2012 Year End Report - Southeast, Northeast, Midwest

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Nick Scobel
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Joined: June 10th, 2010, 9:35 pm
Location: Southeast Michigan
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2012 Year End Report - Southeast, Northeast, Midwest

Post by Nick Scobel »

The 2012 field season turned out to be a great year for me, pulling in a few new lifers and finding a few awesome species due to lots of time spent in the field. It was a year where I spent time in the midwest, southeast, and northeast. My field season began on a mild, rainy night in the first week of March. I would be departing for Florida the next morning for a week long vacation, but the weather was too good to pass up. A few friends and I decided to go give tigers a shot. I knew of a few areas but decided to go on a hunch and check a pool we thought might have some breeding activity. The air temperature was hovering in the high 40s, and only about 5-6 feet of ice and thawed around the edges of the pool. We managed to see about a half dozen animals active in the shallow areas of the pool.

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Eastern Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum tigrinum)
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The next morning, my buddy and I drove our way down to Florida to visit family and spend some time in the field. As we were nearing my grandparent's place, I decided to take us down a road that I've cruised many times before. It was late in the afternoon and temperatures were in the mid 80s, it seemed perfect for snake movement. I'm glad we took the short detour, because we found three of these little beauties in short succession.

Dusky Pigmy Rattlesnakes (Sistrurus miliarius barbouri)
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The next few days were spend locally around my family's place in central Florida. Spent some time in a few nature preserves and on some state forest land and found a few of the usual suspects.

Florida Cottonmouths (Agkistrodon piscivorus conanti)
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Tropical House GeckoHemidactylus mabouia
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Green Heron (Butorides virescens)
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Later in the week, I made a jaunt to the southern part of the state. A cold front moved through the first night, but temperatures steadied over the next two days. Snakes were in pretty short supply compared to years past, but I did manage to find this wicked corn snake in the deep reaches of the national park.

Corn Snake (Pantherophis guttatus)
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On the last day of trip, my buddy and I headed to the south end of the park to get some ice for our cooler. On our way back, we crossed paths with this big snake, one I've wanted to see in south Florida for quite sometime.

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Burmese Python (Python molurus bivittatus)
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This Burmese Python had been hit by a car and was struggling to make it across the road, I grabbed it off the road and posed it up for a few photos in its last throws of life. The snake was still surprisingly defensive despite being hit by a car. Beautiful snake, it's a shame they're where they don't belong. That closed a pretty decent trip to Florida despite not a whole lot being found. I returned home to Michigan to be greeted by a massive thunderstorm system that was supposed to move through in waves one night with temperatures in the mid 50s. This would be THE night. I coordinated with Jason Folt and a few other friends to hit some areas to catch the amphibian migration, and it ended up being a killer night. We managed to see well over 200 Spotted Salamanders, a few dozen Blue-spotted hybrid things, and a handful of tigers and a few Pseudacris of both Michigan species.

Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma maculatum)
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Western Chorus Frog (Pseudacris triseriata)
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Spring Peeper (Pseudacris crucifer)
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The following brought record breaking temperatures for the month of March, temperatures ranged from the high 70s to low 80s for more than a week and a half. This of course brought up the snakes and turtles earlier than I've seen them before. I met up with my good friend Chris Boguslawski on a warm morning in hopes of finding our favorite Michigan species. It didn't take long, as this freshly emerged massasaugas buzzed us from a few feet away.

Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus catenatus)
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A short time later, we spotted this pair basking less than two feet from one another. The yearling was attempting to bask from the safety of a large oak leaf.

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The warm weather also brought out a good amount of turtles over the next week or so, here's a few photos of some more interesting species that were seen.

Blanding's Turtles (Emydoidea blandingii)
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Spotted Turtles (Clemmys guttata)
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Wood Turtles (Glyptemys insculpta)
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In the past, I've had difficulty in finding a consistent area for milk snakes in Michigan. My encounters with them here have been infrequent in scattered. With a little poking around on Google Earth, I managed to isolate a few local trash sites which looked like they could be promising. My first visit to one of these sites was promising, as large sheets of tin and boards were scattered everywhere in a small clearing. The first sheet of tin I flipped revealed a beautiful milk snake.

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Subsequent trips back to this site and a few others in the area produced more than a dozen local milk snakes for me this spring, easily eclipsing my total milk snakes seen in Michigan in my life combined.

Eastern Milk Snakes (Lampropeltis triangulum)
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The early spring is also the best time in the state to see one of our larger snake species and one of my favorites, the Blue Racer. This beautiful variant inhabits meadows, open forests, and marshes in Michigan. Racers can be found literally anywhere in the spring; basking in the open, crossing roads, hiding under coverboards, etc.

