Herping Eglin at Night

Kelly took Kirk and I out to see his research area at Eglin. We went a little before sunset to get some birding in, and then stayed to see what we could find in the marshes after dark. The birding was glorious in the day, but the night was magical. Chuck-wills-widows and Barred Owls were calling, in addition to all the frogs.

Two-toed Amphiuma (Amphiuma means)

We waded through an emergent marsh under a powerline corridor. The water wasn't too deep in most places. We found some Grass Pickerel and some frogs. We were looking for Sirens, but we never found any. Kelly did find us a Two-toed Amphiuma, though. I had never seen one, so I was excited. The photos of him are not ideal, but we could see him helplessly flailing his legs.

Two-toed Amphiuma (Amphiuma means)

These eel like salamanders can get pretty large. There are reports of almost four feet long individuals. This one was much smaller. An old name is 'conger eel'.

Eastern Mudsnake (Farancia abacura abacura)

After a while of looking, we had about decided to wrap it up. Kelly went back to look at something, and came back with this gorgeous Mudsnake. Calling it a mud snake might be an appropriate description of where it resides, but does nothing to describe its appearance.

Eastern Mudsnake (Farancia abacura abacura)

This snake also had a very unique feel to its scales. Even after it dried, it feel as smooth as snot. Maybe that is where the idea that snakes are slimy came from. We held it for a while, and then watched it swim off in the marsh.

Eastern Mudsnake (Farancia abacura abacura)

Eastern Mudsnake (Farancia abacura abacura)

Northern Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus)

Of course, we kept our eyes open for Cottonmouths (aka Water Moccasins). We each found one. This was the smallest one and the one that Kirk found along the fence. It had the nice yellow tail of a juvenile. Kelly's Cottonmouth was the biggest, and we respectfully admired them safely.

Timber Rattlesnake

I was driving on Low Gap Road in Morgan Monroe State Forest when I saw this big guy crossing the road. I was leaving the ecoblitz research project and had been hoping all day long to see a Timber, with several people reporting seeing them. I made sure my car was blocking the lane and jumped out to take a look and a picture. The rattle started up immediately, and he coiled up. I knew he had been heading towards the creek on my left, but I didn't know how to get him there safely for the both of us. So I just blocked traffic until another car stopped and offered to protect him until I could get some of the other biologists from the ecoblitz. Using a stick, and blocking traffic, we encouraged him over to the creek side of the road. I counted nine buttons on his rattle. The others speculated that it looked like he had recently eaten a squirrel or chipmunk. His color, pattern, and form were beautiful. I felt very lucky to see such a big guy, especially considering the senseless violence from the most dangerous creature. (Undoubtedly, I was in infinitely more danger stopping on a road than I was being near a rattlesnake.)

Black Rat Snake

I was working in Columbus, Indiana, exploring the hills and ravines, when I heard something heavy behind me fall. The sound was up in the trees, and whatever it was, it didn't hit the ground. It didn't sound like a squirrel, either. Strange...

I turned around and saw this large Black Rat Snake hanging in the trees, swaying slightly. From below, it looked monstrous. Of course, I had to get a closer look.

Black Rat was very calm and graceful, smoothly sliding up through the Sassafras saplings. It never seemed rushed or worried. I watched from several feet away in rapt fascination. I assume it was patrolling for bird nests or other easy prey. It was obviously an accomplished hunter.

After this picture, I left the snake and got back to work. The snake disappeared in the tree tops and was lost from view. It made me look at branches from a different perspective. We walked further on down before heading back past where we had last seen the snake.

My coworker, Dave, was standing under a Red Cedar tree near where we had last seen the snake. I started to joke, "Wouldn't it be funny if the snake was right above your head?", when I looked up and saw the snake right above Dave's head. Serene as ever, the Black Rat Snake was apparently looking for a route down from the cedar and was gliding towards us. We both got the impression that it would have continued on down his arm if we would have let it. Instead, it took a maple sapling to the ground right next to us, amazingly using tiny branches that didn't look like they would support the weight. It was still chilling right there when we left. It felt very special to be so close to such a beautiful creature.

Rough Green Snake

I was walking through the large marsh at White Oak Lake near Vincennes last week when I spotted this Rough Green Snake (Opheodrys aestivus) perched up in a Nodding Bur Marigold (Bidens cernua).

