Hershey Ranch - Our First Rattlesnakes at the Ranch!

First, let me just say, Erin and I both wish we saw more snakes out at the Ranch. In the three or so years that we've worked here, we've only found a couple of species including:

Checkered Garter Snake
Plain-bellied Water Snake
Diamondback Water Snake
Texas Patch-nosed Snake
Western Ribbon Snake

As we prepared for another work weekend out at the ranch, we began to think about some snakes that we should have seen. Our list included Western Diamondback Rattlesnake, Western Coachwhip, and Western Groundsnake. So, we were thrilled when we came across not one but two juvenile diamondbacks! I think Andy and Nona were a little less excited but shared our enthusiasm for documenting and enjoying more of the biodiversity of Hershey Ranch.

We later found a young Western Coachwhip but, unfortunately, it had been hit by a car on the ranch road. Maybe even by me earlier while Erin and I were finishing setting up feeders on the ranch.

Around the lake, we continued to see Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, Great Egrets, and a Green Heron. I was also able to snap a photo of a Mourning Dove, a young Northern Cardinal, and a Black Vulture.

Erin and I could hear an Armadillo rustling around the outside as we were winding down for the night.

The next morning, we took a ride around on the ranch and I spent a bit of time at one of the quiet tanks on the southern end of the ranch. I noted the Button Bush growing moderately dense along the dam and a single sprig of Switchgrass along the inlet tributary. Adding to the weekend herp list, I added Blanchard’s Cricket Frog, Rio Grande Leopard Frog, and Red-eared Slider. We later saw one of the abundant fawns standing tranquilly at the edge of another tank.

There were dozens of each species of frog. Likely due to the drying conditions throughout the region and these ponds representing the limited amount of surface water available for moisture sensitive frogs and an attractant for their prey insect prey.

The turtles were fun to watch. They seemed to graze slowly within the algae-filled shallows, carapaces breached like lumbering manatees grazing on sea grass.

We spent the remainder of the day checking on feeders and catching up on reading/writing before taking one last tour around the lake to look for dragonflies. I added four new species to my personal list (recall that I’m just starting out) before calling it a day and heading home : Common Green Darner, Black Saddlebags, Red Saddlebags, and Eastern Pondhawk.