Blue Racers (Coluber constrictor foxii)
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But my favorite find of the spring in Michigan didn't come until the first week of May. I've always had a particular difficulty with finding live hognose snakes in my home state, it was so bad at a point that I didn't see my first live on since I was a kid until a few years ago. Since, then I've seen them in scattered locations across the state. A family that I know has a fantastic property less than ten miles from my home in suburban southeast Michigan which is home to several uncommon species. Their property consists of a small remnant oak savannah habitat that was one probably a large contiguous patch of habitat with the Oak Openings region of northwestern Ohio. On this particular morning, I was elated when I spotted this gorgeous snake out on the crawl.

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Eastern Hognose Snake (Heterodon platirhinos)
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That snake was a great way to close my spring in Michigan, and a few days later I was on my way back to the northeast to work for the USFWS for a second summer on several turtle related projects. I left on a Thursday so that I could spend my first weekend in the region in the pine barrens. Many of you have heard of this region of the northeast, a massive belt of coastal plain forest in southern New Jersey which makes up almost a quarter of the state's total land mass. Carl Kauffeld spent many of his years in this region and wrote a lot about the pines themselves, and the wealth of biodiversity that they hold. I spent a lot of my time in 2011 all across New Jersey, but I told myself that I would spend even more time in the pinelands in the summer of 2012, and it ended up being time well spent.

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The pine barrens is a truly unique place. It has the feel of the southeastern coastal plain, yet the pitch pine and scrub oak forests which dominate this landscape give the pines it's own unique feel. Many coastal plain species make their northern range limit here, including the Corn Snake, Northern Pine Snake, Scarlet Snake, and a unique coastal plain population of Timber Rattlesnakes affectionatelt called "pinebrakes" by some. My first day in the pines this summer was probably the best I've ever had, and after meeting up with a few friends we stumbled onto this beauty mid-morning.

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Corn Snake (Pantherophis guttatus)
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A Jersey corn, a species I struck out on the entire summer of 2011, and this was my first snake find of the year in the pine barrens. Needless to say, it felt like it was going to be a good day. Jersey corn snakes are fairly uncommon and localized and they carry the listing of endangered in the state. We talked some more habitat and then decided to do some spot hopping, the name of the game in the pines. A thunderstorm was rolling in, and the front got some animals moving at high noon.

Eastern Hognose Snake (Heterodon platirhinos)
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Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina)
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Over the next few weeks, my time in the pine barrens was limited due to it being turtle nesting season and job responsibilities kept my field time in limited supply. But one day, a coworker of mine joined me for a day in the pines. We hit quite a few sites in the morning with no luck, and temperatures soared into the high 80s. I decided to take us to a location I had heard about from several people which was apparently quite good for kingsnakes. Growing up as a kid, I remember seeing a the artist's representation of an Eastern Kingsnake in my Peterson field guide, and since then I've wanted to see one in the field. About fifteen minutes after arriving at the spot, I noticed a large snake just coming onto the road ahead of us.

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My coworker can probably tell you that the next few seconds were filled with me shouting all sorts of colorful words as I flew out of the car to see my first eastern king in the field.

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Eastern Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula getula)
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The following day, my family had arrived in Jersey to visit me and to spend a week in New York City. They had expressed that they wanted to see some wildlife, so I decided to take them down to a pretty cool place along the Jersey shore. This large preserve lies amid a massive coastal salt marsh which is home to a myriad of bird species and some even cooler critters of the shelled variety. Within a few minutes, we stopped the car to get out and check out the reason I had brought my family to this place, terrapins!

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Northern Diamondback Terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin terrapin)
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This large female DBT was crossing the levee road right in front of the car, it turned out this would be one of many seen on this particular day. It seemed as though we had a terrapin in front of us every 5-10 minutes. However, upon releasing this turtle back into the salt marsh, I learned that tidal salt marsh banks are rather slick.

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You win some, you lose some. My family got to put up with me smelling like a coastal marsh for the rest of the day and for that I thank them. It saddens me that so many people that visit the Jersey shore every summer never get to appreciate the biodiversity that these coastal marsh ecosystems hold, they are truly incredible place with an abundance of wildlife.

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I am so glad that my family was able to appreciate how beautiful and important places like this are, despite the worst hoards of greenhead horseflies I've ever come across. Here's a few more photos of some terrapins that we saw over the rest of the day.

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On our way back to my place, I took us to a great sandwhich shop in the heart of the pine barrens. Anyway, it was fantastic time seeing my family over the course of the next week or so. Which brings me to early June, which brought probably the most exciting month and a half of herping I've ever had. Though there are many unique and beautiful species which inhabit the pine barrens, the one that seems to garner the most attention is the Northern Pine Snake. A large, powerful constrictor, pine snakes are one of the largest species of snake which inhabits the region. I was fortunate enough to stumble across two of them by sheer luck in the summer of 2011, and most of my time in 2012 was spent on the hunt for them. Signs of such activity began to pop up across the pine barrens.

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It's easy to see that this was an active dig as evidenced by the fresh drag marks in front of the burrow. I even managed to get a peek at the snout of this female at a different site, quite a tease.

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But just a week or so later, a bounce would finally go my way. I was out early one morning walking a spot I have many times before. It had rained rather heavily the night before, than the hazy morning sun had temperatures in the low 70s. I was walking a tree line in an open area when I noticed this big male out in the morning sun.

