Backyard Critter Hunting

Date: January 31, 2020
Location: Texas; Travis County; Pflugerville; My Backyard

The weather was finally nice, after days of chilly damp forecasts, and I thought the warmth might bring out some specimens from their hiding places. The weather was warm, a recorded high of 83F and sunny.

I was in my backyard gardening around 12pm, moving my plants around to finally get some sun on a warm day when I noticed some pill bugs between the bricks of a planter. This kicked off my curiosity and I began to move the borders. There were plenty of pill bugs and snails tucked away in the damp, cool earth between the bricks. Since I already had a photo of the snails, I started thinking “what other damp, cool places do I have in my backyard where critters might hide?”

So I moved to the opposite end of my yard and lifted some damp boards where I saw a snake, however it too escaped me before I could get a photo. There was a pile of rotting mesquite wood against my fence that I began to move with the help of my brother. Disappointingly, we didn't find much other than a few spiders and some more pill bugs. As I was giving up my search on that side, a honeybee (apis mellifera) flying to the dandelions caught my eye. It was nice to see them out and about, even if it was short lived. Before I moved to the front yard, I decided to check the pile of fencing we had just taken off and replaced. There I found a big fat grub, currently only identified as part of the genus Diplotaxis, but very likely a June beetle grub.

It was then I moved to the front yard, finding the same species of spiders and pill bugs in my corner gardens. I was feeling very disappointed that I missed that snake, but as I moved a bag of soil that had been settling for at least a year, there one was! A little brown snake looking a little surprised that it was suddenly found. But before I could appreciate it, my dog ran up excited about a potential new snack. Luckily I snatched it up, and even more lucky it was very docile and curled around my fingers. After re-gating my dog in the backyard, I was finally able to snap a few photos of this beautiful baby and set it free back in the spot I found it away from hungry puppies. It slithered away into the grass and I felt like I had accomplished what I had set out to do, pleased that a snake had come to visit me when I thought I had missed out.

Overall I had spent about 45 minutes out there hunting for critters, and ended my excursion much more satisfied than I had started.

Posted on February 9, 2020 09:49 PM by