Jason and I woke up early today to go to the San Angelo State Park for some birding.  We saw over 30 species of bird and a number of other exciting critters, including:

Golden Fronted Woodpecker (in focus), a Brown Headed Cowbird (foreground, center), and White Winged Doves (foreground, bottom right).

Northern Cardinal

House Finch

Cottontail Rabbit and White Winged Doves

A male Painted Bunting

Thirteen-Lined Ground Squirrel

My favorite bird of the day, a Roadrunner!

A male Scissors Tailed Flycatcher

Some cool butterflies – can anyone tell me what species they are? Seen near a pond in San Angelo State Park.

I was excited to see these plants all around. Guess what species this is (bonus points if you can tell me the family, as well).

Feel free to dispute any of my identifications, I don’t know most Texas fauna very well.  After birding, Jason took me by his alma mater, Angelo State University, where I got to see statues of their mascots (Ram, for the guys, and Rambelle, for the ladies).  I was surprised to learn that the “cojones” of the Ram, though large and impressive, have undergone two size reductions over the years.

Quite the rack he has there.

We got lunch at a great Mexican place called Fernandez, which had an interesting warning sign posted in the men’s bathroom… Jason and I caught a bunch of Texas Blind Snakes (Leptotyphlops dulcis) and several Mediterranean Geckos (Hemidactylus turcicus) under a log in his old yard.  Then we took a 3-hour drive to Seminole to stay with his parents for the night.  Along the way we discovered a hitch-hiking mantis on our dash and saw a bunch of windmills, which I thought were pretty cool.  So far we have caught a Six-Lined Racerunner (Aspidocelis sexlineatus) at his parents’ house.  Two days, two snake species and we’re not even trying yet.  Not a bad start to the trip.