Northern Pine Snake (Pituophis melanoleucus melanoleucus)
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There is nothing like walking up on one of these in the field. I imagine it has the same feel of walking up on a Drymarchon in the southeast, just a truly awesome species to see in the field. The rest of the day was spent bouncing around the area, and in the early evening I decided to return to a spot where I had seen some promising activity in the morning. I bumped into a friend who was with his dad, when I walked over to where they were standing, I saw that this was going on about 30 yards away.

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I've seen a lot of cool things in the field, but watching this female pine snake excavate her nest might just top everything else. As my friend and his dad left, I decided to sit down in the late afternoon sun and just watch. I threw on my telephoto lens and took some shots from thirty yards away or so, but mostly I just sat and watched her. It ended up turning into two hours before she finally went in her partially completed burrow for the night, which I'm sure she finished in the morning. I figured, when in the hell am I going to see something like this in the field again? It was well worth sitting and watching her for a few hours, definitely something I'll never forget. The next weekend, I met up with a group of guys and we decided to spot hop across the area. We hit a lot of trash and managed to find this big fugly thing in the late morning.

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I'm not even going to speculate whether it's a coastal or not, the guys felt it was but others have told me that it's not. Either way, it was a nice snake that would have been much nicer had it not been in need of a shed. A little later on, Darnell spotted this absolute beauty on the crawl.

Northern Pine Snake (Pituophis melanoleucus melanoleucus)
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An absolutely gorgeous snake despite the rather nasty damage to her snout. I've never seen a pine with so much red on it, it was a great way to close the day, or so I thought. Some of the guys had to take off, but the rest of us decided to press on. One of the guys in the group told us he wanted to go check out some spots he hadn't been to in awhile, so we piled into one vehicle and were off for a late afternoon run. After a half an hour or so, we arrived here.

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Sandhills are upland, savanna-like habitats on gently rolling terrain with an open overstory of Pitch Pine (Pinus rigida) and scattered grasses and shrubs like Pine Barren Goldenheather (Hudsonia ericoides) and Lowbush Blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolia). As we entered the area, I joked that this would be the picture perfect place to find a pine snake and within a minute of me saying that, we bumped into this.

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Northern Pine Snake (Pituophis melanoleucus melanoleucus)
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Seeing two pine snakes a day, two weeks in a row was simply awesome. The next few weeks would continue to warm as the pine barrens becomes an almost unbearable place to herp in the dog days of summer. But on 4th of July morning, I met up with Alex Krohn and decided to head down to the pine barrens early in the morning to hopefully catch some stuff under cover. Although we didn't score any snakes under AC, we did cruise this beauty up at 8:15 AM with temperatures already in the low 80s.

Northern Pine Snake (Pituophis melanoleucus melanoleucus)
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Look familiar? She should, this is the same snake that I saw more than a week earlier, but she was easily more than two miles down the road from where we had seen her previously. Pine snakes are known to move huge distances in a short period of time, and this snake was a testament to that. This would also be the last pine snake I would see all summer, but certainly a great way to round that up for the summer.

A happy Alex Krohn with his first Pine Snake
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The rest of my summer in the pines was spent tracking down a few amphibian species that are always a treat. I got out with Scott Hammel one evening and we jetted down in hopes of catching a glimpse of one or two of the species in interest. It didn't take us long, and I also picked up a lifer that I head heard going kachuck-kachuck-kachuck many times before from a distance.

Carpenter Frog (Rana virgatipes)
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Pine Barrens Treefrogs (Hyla andersonii)
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As the dog days of summer arrived, herping in the pine barrens became increasingly difficult. Temperatures average the high 90s with high humidity, with the ticks and biting flies it can be a miserable place on a hot day. Even night cruising proved to be mostly unproductive, despite numerous attempts. I managed to flip a single snake in the latter half of the summer, and a pretty one at that, call it what you want.

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The hot summer months are pretty bad for pretty much anything, but one species that does seem to show up in the excessive heat is one of the more unique species to the region. Timber rattlesnakes occupy the talus slopes of the Appalachians everywhere else in the northeast, but the pine barrens population is quite unique.

Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus)
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This was a big snake, well over four feet in length and sporting an impressive string. Based on its location and sheer size, this was probably a male. I spent a few minutes photographing him and then we parted ways, it was an awesome sight to see considering this species is endangered in the garden state. This would basically conclude my time spent in the pine barrens, but what a summer it was there. I plan to make a return visit next year, it is a really unique place. The following weekend I traveled north to the Jersey highlands in hopes of scoring a timber from the mountains and the pine barrens in two weekends. A two hour hike lead me to this spot, a promising looking area.

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As I slowly traversed this area, I noticed signs of rattlesnakes being in the area as an very old shed of a large, stocky snake was seen between two boulders. As I reverted back to the trail which cuts through this area, I heard what sounded like a faint hiss or buzz. It wasn't very audible, but it got my attention. I turned to my right and laid my eyes upon this beautiful snake.

Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus)
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A beautiful dark phased male, this animal was right out in the open directly to my right while I was looking to my left. As I was firing some photos, in addition to rattling he made several noticeable raspy hisses which rattlesnakes sometimes are known to do. I believe he emitted a faint hiss as I passed too close to him, which is what drew my attention to my right. I would have walked right past him had he not made a sound. It was a pretty cool way to find a timber, and to wrap up getting a timber in both major regions of the state in two weekends. So what else did I do the rest of the summer? Most of my time was occupied working long weeks on projects involving two protected turtle species. My residence for the summer was not without it's own fair share of herps, here's a collection of animals found in the yard over the course of the summer.

Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina)
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Spotted Turtle (Clemmys guttata)
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Gray Treefrog (Hyla versicolor)
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Northern Black Racer (Coluber constrictor constrictor)
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Eastern Ribbon Snake (Thamnophis sauritus)
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Northern Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon)
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Eastern Milk Snake (Lampropeltis triangulum triangulum)
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It's fair to say that it's a really nice piece of property. :beer: Before I move on, I'd like to share a few more photos of some animals that I saw over the course of my summer in the northeast.

Eastern Box Turtles (Terrapene carolina)
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Eastern Milk Snake (Lampropeltis triangulum triangulum)
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Northern Copperhead (Agkistrodon controtrix mokasen)
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Northern Slimy Salamanders (Plethodon glutinosus)
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Northern Spring Salamander (Gyrinophilus porphyriticus)
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I felt like I had a pretty productive season in the northeast, though it required a lot of hours on the weekends. My trip home to Michigan was not without a heavy heart as my family's beloved golden retriever; Cassie, past away very suddenly in late July after twelve wonderful years of life.

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In need of getting out of the house, my sister joined me on a jaunt down to the coastal marshes of Lake Erie. Like much of the midwest, Michigan experienced it's worst drought in recent history and the dry conditions put a major damper on snake movement. Fortunately, two straight days of thunderstorms and heavy rain had hit Michigan before our venture. This certainly helped, as we were fortunate to find this beauty crossing a levee in out in the coastal marsh in the late afternoon.

Eastern Fox Snake (Pantherophis gloydi)
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A few days later, I made a trip over to the property I mentioned earlier in the year in hopes of catching a glimpse of another hognose snake. After talking with the property owners for a few minutes, I headed out onto the property with the aid of their two boys who have an avid love for snakes. We came to a large coverboard they had placed out earlier in the year and underneath was this little gem.

Eastern Hognose Snake (Heterodon platirhinos)
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This neonate was no more than 4-5" in length, and a great sign that this population less than ten miles from my house appears to be doing quite well. On labor day weekend, I drove an hour to the north of CMU to meet up with my good friend Chris, who's family has a cottage on an inland lake in the area. Chris had mentioned we would have a decent chance of seeing one of Michigan's more secretive amphibian species, and after flipping a few large rocks in the lake, we apprehended one of my favorite species.

Mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus)
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In Michigan, mudpuppies inhabit clear creeks, rivers, and deep inland lakes. After an interesting photo session, we let the water dog go back into the lake. We poked around a few areas nearby and came up empty handed. After brainstorming a few idea, we decided to make a two hour trek further north in hopes of seeing our first northern Michigan massasauga.

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This massive conifer swamp is home to a stable population of massasaugas and is just a short drive from the Mackinac Bridge. Conifer swamp is a groundwater-influenced, minerotrophic, forested wetland dominated by northern white-cedar (Thuja occidentalis) that occurs on organic soils primarily north of the climatic tension zone in the northern Lower Peninsula. Other common trees species may include balsam fir (Abies balsamea), tamarack (Larix laricina), and black spruce (Picea mariana). After traversing the area for about an hour, we began to get a little discouraged. But just as we were about to leave, my eyes caught a glimpse of a familiar pattern.

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This beautiful massasauga was laid out in the shade of a cedar tree, I couldn't help but shout, "Sauga!" to get Chris's attention. He quickly ran over to get a few in situ shots of the snake before a brief photo session.

Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus catenatus)
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Easily one of the nicest examples of this species I've ever seen, this snake was exceptionally marked and sported a beautiful tan coloration that I don't often see in the southern part of the state. After seeing massasaugas from both SE and SW Michigan, it has long been a goal of mind to find a photograph a rattlesnake in northern Michigan.Easily one of the nicest examples of this species I've ever seen, this snake was exceptionally marked and sported a beautiful tan coloration that I don't often see in the southern part of the state. After seeing massasaugas from both SE and SW Michigan, it has long been a goal of mind to find a photograph a rattlesnake in northern Michigan, so it was nice to knock it off the list. September is also one of the best times of the year in Michigan to get out on some of our streams and rivers. I managed to get out on a northern Michigan river one warm afternoon in hopes of seeing a few turtles. Within a few minutes of dropping in, I spotted this large male wood turtle.

