Watched this pair of Black-tailed Jackrabbits ( Lepus californicus) running and playing on one of the dirt county roads this morning for about 15 minutes. Not sure if this is a mated pair or young siblings, but they were having a real good time and so were we.
"You lookin' at ME?!"
This is a lifer for me. According to the USDA plant database it has only been reported in Cameron County. However, Richardson and King in "Plants of Deep South Texas", report it from Cameron, Hidalgo and Kenedy counties. There have been no reports of it from Kleberg County previous to this. There are actually four plants growing in an area approx. twenty-five feet in length. The tallest one, which is shown, is approx. 10 ft in height.
They are growing in an area which is densely populated with Climbing Milkweed, Texas Virgin's Bower, Prickly Hackberry, Cow-itch Vine and several grasses and grass burrs.
On eggs or chicks, last week I counted two eggs.
Spotted Ground Squirrel (Xerospermophilus spilosoma)
29 July 2017
Mustang Island State Park
9394 TX-361
Corpus Christi, Nueces County, Texas 78418
We parked near the entrance and this female ground squirrel unafraid of humans apparently begged for food. So we shared a few raw almonds. A male Great-tailed Grackle noticed the activity and as we began to leave the squirrel behind it came under attack by the Great-tailed Grackle who wanted its food and gave chase. After running around a bit the ground squirrel dove into a burrow at the base of a nearby tree and it was gone, game over. Spotted Ground Squirrel appears to have a shorter tail, like the one in these images, than that of Rio Grande Ground Squirrel. Both Spotted Ground Squirrel and Rio Grande Ground Squirrel (Ictidomys parvidens) occur at the site. Made a quick call on the species, might be, could be, the other? @marcelo_aranda