cliftonladd's Favourites

Western narrow-mouthed toad (Gastrophryne olivacea) calling with Chihuahuan green toad (Anaxyrus debilis). Green toad is clearest in the last few seconds of the recording. iNat #131843647 is a similar clip from the same recording, but with more emphasis on the green toad.

Recorded a couple of days after Marathon got 2.37 inches of rain on August 16 and 17. Air temperature about 74 d F; no wind. Recorded with iPhone 13 Pro, Rode VideoMic Me-L, and TwistedWave app. Edited with Audacity 3.0.2 for 12 dB amplification.

This recording has both Chihuahuan green toad (Anaxyrus debilis) and western narrow-mouthed toad (Gastrophryne olivacea). In the "call and response," the green toad comes after the narrow-mouthed toad. iNat #131638596 is a similar clip from the same recording, but with more narrow-mouthed toad.

Recorded a couple of days after Marathon got 2.37 inches of rain on August 16 and 17. Air temperature about 74 d F; no wind. Recorded with iPhone 13 Pro, Rode VideoMic Me-L, and TwistedWave app. Edited with Audacity 3.0.2 for 12 dB amplification.

I'm digging back through some old notes and photos, and posting this observation now from 30 years ago. It's still one of the most unusual finds I've ever made in golden-cheeked warbler habitat. I was with Chuck Sexton (@gcwarbler). We had gone to the Igau Ranch east of Cow Creek early on the morning of May 13, 1990 to look for golden-cheeked warblers and assess the habitat conditions. I found this common snapping turtle walking down an old road in dry cedar woodlands, pretty far from any permanent water. Carapace length about 9 inches. Chuck took 7 photos, including this one. (Notes 24: 35-36)

My neighbor called me because he had cleaned out a large mass of grass and juniper bark from the downspout of his rainwater collection tank, then he heard some animals squeaking in it. He realized it was a nest, and he thought it might be a bird nest. I went to look, and it was a squirrel nest with two baby squirrels. Their eyes were not open yet. We put the nest back where it had been, and about a minute later one of the parents went in the nest then came out with one of the babies in it’s mouth and ran off over the roof.

Today was the day when I had time to clean the skull of the aoudad I shot on January 19 (iNat #105224742). After I skinned it, I laid it on the grass next to the table and went in the house to take a break for lunch. About an hour later I looked outside and these two black vultures had decided to pick up on the project where I had left off. This is the first time I have seen black vultures in my yard in the 19 years I have lived in this house.

I went to do the Austin Christmas Bird Count today (Sector 10), and the first species I saw was Gulf Coast toad. We found 8 individuals coming out of expansion cracks in the concrete, which were flooded by heavy rain overnight.

MixPre 280
The first (shorter) recording has both Green Toads and Western Narrow-mouthed Toads calling together. You can hear the buzzy trill of the Green Toad is slightly lower pitched than the nasal whine. The trilling characteristic of the Green Toad helps distinguish it from the Narrowmouth.

The longer recording has more of both again, as well as a few short interjections by a Texas Toad. The long clip starts with the Green Toad(s) and then the Narrowmouthed Toads come in at about 4-5 seconds with their nasal whine.

Found a lot of these beauties today!
Human vision vs UV + bug vision filter
Purple Pleatleaf (Alophia drummondii) produces a few flowers, which only last a single day.
The flowers secretes fatty acid floral oil, instead of sweet nectar.
The main pollinators of Alophia drummondii are oil bees.

Cleaning out eastern screech owl box one month after two owlets fledged from box. Found one dud owl egg and a single desiccated Rena dulcis. Snake likely brought in by adults, possibly as food item but perhaps as a nest housekeeper. Next year I’ll open the box a week after fledging. Last photo from April 2020. Snake to be accessioned at Biodiversity Collections (UT-Austin).

Volunteer plants in my front yard, planted by wild birds
The second picture is a sunflower 's Ultraviolet photo, taken by my full spectrum camera + special made filter. Also known as "Bee vision".