Wood Turtle (Glyptemys insculpta)
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Working on wood turtle research out east for the past two summers has given me such a greater appreciation for this species, especially in terms of its ecology. As much as I like the looks of the ones out east, Michigan wood turtles are much more attractive in my opinion and kayaking for them is a relaxing way to enjoy field time.After a quick start, things slowed down over the next hour or so of my paddle. In need of some encouragement, I portaged at an area along the river I know of to look for a few snakes. A large sheet of tin revealed this absolute screamer of a milk snake.

Eastern Milk Snake (Lampropeltis triangulum triangulum)
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A beautiful specimen, this large adult had recently shed and was exhibiting some brilliant orange and red coloration, the photo doesn't do it justice. After firing a few photos, I headed back to my kayak and was on my way once more. I saw dozens of map turtles, and as I was nearing the end of my trip I spotted this big male from a long way off.

Wood Turtle (Glyptemys insculpta)
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It was a nice way to close out a fun day on a beautiful river. The next few weeks of September provided me with little time in the field, but I did manage to get out and find a few things before the annual October trip to southern Illinois to meet everyone for the first annual NAFA national meeting. Here's a few photos of a couple critters before I go on to the snake road trip.

Eastern Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis)
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Eastern Fox Snake (Pantherophis gloydi)
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Northern Brown Snake (Storeria dekayi)
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The first weekend of October drew me to the Shawnee National Forest of southern Illinois for the first NAFHA national meeting. More than seventy herpers from across the country descended upon Snake Road and its surrounding areas for a weekend of camaraderie, shenanigans, and of course, snakes. Seeing that the weather forecast looked abysmal for the latter half of the weekend, Chris Boguslawski and I decided to head down earlier in the week in hopes of catching at least a day of warm temperatures and sunny skies. After rolling in at close to 3 AM local time, we were up Thursday morning at 7 AM for an hour drive to the north to flip a tin site I had been told about by a friend. We arrived to an abandoned site near a large stretch of bluffs with lots of tin around it. Withing a few minutes, Chris called out that he had a snake, the snake we drove an hour to see.

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Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix)
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This never moved as we took a few quick photos and then gently set the tin back down on top of it. The weather was warming, so we decided to head back to snake road and get on it as soon as possible. It didn't take us long to get our first snake, but it was not the obligatory cottonmouth we were expecting to see first.

Rough Green Snake (Opheodrys aestivus)
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This species appears to be quite abundant in southern Illinois and is always a treat to see, we ended up seeing more than a dozen on this day. We took a few photos of this snake and then continued to make our way down the road.

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Snake Road is a pretty amazing place to say the least. The gravel road meanders between a large cypress swamp and tall limestone bluffs for more than two and a half miles. There are several points along the road where the swamp and bluffs are just a short distance from each other, as we approached this first swamp crossing, the usual suspects began to make an appearance.

Western Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma)
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This big cottonmouth had just come out of the swamp and was heading towards the bluffs. Though it was fairly unwilling to gape, it did hold its head straight up in a very defensive fashion. Not too far away, I spotted this very brightly colored juvenile near the edge of the swamp.

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Finding cottonmouths in close proximity would be the common theme of the day as we ended up seeing more than fifty individuals on the road, near the swamp, and along the bluffs. We continued further down the road and saw a few more moccasins and the occasional green snake and ribbon snake. As we neared another swamp crossing, Chris spotted this pretty little Nerodia.

Yellowbelly Water Snake (Nerodia erythrogaster flavigaster)
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This would be the only species of water snake we would see on the weekend, with Mississippi Greens and Diamondbacks remaining elusive. The day rolled onward and provided plenty more of the usual suspects. We pumped into several herpers along the way who had mentioned they had seen timber rattlesnakes the day before in the late afternoon, yet despite our efforts walking high into the bluffs we had not seen the third species in the southern Illinois pitviper trifecta. As we were nearing the end of our day, I noticed on large bluff face was being hit by the sun really well and decided to go check it out.

Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus)
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Needless to say I was pretty excited when I spotted this juvenile timber make its way back toward the bluff wall. Probably a yearling snake, this young horridus sported some very nice serrated chevrons, a dark post-ocular stripe, and a nice rusty dorsal stripe, all characteristic of timbers from the western part of the species' range. I didn't bother the snake too long for photos and after parting ways we called it a night. The next day brought some rather unfriendly weather. But earlier on in the morning, the sun was out and so we decided to spot hop a bit before heading to the road. Friday ended up being a great day for a species I didn't see last year or the previous day.

Black Rat Snakes (Pantherophis obsoletus)
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It was cool to see the transition that this species goes through in terms of appearance as they age from neonates to adults. The neonate was found along the bluffs amid a light rain in the mid afternoon. Earlier in the morning Chris and I cruised the sub-adult; which was about 2 feet long, along a rural road in the farm country. The nice adult was found scaling the bluff wall much later in the day during a heavy downpour. While a large group of herpers was photographing the black rat snake, part of the group moved farther up the bluff wall to stay dry and stepped precariously close to a known timber den. I was a bit surprised when someone in group yelled, "Timber!" I ran a short distance to see this adult timber poking its head out of its den.

Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus)
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This was the best photo I could manage before the rest of the group startled the snake back into its den. It's hard to know why it was thinking about coming out amid a heavy rain and temps in the low 50s, but I wasn't complaining. The inclement weather would cut the day shore, but Friday night was filled with lots of shenanigans around the campfire. It was great to catch up with people that I had herped literally all over the place and share a few drinks and laughs. Saturday would turn out to be one of the most interesting days I've ever had at snake road. Temperatures would only reach the mid 50s with scattered sun and clouds. Surprisingly cottonmouths would be in short supply on this day, with most being seen with their heads merely poking out of crevices in the bluffs. We decided to flip as many rocks as we could in hopes of seeing some of the fossorial species in the area. Not long after, someone in a group ahead of us flipped this beautiful little earth snake under a large rock.

Smooth Earth Snake (Virginia valeriae)
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As we headed back down the road, we got word that ahead of us a group had flipped a copperhead under a rock. We finally arrived to to a large group of herpers huddled around this little beauty which ended up being the rockstar of the weekend.

Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix)
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This little fella had much more of a northern copperhead look to it than the individual that we flipped a few days earlier. We didn't bother this snake too much and then headed back town the road just in time for a member of our group to find this beautiful snake, one species I haven't seen at snake road since my first trip down.

Red Milk Snake (Lampropeltis triangulum syspila)
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This neonate was found crawling along the bluff wall by Matt Boguslawski who was pretty bummed about missing out on the two timbers and copperheads earlier in the trip, I'm sure glad he managed to make this find. This snake also drew a large crowd and was the second most photographed snake of the weekend behind the neonate copperhead. A few more common things were found throughout the day, but nothing more exciting made an appearance in the cool weather conditions. We did stop by a few tin sites in the rain in hopes of finding some snakes taking cover, but all we found was a few of these pretty Plethodontids.

Northern Slimy Salamander (Plethodon glutinosus)
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The next morning took us to another well known site in hopes of finding a mudsnake and salamander species. While flipping some cover in some lowland areas of a cypress swamp, a few Ambystomatids turned up.

Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma maculatum)
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Marbled Salamander (Ambystoma opacum)
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One group did fine a Mole Salamander (Ambystoma talpoideum) but lost it before our group could get to them for photos. Nearby, a small cottonmouth was flipped under a railroad tie and Daniel Dye's wife Yvonne called out that she had flipped a snake under a rock on a rocky hillside, but lost it. A group of us rushed over and began raking through the leaf litter and before long I saw a flash of red and pulled this little beauty out.

Midwest Worm Snake (Carphophis amoenus helenae)
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This small fossorial species is a personal favorite of mine, especially the individuals from this region of the country. Worm snakes here exhibit a chocolate brown dorsum with a bright pinkish-red ventral surface and are extremely attractive snakes. I spent a good amount of time photographing this snake before spending the next our or so flipping logs in the cypress swamp for mudsnakes to no avail. We ended up seeing sixteen snake species on the trip and managed to completely the pitviper trifecta for second year in a row, though mudsnakes remained elusive once again. It was a fantastic weekend overall filled with lots of great field time and plenty of quality laughs around the campfire. The next month or so back home in Michigan was pretty slow as the weather began to turn cold and the autumn colors came and went. But November ended up being an extremely interesting month due to several stretches of abnormally warm weather. On one Saturday afternoon, Chris Boguslawksi and I decided to head to a new location in hopes of finding some massasaugas out in some unseasonably warm November weather. We arrived around noon to sunny skies and temperatures in the mid 60s despite a stiff wind. Within a few minutes, I noticed a stocky snake basking out in the open on a rotting long on a forested slope.

Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus catenatus)
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The snake showed clear signs of being underground for the past few weeks, I took a view in situ shots and let it be. The habitat at this location is quite unique compared to other massasauga populations I've been to. Most of the suitable habitat is a large stretch of floodplain forest with some adjacent small wetlands. This snake was way out of the lowlands and up in a dry forested area, likely utilizing old rodent burrows as hibernation sites.

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A short time later, I spotted this much nicer looking adult on the crawl in the leaf litter.

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Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus catenatus)
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We had found two exceptional adults in less than a half hour in November, it was a very good day. Temperatures once again plummeted over the next few weeks, but things would change near the end of the month. A high pressure system moved through over Thanksgiving weekend and brought temperatures in the high 50s with sun. I decided to go out on Thanksgiving morning with my friend Kara Pattison and Chris and his brothers in hopes of scoring a turkey day massasauga. It didn't take long as I spotted this large adult in a loose coil.

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We snapped a few photos and moved on. A short time later, I was talking with Kara about something when I happened to glance down and see this hidden in the leaf litter maybe two feet from my left foot. Sneaky little guy!

