Berry Springs Preserve Herps of Texas report, 18Feb2017
With a high temperature of 84 deg F earlier in the day, it was still warm when we started looking and listening for frogs and toads at Berry Springs Preserve. According to USGS stream gauge 08105095 (Berry Creek at Airport Road near Georgetown, TX), there had been 0.84 inches of rain four days earlier.
The bats were abundant over the ponds both at and after sunset.
The pump next to the main pond was still flowing under artesian pressure.
The monitoring period was 18:20 - 19:35.
Participants were Kathy, Hunter & Tonja, Heike, Christie, Jim and his grandson Jaylen (welcome !), Nikki, Randy and Sandra, and Larry.
Environmental Conditions (as per Kathy's AcuRite and Digi-Sense instruments) at the main pond at sunset:
- Air temperature = 71.2 deg F (note that Larry's instrument read 78.0 deg F; it read 74.9 deg F when we left)
- Water temperature = 66.7 deg F
- Sky = Mostly cloudy
- Water level = Average
- Relative humidity at sunset = 35 % (note that Larry's instrument read 40%; it read 45% when we left)
- Barometric pressure = 29.00 inches of Hg (as per Larry's instrument)