake in the pond

It was drizzling this morning when I forced the dog to go outdoors. The dog was the first to spot the snake in the bog area. It slithered into the pond and stuck up its head to look at us. The dog didn't care, but I did.

I'm accustomed to seeing the occasional ribbon snake. They are small, slim and quick. This snake was dark and fat.

I sent pics of the morning visitor to my BNC buddy Crissy to reassure me that this is a harmless Yellow-bellied water snake.

"That's what it looks like to me," she emailed in return. Uh, thanks, Crissy.

When I looked out the window later, I'm pretty sure I saw two snakes circling the pond. I'd rather see frogs. Sigh.

Deer along the trails at Abilene State Park

This deer was just down the trail from a bird blind with feeders.

White-tailed deer were easy to spot in Abilene State Park.

It hightailed it when we got closer.

Along the Elm Creek Nature Trail, deer watched us pass. The one in front had a limp. 

Leopard moth pays a visit

Good morning, moth!

Opened the side door this morning and found a Leopard moth on the step.

It wasn't moving.

It was starting to rain so I coaxed it onto a stick and put it in a dry place in the backyard. When I got back a few hours later, it was gone.

Maybe it will return tomorrow morning.

The abdomen has blue and orange markings.

The wingspan is about 3 inches.

Roadrunners on the road

The stripe behind the eye is more noticeable during breeding season. Breeding pairs mate for life.

On a weeklong adventure to a niece's wedding in Amarillo, we saw roadrunners in Lake Brownwood State Park and Copper Breaks State Park. And, yes, they they were on the road.

We also saw a coyote (sorry, no pic) during the trip. But there was no sign of any Acme equipment.

Roadrunners are omnivore ground foragers. They eat insects, reptiles (including rattlesnakes), small mammals, fruits, seeds and eggs.

Roadrunners can reach 20 mph; coyotes are faster.

We called them horny toads

When I was growing up on a farm between Big Spring and Midland, we called these creatures horny toads. We knew if we picked up the big ones they would shoot blood.

It was only later that I learned that most called them horned toads or horned lizards, and the desert lizards squirt blood from their eyes.

This one, about 4 inches long, was in the middle of a trail at Copper Breaks State Park. It hardly moved while we took pictures as we passed.

I hadn't seen one for many years.

Texas' terrapin is an elusive creature

This is something I wrote for the newsletter sent out by the Galveston Bay Area chapter of the Texas Master Naturalists.
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Photo taken by Environmental Institute of Houston researcher.

If your wetland adventures take you to brackish areas with saltwater marshes and shell beaches, keep watch for the Texas Diamond-backed terrapin.

Little is known about our state’s only species of terrapin’s limited distribution in the larger Galveston Bay system, so many will be interested if you spot one, according to Jenny Oakley, Environmental Institute of Houston environmental scientist.

As more research is compiled, the health and numbers of the terrapin will be another indicator of the overall health of Texas bays.

EIH has been studying the elusive Texas Diamond-backed terrapin for 10 years and continues to uncover new information about the estuarine species.

The only species of brackish water turtle in North America, the Diamondback terrapin ranges from New England to Texas. The Texas subspecies (Malaclemys terrapin littoralis) found in Galveston Bay, particularly around the North and South Deer islands, is the focus of the EIH study. EIH calls them Diamond-backed terrapins, while Texas Parks & Wildlife and others use the name Diamondback terrapins.

However you spell their name, the terrapins have shells that range from 4 to 9 inches, with the females noticeably larger.  It is named for the diamond-shaped scutes or plates that form the carapace.  The carapace is dark and the lower shell, plastron, is pale.

It is known for its polka-dot skin and often has a dark mark over its lip that resembles a mustache. The feet are webbed, with bigger and darker back feet.

The terrapins can live up to 40 years. Males reach maturity around age 3, and females mature at age 6, according to the TPWD website.

They prefer to go to the same nesting area each year to lay four to 18 eggs in the spring. Nest temperatures determine the sex of newborns. Warm temperatures produce females.

Habitat destruction is a major threat to the Coastal Bend terrapins’ survival, but they also are drowned in crab traps and killed on roadways.

A recent graduate of University of Houston-Clear Lake/EIH studied the diet of Texas Diamond-backed terrapin and found that male and female terrapins within the same population have significantly different diets. 

The larger females with thick jaw plates eat mostly gastropods, especially marsh periwinkles. The males consume more decapods, such as blue crabs.

Although funding has been reduced, EIH research continues. If you see a Texas Diamond-backed terrapin, take a photo, record your location (latitude and longitude are best) and send the information to EIH@uhcl.edu.

For donations, EIH has an Adopt-a-Terrapin program. For $25, you get an adoption certificate for a Texas Diamond-backed terrapin that you name.  

I named my terrapin adoptee Iron Fist. The name was chosen after I looked up from my laptop and said to my spouse: “I’m going to adopt a terrapin.”  With no questions asked, he answered, “OK.”

“What do you want to name it?” I asked. You can guess what we (mostly he) were watching on Netflix at the time.

So here’s wishing good luck to Iron Fist. I hope you become a terrapin superhero and conquer all your challenges on Galveston Bay.

Is that a clapper rail?

 

Why, yes, it is a clapper rail.

When I snapped photos of the bird at Baytown Nature Center from my car, I wasn't sure what it was. I tried to identify it later by looking online and came up with clapper rail.

But that didn't seem right. I'm not a birder, but I hang around some birders so I know clapper rails are elusive. On bird counts they usually are heard rather than seen. Also this was a big bird, and I always imagined clapper rails as smaller birds hiding in the grass.

Unsure about my identification, I asked three birder buddies, and they all agreed it looks like a clapper rail. The white eyebrow, gray face and tail feathers are major clues.

As a non-birder, I was quite pleased with my sighting.