I Always Feel Like Somebody's Watchin' Me

Every morning I head out to the backyard and water the potted plants and my bonsai. Well, I fill up the 5L watering can and start on the hosta. POP! Out jump two green anoles (Anolis carolinensis). One ran for cover, the other stopped and grabbed a quick drink and decided that the hosta wasn't too dangerous after all. I reached for my camera and snapped a quick shot or two. I believe this one to be a female as she is a bit smaller and has the characteristics of a female—a slightly shorter nose and a pale grey dorsal stripe. I have to wonder what she was annoyed by because they supposedly turn brown when stressed. The other was a bright green, but was gone before I could get a snapshot. Maybe there's a family in there, because I've seen baby anoles around the hosta. I'll get a picture of them at some point if I can.

Learn more about green anoles at the Wild Texas website.

Who was that masked man?

The other night Amy noticed and took a couple of snapshots of this obviously well-fed raccoon (Procyon lotor) in our backyard. Proof that nature can exist wherever the conditions are right. These creatures are omnivores, quite intelligent, and have adapted well to living in close proximity to humans. Meats (such as small rodents and fish), insects, fruits, nuts and grains are all potential sources of food for this opportunistic feeder. That means that fish ponds, bird feeders, pet food/water, those apples on the tree, your auntie's vegetable garden, and even your garbage can leftovers are all on the menu. And they’re just as at home in an attic as a rotted out log. If you'd like to learn more about raccoons, head on over to National Geographic's website or do a search on the Web.

Now, as much as I like wildlife, the thought of another fish poacher at my pond is enough to make me consider trapping/relocating this little scamp should we see him again. Speaking of wildlife removal, do us and yourself a favor and never use poisons to rid yourself of any pests. A good way to be rid of most unwanted guests (under 2 foot tall, that is), is to contact your city animal shelter and see if they offer live animal traps. If they do, they can educate you on its proper use. They'll even come and haul your catch to the nearest relocation park. Isn't that nice? If you can't or don't want to trap intruders, there are several basic rules to discouraging undesirables from sticking around your yard. They are:

• remove any food supply
• remove any water supply
• remove potential shelter

These might be your best options in the long run because if you don't change the environment, more animals are likely to come around and take up the spot you just created by evicting the last renter. I personally don't mind them most of the time.

Time to go count my fish....

The toads are waiting for Spring

Toads burrow into holes and other spaces during the winter to hibernate. I found these two fellows, a large one and a small one, in this access point to our in-ground sprinkler system.

There is a medium-sized crack in the cover to the access point, so I figure they crawled in earlier this winter and are waiting out the remainer of the cool weather. However, the big one I don't think would be able to hop back out, so I opened the cover one evening and waited for him to hop out. At the same time, I actually extracted the small one and placed him in the grass next to the hole. A week later and the large one is still in there. Obviously he knows more about when it's time to leave than I do, so I'll leave him alone for now. I hope I didn't do the small one a disservice by moving him from his temporary abode. By the way, can you spot the smaller of the two toads? He's pretty well hidden.

Yar Matey!

This is a blue dasher dragonfly (Pachydiplax longipennis) that visited our pond today. They apparently are also called "blue pirates" (no idea why).

He was very forgiving compared to other dragonflies that I've tried to photograph in the past. But after a few shots, he had had enough and flew off. He had beautiful eyes, which sadly are not well represented as the horsetail was waving in a fairly lively breeze resulting in a slightly out of focus shot (that's what I tell myself anyway).

I found some info at the Bug Guide. I hope he sticks around. He'll get to meet the red pennant that is usually found at our watering hole.

Beautiful Moth

I saw this guy today while watering the plants. He's a tiger moth of some sort, but I don't know enough nor did I see enough of him to really make a definitive identification. He could be a Figured, Ornate, Virgin or Mexican Tiger Moth. I never got a chance to see his abdomen or his hind wings. I brought the camera inside to download the pictures and when I went back, he was gone.

The sites I used to look him up said that three were more likely to be found in the Western part of the US. Being in North Central Texas, I have to guess based on current findings that it might be the Figured Tiger Moth. It's the only one I've seen reported in Texas at any of these sites.

I'll probably be interested enough to continue looking into this. I found info here and here. I also went to the local library to pick up some books on butterflies and moths. See kids? You CAN find neat stuff at the library!

The Wren Wreport - So Long And Thanks For All The Fish!

It happened much earlier than anticipated, but the fledglings have left the nest. In fact, it was like the next morning after the last Wren Wreport. Amy noticed that there weren't any mouths in the doorway, but she had to head off to a doctor's appointment. Concerned that they'd flown the coup and Amy would never get to see them, I went looking for them when she left. I found two just feet away from the nest just peeping away. One of them seemed quite a bit more advanced than the others. He was able to fly to low objects and perch off the ground. I heard more peeping from the other side of the fence, so I went around to the front of the house and found the other two gathered together under the boxwood.

Of all the days to pick to leave the nest... it was very windy with gusts up to 30 miles per hour and sustained winds around 15-20. I quickly snapped several pictures as mom and dad tried to warn me off. I then retreated to let them do their thing.

Several hours later, Amy was home and I showed her where they were. By then, all four had moved to the neighbor's bushes and were huddling around together. That is the last we saw of them. The next day they were gone.

We hope the parents will come back to have another family in the wren house. *fingers crossed*

Blechy!

The title is inspired by a friend who had a toad almost jump on her when she was helping my wife move something. She did some hopping herself and exclaimed, "Toads are blechy!"

I noticed this little toad in our pond a day or two ago. Last summer we didn’t have any toads visit the pond. I’m glad to see one back this year. It is probably a Bufo americanus, the common American toad. We’ve heard no calls the past couple of nights, so I’m assuming it’s a female.

A couple of years ago, we had a toad take up a two year (or maybe three, I can’t remember) residence. He's pictured in our profile...a rather similar shot actually. He was a male and boy did he have a loud call. Let’s hope this new resident is a quiet neighbor.

Learn more about the American toad here.