Field Herp Forum

Glad to see them go. Those groups were too small. Too clique-ish and parochialist.

friggin word filter

shut the "insert profanity here" up about pythons already

Herpers don't talk about their life list? lol what. Every other word from some of these people is "lifer". Personally I write down all my nature observations in a notebook (as many as I can remember at least), that said I don't really bother with life lists per se.

The new range maps are interesting. That is the only feature I liked. I like how specific they are (although some of them seem slightly off for the Mobile Bay area-FL softshell and scarlet snake come to mind). The illustrations are like 25% smaller. That pissed me off. Earlier editions were more wel...

One of those places has zillions of pygmy rattlers and the other has very few.

I have raised musk turtles from eggs before. Those are musk turtle eggs.

Pascagoula river can flood heavily in the spring so keep that in mind. Saw some yellow-bellied water snakes (actually not a bad find for me) at that WMA years ago, that was about it for herps. I have always had terrible luck in Desoto National Forest. Habitat is pretty though. I have never had even ...

Cool post, but that's not the Atlantic Ocean.

Most of these "what is this frog" posts are squirrel treefrogs and I am pretty sure this one is no exception.

i think the "gopher tortoise" burrow is more likely an armadillo burrow or similar.

i don't understand why these macho, square-headed freaks do this. kill a snake because it is "dangerous," then proceed to play with the dangerous end of it and wonder why they got bit. how dumb you got to be, man?!?

Saturday might be better for flipping tin/boards. Days with highs in 70s (sunday and later) might be good to see snakes basking, crawling etc. Right before a storm (Thursday) can be interesting if you time it just right. Personally, i'd go later in the week. I've never herped in that area so I don't...

"painted turtle"=mud turtle hatchling?

water snake=N. fasciata

Love the red pygmies.

These can be tough, but I think yours are all broadheads.

In my experience, state parks aren't so strict. Just don't collect anything or have any collecting gear on you and you should be fine. I generally stay on trails but if there is really good, accessible habitat off the trail a bit I might wander. "Edge" habitat of some kind is the best place to look....

seems late in the year for it to be a pseudacris sp?

This is great stuff, especially for August which is usually a slow time of year for me. Pygmy rattlers are about all I have seen recently that was worth mentioning. Not complaining about those though.

That little racer is pretty cool. I haven't seen a little one with a pattern in a long time.

There are plenty of state forests and state parks in central FL. Definitely check those out. I don't know what the parks are like in that part of FL, but the ones in the panhandle and coastal AL where I live are great. I pretty much only herp at state parks and NWRs these days. In residential areas,...

That redbelly is pretty. I haven't seen one of those in a few years if I remember correctly.

Is that indigo snake reintroduction thing still going on there? I haven't been in a few years but I was under the impression that any unauthorized herping would be looked down on there.

I still say squirrel treefrog, which is what probably 75% of these "what is this frog" posts turn out to be.

probably a squirrel treefrog.

Interesting post. I would like to get involved with this sort of thing some time. I did try to herp near a controlled burn once last year but I was several hundred yards away and not in the immediate line of fire. I did see one garter snake (not a bad find for here) but it appeared to be out basking...

The green anole looks like A. carolinensis to me.

That corn snake is a beauty.

The sea life is pretty cool. I think your nudibranch is exactly that.

I love birds with pointy wings and the frigate and kite are two of my favorites. Cool post.

Copperheads actually are kind of a big deal to me, as we do not have them on the coast here in AL (as far as I know). They get into northern Mobile/Baldwin Co. a little bit. Anyway, turns out I probably won't be able to get out much for the rest of May, and I don't really do much herping in summer, ...

I'm more interested in hiking than cruising anyway.

I've decided I'm probably not going there anytime soon. Maybe in the fall. Is it any good there in October or so?

I might check that area out some time in the next couple of weeks, before the summer heat really kicks in. I remember someone on here saying it is really bad for snakes, but someone else seemed to think it was really great for them. I'd like to hear people's opinions on that.

The Tantilla is a Virginia striatula.

Those water bugs are neat. I used to play with those as a kid and haven't really noticed them in a long time.

The golden mouse nest is also a pretty cool observation.

I was there. Saw 3 speckled kings, a copperhead, a smooth earth snake, ringnecks, a huge black rat snake on the Oklahoma side of Rich Mountain, and about a half dozen salamander species including Rich and Fourche Mtn. It is an interesting area. I was expecting it to be sort of a mini-Appalachia but ...

The mystery fish are a golden topminnow, a juvenile largemouth bass, and some kind of cichlid (no idea what species). The small catfish is indeed just that. Probably a bullhead. Not really sure about the tadpoles but I think you are right on the Hyla ID.

Oh, and you can road cruise there, before/during/after rain, but personally I hate road cruising on those windy little mountain roads. I remember driving to the state park and hoping to NOT see anything on the road because there was nowhere to pull over. Some of the roads out in the countryside outs...

South Mountain NC might be worth checking out. I don't know how it is in August, but I was there in September and it was pretty decent. Saw a lot of little dusky salamanders just out basking on rocks in the streams. There are plenty of snakes there too. It is kind of out in the middle of nowhere, an...

Looks like a fun outing. Things are heating up down here on the gulf coast as well. Saw an EDB yesterday.

That rat snake is interesting looking.

The milk snakes would have thrilled me to no end. Hoping to see those in the Ouachita mountains next week.

The Eastern/Central Peterson's guide (Conant/Collins) is still the standard. The 2016 edition just came out and it has updated range maps and many new exotic species.

Dick Bartlett's books are pretty great too-"Florida's Snakes" and there is another one for all the other herp species in FL.

This is James Jeffery btw

Is it possible to have my records removed from Herpmapper? If not, how can I access my account on there?

I said no to this, and my NAHERP records apparently have been transferred to Herpmapper anyway.

Apparently I forgot to actually vote, but I did specifically state in the comments that I did not want my NAHERP records to be transferred to Herpmapper, and they were anyway.

The problem is, I can't find whatever poll it was. But I definitely voted no. I would prefer to use NAHERP only. This was several months ago if I remember correctly.

there was a poll a while back (I can't find it on here) and I declined to give permission for my NAHERP records to be imported to Herpmapper. But they are on there. Are all NAHERP records automatically imported to herpmapper now?

That second garter is nice. A real textbook example for our area.

3 corn snakes in a day would excite me greatly since I rarely see them. I did almost trip over a big one the other day however. This spring is shaping up to be interesting, and we're not even at the peak yet...

The skink looks like a female broadhead.

I have not seen a saltmarsh snake in a while. That's a pretty one.

I get out to St Marks every year or so but it's always in late fall or winter so I have only seen the tip of the iceberg when it comes to herps there.

I would if I could, but that is a bit of a drive for me just for a day trip. I need to get back there some time this year. it is a great area. Let us know what you find.

Is this really a good idea from the snakes' point of view though? Aren't they really picky about den sites that far north?

That Howie Carr guy seems like a real scumbag. he should move to Alabama, he'd fit in well with all these shitheads here.

Great stuff. I like that little corn snake a lot. Nice color on it. Things didn't really pick up for me at least, around here until less than a week ago. There has been some pretty decent movement since then. Racers, a rat snake, a ribbon snake, a banded water snake, several Pseudemys alabamensis, a...

The MS fish and wildlife site had a catalog of the specimens from their natural history museum, arranged by county, but now I can't find it.

Coastal MS? What counties? Jackson Co. has more or less the same species as the Mobile area in AL.