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While the trip was really more of a designated birding trip, I couldn't help getting in some
herping while being in Texas. The first couple of days were spent in pretty dismal weather conditions (two nights of
setting camp in thunderstorms) and lots of hours of driving, but it was all worth it. We didn't see much until our stop
at Pedernales State Park. As we all waited around the visitor centor to check in, I headed off the road and started
herping. At first my attention was drawn by the calls of birds I had never seen before, but it didn't take long before
I was flipping rocks. The first small stone I turned held a tiny pale snake that I had no clue what species it was.
Upon closer inspection I decided that the small patternless creature must be some species of Tantilla. Sure
enough, field guides later revealed that I was right.
Tantilla
gracilis Flat-headed Snake
Much more flipping revealed nothing in the way of herps, but the habitat looked excellent.
Later, after setting up camp we all decided to take a hike down to the river. As we neared the water I could hear a
familiar noise coming from the banks. Cricket Frogs were out calling in pretty big numbers.
Acris
crepitans blanchardii Blanchard's Cricket Frog
I saw very little else, except for an armadillo and some more Flat-heads. Later that night
we took another hike down by the river...this time to search for some people that we feared had gotten lost on their earlier
hike. After hiking in quite a ways and catching an armadillo, we headed back. As we neared the hill that would
take us back up to camp a small frog crossed our path. I picked it up to get a better look at my first Rio Grande Leopard
Frog. Unfortunately, I had left my camera back at camp. The next morning we got up bright and early and I followed
a group of people down to the river again. One of them used to live in Austin and frequented the park so he decided
to show us some lizards that hung around a boulder strewn area near the river. We walked around, flipping rocks and
scanning sunny spots for awhile, but saw little more than a few scorpions. Finally someone spotted a lizard sunning
on a rock and after some difficulty we managed to catch it.
Sceloporus
undulatus consobrinus Southern Prairie Lizard
After letting that little guy run off, we continued our search for lizards (mainly targeting
Earless Lizards). After much more searching we began to get discouraged and were almost ready to head back when someone
spotted a lizard behind a thorny bush. I ran over and began chasing the lizard back and forth between two large thorn
bushes. After many pricks and pokes I was able to get a hand on what turned out to be our target species. While
the Earless Lizard wasn't much to look at from the top, his ventral markings were gorgeous.
Cophosaurus
texanus texanus Texas Earless Lizard
After this, we headed back and prepared to head south once again. Before leaving the park,
we all decided to stop at the falls and have a look around as well. We walked out on to the rocky flats and kept an
eye on each pool. At one little pool we saw what we had been expecting in the form of a young Watersnake swimming around.
A juvy Blotched Watersnake!
Nerodia
erythrogaster transversa Blotched Watersnake
I sat down on a jutting rock and scanned the crystal clear water. As my eyes followed
the rocky shoreline I caught sight of a large turtle basking. While I knew there was no chance of getting anywhere near
the Softy, I still enjoyed seeing it.
Apalone
spinifera guadalupensis Guadalupe Spiny Softshell
At the next stop there was little herp life as it was dry and hot. Plenty of good
birding, but not a herp to be seen. One night some friends and I walked around a building near our campsite to see some
Geckos taking advantage of the cool night along with a monster centipede (a full foot long!).
Hemidactylus
turcicus turcicus Mediterranean House Gecko
NEXT
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