When it rains it pours. This held true on our last trip to Virginia to collect genetics on Spotted Turtles. We had planned a full week at this location to get at least 5 individuals but hopefully around 10. After our first trap night, we ended up getting (drumroll please) 5️⃣3️⃣ all in one day.
We ended up getting three nets that had 12, 17, and 17 turtles all back to back in an area that was unseasonally dry, likely concentrating the turtles in that area wherever they could find water.
We ended up only taking as many samples as we needed (about 15) and let all these guys go back home. Also of note were the Eastern Painted Turtles and Common Snapping Turtles that made for some fun bycatch.
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All species seen were handled with proper state permitting and released back where they were found.
Happy National Turtle day! As per tradition, several days late! ;) This turtle day, I wanted to cast a 'spot'-light on one of our more recent research targets: the Spotted Turtle!
I really do consider them to be the most gorgeous turtle I've got to work with yet, and the variability in their spots is unique to each individual.
Coming soon, next post: my most productive field day ever, starring many, many more spotted turtles.
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Note: This is a protected species across their range and was handled with proper permitting. After sampling, all individuals were released back where we found them.
Stumbled upon a beautiful Eastern Rat Snake (Pantherophis alleghaniensis) on the coast of Virginia today. After some pictures and quiet observation, we were shown the way to its hideout in the roof of a rusted out car nearby. Very honored to be trusted with this guy's little secret 🐍 (Don't tell anyone else, ok??)
#herpetologia #wildlifephotography #ratsnake
Ummm... who's gonna tell him none of these are reptiles or amphibians... 👀
While herpetology will always come first in my heart, you gotta have some love for all the birdies out there. In my recent exploration across the southeast I've got to see some really cool avian wildlife firsthand and wanted to share some of the notable finds I've saved.
@rianburris and I were blown away by a rookery we found in the middle of urban sprawl in Port Royal, SC. It held the most stunning nesting grounds I've come across, with more species than I could reasonably list here. Turkeys were a constant companion out in Gopher Tortoise habitat and we always took time to admire any raptor we chanced across.
Nearly all of the following were taken by phone through the lens of my binoculars - working better than expected but also being incredibly tricky to handle. I'll definitely be saving up for a proper camera, so hopefully there will be even crispier photos to come 😤
1) Mama Great Egret and babes
2) Common Gallinule 📣
3) American White Ibis
4) 🦃 (including blondie - a cool escaped heritage breed?)
5) Mama Great Horned Owl and babes
6) Crested Caracara
7) Barred Owl
Anyone who knows me, knows I love a good frog. A strong highlight of my recent travels was hunting after my lifer Pine Barrens Treefrog on the Florida pan handle last month. Venturing out on a rainy night, Rian and I prompted some calling with some recorded calls we had on our phones and followed the responses. After some time we narrowed down the bush our frog was hidden in down to a few feet, but even still, this guy was so well camouflaged it took us nearly an hour to locate exactly where he was. Easily the most gorgeous frog I've ever found and so worth the effort.
Also peep a beautiful copperhead we cruised up that night, a mama Great Horned Owl feeding da babies (volume up for an absolute banger), and my favorite mini golf course I've played yet.
The Eastern Hognose, my beloved. This is hands down my favorite snake, a toad eating specialist, and renown artist of playing dead. And just look at that iridescence 😍
Georgia has definitely been treating us well this week. Other notable captures include a Coachwhip and a beautiful Cornsnake under the same tin, a Timber Rattlesnake with a massive rattle, and more Coachwhips everywhere we turn (even underground).
#wildlifephotography #herpetologia #hognose
First weekend herping in Georgia has been off to a fantastic start. I was absolutely elated to find my lifer Pine snake coiled up in an old stump hole. While it appears she has some scale deformation on her face, likely due to Snake Fungal Disease, I still find her beautiful <3 @rianburris then found this gorgeous, chonky Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake in a tip up not far from our Pine. And this was just day one - stay tuned for the next update with more critters to come, including my favorite snake of all time ;)
(Critters were handled with appropriate permits and released shortly after sampling)
It's move-in day for some torts! I really dug (hehe) getting to help relocate these Gopher Tortoises.
When land bearing this protected species is planned for development, displaced tortoises need to be repatriated to a designated site with the proper habitat. We soaked the tortoises for a half-hour ahead of time for maximum hydration and helped dig starter-burrows in a temporarily penned off area to help them settle in and keep them from attempting to wander back where they came from.
Additionally, enjoy a clip of our most productive active capture method (Video credit: @rianburris ).
#gophertortoise #wildlifeconservation #floridawildlife
BOGO for Gopher Tortoises this weekend!
I snuck up on these two tortoises in the mouth of the same burrow, head to head with one another. By some luck, I managed to snatch them both before they dug down out of reach (they can be much faster than you might believe). The one that appeared to be trying to enter the burrow was a male and the one blocking his path was a female.
It is too early in the year to be the breeding season, so our thinking was that this male was either out scouting out his mating options in advance or making a move to steal himself another tortoises burrow. Upon release, the female returned to her burrow and the male wandered 20 feet the other way and into a nearby, freshly-dug burrow. Overall a really cool encounter I was excited to share! :)
1) Male Gopher tortoise (left) and Female (right)
2) 👯
3) Defensive posture of a young tortoise
4) Big mama shows off her digging skills 😤
5) Gopher tortoise tracks 🔍
All tortoises were handled with proper permitting and released after sample collection.
Had a great week of field work out in FL with some incredible moments.
Wrangling rattlesnakes and diving after Gopher tortoises before they burrow has been exhilarating and being able to work with them one on one, collecting genetic samples even more gratifying. We've got to collaborate with some incredible biologists and to cap it off, we were able to witness and a mating pair of Eastern Diamondbacked rattlesnakes and capture them both after they finished copulating (video credit: @rianburris ).
I'm very excited to see what the next months have in store as well. Stay tuned.
1) Eastern Diamondbacked rattlesnake
2) Eastern Coachwhip
3) Gopher tortoise
4) Snake eggs 🍳
5) 👀
Didn't post hardly at all this year so here's a 2024 recap!
Closed out my time working in Louisiana and was hired to work with Tangled Bank Conservation in Asheville, North Carolina. It's an incredibly special place with a strong sense of community amongst its wonderful denizens and a beautiful part of the country to boot.
My work has allowed me to see so many amazing new creatures out here already and many more to come which I will be sure to share more regularly with y'all!
So glad to be out here in my new home and to see disaster recovery efforts working to restore this amazing area.
Critters:
1) Green Frog (in hand)
2) Eastern Hellbender
Happy World Snake Day (yesterday oop)! Here are some beautiful lil critters from my time in both Louisiana and California :)
LA
1) Black-masked Racer (arms reach away cuz they kept trying to give my face kisses 🥰)
2) Broad-banded Watersnake and Green Frog
3) Copperhead (venomous)
4) Cottonmouth (venomous)
CA
5) Two-striped Garter Snake
6) Western Patch-nosed Snake (wouldn't sit still for photo argh)