The snake was strikingly beautiful. I took many pictures, and still couldn't decide between the middle and bottom one which I liked better. He gracefully glided off through the vegetation as we walked past. Notice the keel running down the center of each scale. Smooth Green Snakes don't have that keel, plus they live further north. I don't see green snakes too often, and it is a treat whenever I do.

Knox County Hognose

Eastern Hognose Snake (Heterodon platirhinos)

I was walking along the edge of a sandy agricultural field on the floodplain of the Wabash last week. Toads were plentiful. It made me start to think about Hognoses.

Sure enough, I spotted a hognose. It already had its hood spread by the time I saw it, from ten or fifteen feet away. That made me curious if it had spread its hood for another reason.

Besides some pictures, I did not disturb him any more. He was heading for the shade of the nearby woods and out of the hot field.

I enjoy seeing every opportunity I have to see these guys. I thought it was cool how you could see the remnant of his pattern. Some younger individuals can be very strikingly patterned. http://www.cnah.org/taxonDetail.aspx?taxonId=152

Copper-bellied Watersnake

A Copper-bellied Watersnake basking on the banks of Little Creek in Posey County, Indiana.

He was a nice sized snake, but was a little cool. He just sat there and watched.

After getting a close look, I put him back. It was nice to see him up close.

Here's a photo showing his belly. Some individuals have a much brighter belly color.

I like to look at their scales.  The 'tiger stripes' on the face are distinctive.

Snake Grab Bag

I have gotten far enough behind on blogging that I am combining several different snakes over the last couple months into one post.

This Northern Banded Watersnake was sunning on a berm near the Sangamon River in Illinios. I was hoping he would feel like sitting still for some pictures, but he was having none of it. He charged right past me to the pond. I didn't feel like restraining him.

Two different Garter Snakes hanging out in shrubs. Central Illinois had quite a spring flooding this year. I imagine that these guys had to spend quite a lot of time up in the shrubs and off the ground.

A Black Rat Snake comes over to check out the camera. It was fun to actually interact with this four foot long beauty in a peaceful manner, instead of having him flee. I laid down next to him to get a nice eye-to-eye view. He actually turned and came over to check me out.

I was walking along a ditch in Pulaski County, Indiana, when I spotted what I first assumed was a banded watersnake. Upon closer look, it turned out to be a little Hognose! I love those snakes. He was very calm and didn't even wiggle when handled. I put him back down after a closer look and took a couple pictures.

Massasauga Rattlesnake

A close-up of a Massasauga rattler at Hall Lake Fen, Yankee Springs, Michigan.


I finally got to see a snake this week that I had been wanting to see in the wild for a long time. They are the one northern rattlesnake in our area, but they are very rare. Massasauga rattlesnakes had been found at this site before, so I was very hopeful we would spot one. Right when we were leaving, a co-worker kicked one up. The snake made a beeline for a hole in a sphagnum moss mound, rattling insistently the whole time. I got a brief look before he/she went inside. I would estimate 5 rattles. After some careful re-arrangement of the moss, I got a view down into the den. You cannot see his head in the top photo, but it was just out of sight, carefully watching the proceedings. Here you can see Mike and Steve admiring the snake.


The fen itself was a fun place to go, even without the snake. We were too early for most of the nice flowering fen plants, but the pitcher plants were budding up. We saw sundews, poison sumac, tamaracks, tussock sedges, bastard toadflax, shrubby cinquefoil, and many other plants.

Great Basin Gophersnake

I was delighted when I saw a snake on the edge of the highway as I was heading home. Especially since I still haven't seen a living rattlesnake in Nevada. I wanted to make sure he did not get run over, so I ran back to scare him of the road onto the shoulder. When I got closer, I was relieved to see that he wasn't injured. My disappointment that it wasn't a rattler passed when I got a good look at this Gopher Snake (Pituophis catenifer deserticola). It was close to sunset and was enjoying the warm road. Apparently, it did not much like my disturbing its peace. I have never heard such noises; from hissing, to grunting and moaning, plus tail 'rattling'. He started off towards the sage, so I quickly circled around to prevent his leaving before I got some pictures. Feeling threatened, he coiled up, flattened his head, came after me, and started striking. According to wikipedia, these bluff strikes are frequently with their mouth closed. I never saw the mouth open, but I still stayed out of reach, backing away slowly. Gopher Shakes are non-venomous members of the Colubridae family.