Greetings All:
My second game for the year (competing only against my self-set goals) is
to see how many species of butterfly, amphibian, reptile, bird, and mammal
I can find and photograph along Lubbock's Canyon Lakes - running from the
west loop to the east loop.
My goals for the year - 50 species of butterfly, 5 species of amphibian, 10
species of reptile, 200 species of bird, and 10 species of mammal - with
90%, overall, documented via photography.
August saw little in the way of progress, despite multiple visits, because
water remains too high for shorebirds and, paradoxically, the onset of a
severe dry spell has really dried up butterflies, reptiles, and small
mammals.
All in all, I picked up 12 species of butterfly, 0 species of amphibian, 2
species of reptile, 55 species of bird, and 5 species of mammal bringing my
totals for the year up to 39 species of butterfly (80%), 1 species of
amphibian (20%), 12 species of reptile (120%), 132 species of bird (66%%),
and 11 species of mammal (110%) for 2015.
Of these 195 critters, 155 species have been photographed (79%) so far this
year. It is beginning to look like it will be difficult to reach several
of my goals, particularly the idea of getting five species of amphibian
(only one species of frog - despite excellent conditions at the oxbow which
used to host at least eight species of anuran), the idea of getting 200
species of bird (damn hard with so few shorebirds and the potential for
shorebirds running out) and the idea of getting 90% of the species
photographed (I need some dadgum swallows to perch on lines or something).
Who knows what September will bring. I intend to get out there a few times
and give it my best.
The August list with new species for the year denoted with an * and newly
photographed species for the year denoted with a (y):
Sachem
Southern Dogface
Dainty Sulphur
Gray Hairstreak
American Snout
Hackberry Emperor
Monarch
Queen
Bordered Patch
Pearl Crescent
Question Mark
Red Admiral
Red-eared Slider
Spiny Soft-shelled Turtle
Cackling Goose
Canada Goose
Mallard
Northern Bobwhite
Pied-billed Grebe
Least Bittern
Great Blue Heron
Snowy Egret
Green Heron
Black-crowned Night Heron
Yellow-crowned Night Heron (y)
Turkey Vulture
Mississippi Kite
Swainson's Hawk
Sora
American Coot
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Solitary Sandpiper*
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collared Dove
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Chimney Swift
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Northern Flicker
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Western Wood Pewee
Willow Flycatcher (y)
Least Flycatcher*(y)
Western Kingbird
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
Warbling Vireo
Blue Jay
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Carolina Wren
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart*(y)
Yellow Warbler
Wilson's Warbler (y)
Northern Cardinal
Painted Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
Common Grackle
Great-tailed Grackle
Orchard Oriole
Bullock's Oriole
House Finch
House Sparrow
Eastern Cottontail
Desert Cottontail
Black-tailed Prairie Dog
Hispid Cotton Rat
Gray Fox*(y)
Anthony 'Fat Tony' Hewetson; Lubbock