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It was a fantastic way to close up my 2012 season. I would like to thank you for making it through this long winded narrative of my field season, and I hope you enjoyed the read and photos. I would also like to thank all of the people I was able to share field time with this year in the northeast, southeast, and midwest. I wish you all a happy holiday season and best wishes for your 2013 field season. Cheers!
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walk-about
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Re: 2012 Year End Report - Southeast, Northeast, Midwest

Post by walk-about »

Nick,

DAMN!!! That was quite the post sir. I'll be back for seconds and thirds on this one. Very nice cross-section of turtles to boot. No Kirtlands? LoL. Looks like those places you ventured were not too badly effected by the epic drought of 2012?

RocK ON!

Dave
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dery
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Re: 2012 Year End Report - Southeast, Northeast, Midwest

Post by dery »

walk-about wrote:Nick,

DAMN!!! That was quite the post sir.
Dave
Sure was. One of the best.
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Phil Peak
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Re: 2012 Year End Report - Southeast, Northeast, Midwest

Post by Phil Peak »

Really enjyed this one! So much to choose from, but I particularly liked the fine selection of eastern milks. The pine snake series was also very nice!

Phil
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Antonsrkn
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Re: 2012 Year End Report - Southeast, Northeast, Midwest

Post by Antonsrkn »

Excellent post Nick, you really dominated the herping scene this year. Tons of finds i'm jealous of there and great diversity to boot. I enjoy seeing these on flickr, but it was awesome seeing them all compiled here. Also great job with the top notch photography!
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Nigel Smith
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Re: 2012 Year End Report - Southeast, Northeast, Midwest

Post by Nigel Smith »

I enjoyed that post from start to finish Nick. Well done. You've managed to include pretty much every snake I dreamed about seeing in wild, growing up in MI. MI hognose... really :shock: As well as the spotted, wood and bog turtles. I really enjoyed those pine snake shots as well. Your narration made it feel like I was right there with you.

I look forward to getting out in the field with you in the future.
:beer:
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dery
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Re: 2012 Year End Report - Southeast, Northeast, Midwest

Post by dery »

Nigel Smith wrote:I enjoyed that post from start to finish Nick. Well done. You've managed to include pretty much every snake I dreamed about seeing in wild, growing up in MI. MI hognose... really :shock: As well as the spotted, wood and bog turtles. I really enjoyed those pine snake shots as well. Your narration made it feel like I was right there with you.

I look forward to getting out in the field with you in the future.
:beer:
Nick found all the turtles on my wishlist. And some of the snakes.
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monklet
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Re: 2012 Year End Report - Southeast, Northeast, Midwest

Post by monklet »

Definitely on the short list for best post of the year!!! :shock: :shock: :thumb: :thumb: 8-) 8-) 8-) :beer: :beer: :beer:
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dery
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Re: 2012 Year End Report - Southeast, Northeast, Midwest

Post by dery »

monklet wrote:Definitely on the short list for best post of the year!!! :shock: :shock: :thumb: :thumb: 8-) 8-) 8-) :beer: :beer: :beer:
I disagree. This year it's an extremely long list. :lol: :beer:
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Mike VanValen
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Re: 2012 Year End Report - Southeast, Northeast, Midwest

Post by Mike VanValen »

I'm not even going to speculate whether it's a coastal or not, the guys felt it was but others have told me that it's not.
I don't think I've thrown in my opinion on that snake. In my opinion, it falls within the spectrum of temporalis.
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Nick Scobel
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Re: 2012 Year End Report - Southeast, Northeast, Midwest

Post by Nick Scobel »

Mike VanValen wrote:
I'm not even going to speculate whether it's a coastal or not, the guys felt it was but others have told me that it's not.
I don't think I've thrown in my opinion on that snake. In my opinion, it falls within the spectrum of temporalis.
That was my feeling too, but I've heard a lot of conflicting ideas on what the milks in the pines are. Some people have said that all the milks in the pines are temporalis and I've heard other people say that there's both triangulum and "temporalis" in the region. The snake I found in July lacked the characteristic neck collar that seems to be synonymous with the description of coastals and it's blotches also didn't extend almost all the way to the ventrals. This snake I found last year is much more of what I think of as a template for temporalis.

Image
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Norman D
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Re: 2012 Year End Report - Southeast, Northeast, Midwest

Post by Norman D »

Well done Nick! Lots of great photos and narratives. I always look forward to seeing your massasauga photos! You have the best collection of eastern saugies I have seen. Have you seen/photographed tergeminus or edwardsii?

Thanks for sharing
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Will Wells
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Re: 2012 Year End Report - Southeast, Northeast, Midwest

Post by Will Wells »

Very cool post and great photography!!! I hope to get to that side of the country someday soon! Thanks for sharing.
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dery
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Re: 2012 Year End Report - Southeast, Northeast, Midwest

Post by dery »

What side of the US??
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MattSullivan
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Re: 2012 Year End Report - Southeast, Northeast, Midwest

Post by MattSullivan »

awesome. i'd love to find even a fraction of that in a year haha
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Rich in Reptiles
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Re: 2012 Year End Report - Southeast, Northeast, Midwest

Post by Rich in Reptiles »

Fun post to look through! That pine barrens treefrog picture can't get any better, great pictures! Those blue racers are just gorgeous!
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intermedius
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Re: 2012 Year End Report - Southeast, Northeast, Midwest

Post by intermedius »

What a post! Love the pine barrens, but its a shame that so many of these species are protected and on the verge of extinction :(
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axeman2729
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Re: 2012 Year End Report - Southeast, Northeast, Midwest

Post by axeman2729 »

love those saugas
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Re: 2012 Year End Report - Southeast, Northeast, Midwest

Post by Tamara D. McConnell »

WOW. What a feast for the eyes!
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Nick Scobel
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Re: 2012 Year End Report - Southeast, Northeast, Midwest

Post by Nick Scobel »

Norman D wrote:Well done Nick! Lots of great photos and narratives. I always look forward to seeing your massasauga photos! You have the best collection of eastern saugies I have seen. Have you seen/photographed tergeminus or edwardsii?

Thanks for sharing
Norman, I haven't been far enough west to see tergeminus or edwardsii. Those are definitely two species I'd love to see in the future, a long with a bunch of others from out west. I've pretty much seen everything I want to see out east with the exception of a few species, I need to head westward.
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Norman D
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Re: 2012 Year End Report - Southeast, Northeast, Midwest

Post by Norman D »

Nick Scobel wrote:
Norman D wrote:Well done Nick! Lots of great photos and narratives. I always look forward to seeing your massasauga photos! You have the best collection of eastern saugies I have seen. Have you seen/photographed tergeminus or edwardsii?

Thanks for sharing
Norman, I haven't been far enough west to see tergeminus or edwardsii. Those are definitely two species I'd love to see in the future, a long with a bunch of others from out west. I've pretty much seen everything I want to see out east with the exception of a few species, I need to head westward.
There is plenty to see in the west! Not as many mosquitos and not as much water as the east... but plenty of diversity! Look forward to seeing your photography of the western reptiles.

Likewise, I need to start heading east but still need some of the western rattlesnakes myself
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Brendan
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Re: 2012 Year End Report - Southeast, Northeast, Midwest

Post by Brendan »

Nick great job on all the photos. You covered a decent amount of ground for sure. Keep up the great work.
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Daniel D Dye
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Re: 2012 Year End Report - Southeast, Northeast, Midwest

Post by Daniel D Dye »

Incredible photos, Nick! Those Wood Turtle images make them look gigantic! How large are they? I'd love to see and photograph one someday. Those spotties are awesome as well, they're one of my favorites. :thumb:

It was great seeing you again this year. I'm sure we'll cross paths again in 2013.

DDD
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dery
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Re: 2012 Year End Report - Southeast, Northeast, Midwest

Post by dery »

Most of the animals posted here would be a lifer once I finnaly find one.
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Nick Scobel
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Re: 2012 Year End Report - Southeast, Northeast, Midwest

Post by Nick Scobel »

Nigel Smith wrote:I enjoyed that post from start to finish Nick. Well done. You've managed to include pretty much every snake I dreamed about seeing in wild, growing up in MI. MI hognose... really :shock: As well as the spotted, wood and bog turtles. I really enjoyed those pine snake shots as well. Your narration made it feel like I was right there with you.

I look forward to getting out in the field with you in the future.
:beer:
Thanks Nigel, it was great to meet you at the NAFHA meeting and share stories about some of the MI species. Next time you're in town let me know!
Rich in Reptiles wrote:Fun post to look through! That pine barrens treefrog picture can't get any better, great pictures! Those blue racers are just gorgeous!
They can be quite stunning, no doubt about it. Of all the racer variants east of the Mississippi, the only one I would put ahead of foxii would be the buttermilks. That's one I'd love to see.
Daniel D Dye wrote:Incredible photos, Nick! Those Wood Turtle images make them look gigantic! How large are they? I'd love to see and photograph one someday. Those spotties are awesome as well, they're one of my favorites. :thumb:

It was great seeing you again this year. I'm sure we'll cross paths again in 2013.

DDD
It was good to see you again Daniel, next time I swing through Florida I'll have to make a stop at the farm. Glyptemys are a fairly good sized turtle, but definitely smaller than the cooters which are found in your neck of the woods. Males are larger than females, but I would say adults in general average 6-10" inches in carapace length.

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tkennedyfour
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Re: 2012 Year End Report - Southeast, Northeast, Midwest

Post by tkennedyfour »

Awesome post Nick, looking back at this old post of yours makes me even more excited for my snake road trip this weeke. Even with the awful forecast. Wish you were going dude!
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Jeroen Speybroeck
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Re: 2012 Year End Report - Southeast, Northeast, Midwest

Post by Jeroen Speybroeck »

Glad this got dug up, because I hadn't seen it before. Very impressive!
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Re: 2012 Year End Report - Southeast, Northeast, Midwest

Post by RonanK »

Awesome post, and HOLY CRAP! You found a wild albino corn! Wicked cool
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