Georgia Winter 2015

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noah k.
Posts: 231
Joined: November 3rd, 2011, 5:27 pm

Georgia Winter 2015

Post by noah k. »

Hey guys! I've been busy this Winter, but that certainly doesn't mean I haven't been herping! I have been all over the state of Georgia so far this year, and I'll do my best to get these finds into the database.

The first outing I made after the conclusion of my last post was to the fall line sandhills of Georgia. It was warm enough that Daniel and I hoped to get our first snake of 2015, but only a few amphibians were seen.

Mole Salamander

This was actually my first in Georgia.

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Some habitat from the day.

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The next few weeks were slow and for the most part very cold. I made sure to take advantage of the warmer days. Here are a few animals seen, mostly Coweta County Georgia.

By late January Spotted Salamanders and their eggs were everywhere.

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Southern Red-backed Salamander

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I spent quite a bit of time learning to use my new camera, and non-herps made great practice subjects.

Tricolored Bats

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Chatahoochee Sculpin

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Burrowing Scarab

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Southern Unstriped Scorpion

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Virginia Opossum

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Late early February saw the beginning of Pseudacris breeding.

Upland Chorus Frog. These two clung together as I was photographing them.

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Mountain Chorus Frog

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Nice spotted found looking for chorus frogs.

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Upland Chorus Frog egg mass.

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Southern Two-lined Salamander

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I was fortunate enough to spend the last day of February up in Northwest Georgia visiting Frick's Cave. This cave is only open one day of the year to protect the Gray Bats that congregate in mass here in the summer. Several species of bats were seen in the cave, and we were careful not to disturb them while taking photos.

Gray Bat

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Big Brown Bats

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This cave is a known white nose syndrome location and many of the bats inside were suffering from the condition. This tricolor had a particularly severe case. Compare to the Gray Bat pictured above, which has a mild case.

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Two of the largest Red Salamanders I've ever seen were found deep within the cave.

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I found a lifer in this cave in the form of the Cave Salamander.

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When we exited the cave, there was still 2in of snow on the ground from a storm that had passed through a few days prior. Temperatures were in the high 40's and we decided to swing by a local area that I've always wanted to visit. On the way to the spot I looked down at my feet and could hardly believe my eyes! There was an Eastern Garter Snake sitting in a patch of sunlight, Daniel and I's first snake of 2015!

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We finally arrived at a rock wall with a waterfall crashing over the top. Those familiar with the area will know exactly where I am talking about! We soon began scouring cracks for our target just as the sun dipped behind the mountain, and temperatures began to plummet. Just as I was beginning to give up hope of finding our target, I spotted my lifer Pigeon Mountain Salamander! A day I'll never forget.

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Back home, spring was in full swing as the first of March rolled around. The amphibians were going crazy.

Spotted Salamander eggs

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Helgramite

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Bufo eggs.

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Eastern Newt

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Marbled Salamander

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I spent a particularly warm weekend exploring some granite rock outcrops in Coweta county. Not many herps were seen but it was fun.

Self Portrait

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Red Salamander flipped nearby.

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Granite Outcrop

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I recently spent 5 days down in south Georgia with friends and family for my annual spring break trip. Weather was extremely cooperative, and we saw more snakes than I have ever seen in one trip and even believed possible in Georgia. It was a fun time as usual, people involved were Daniel Thompson, Saunders Drukker (who has a nice vlog of the trip up on his YouTube), Chance Feimster, and Josh Young.

After a mess of transportation issues delayed us, we finally arrived at our first stop along the Altamaha river in coastal Georgia a little past midnight.

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We had a crazy night for shining well after midnight. The first snake of the trip was this little Brown Watersnake.

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I also got a chance to photograph some River Frogs and their huge tadpoles.

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Spadefoot Toad

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Several juvenile Sliders were found sleeping in debris.

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Rough Green Snakes were everywhere, here's a few pulled from one tree.

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The first of more than 40 Banded Watersnakes seen throughout the trip.

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The first of several Cottonmouths to come was also seen.

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The highlight of the night for me was this gorgeous Red-bellied Water.

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Eventually we had to get a little sleep, as we planned on meeting up with Josh in the morning.

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We hit a local spot that morning but failed to turn anything up. We decided to head over to a road I knew of nearby to see if we could have some luck over there. We split up and about ten minutes later Josh called and informed us he found a diamondback just up the road!

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After that, temperatures dropped fairly quick so we decided to head over to one of Josh's spots in north Florida.

Barking Treefrog

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A few trapped Two-toed Amphiumas we rescued.

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Massive Greater Siren, easily thicker than my forearm.

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Cottonmouth

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Amphiuma

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Black Swamp Snake

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We crashed at Josh's place for the night, and in the morning headed towards Okefenokee where we'd spend the next three days.

We stopped for a few roadside carnivorous plants.

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Sundew

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The first day in Okefenokee was slow, overcast and a bit cool. The first find was my first Racer of 2015, always a welcome find for me.

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Also saw a more fasciata, these little ones were absolutely everywhere.

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We didn't have much time before dark, and like I said before it was cool so not much was on the road after dark. We got a few garters and waters.

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Cottonmouth

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Little Grass Frog

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Things got much better on Saturday! The sun came out for periods and the overall temperature was much higher. We visited one of my favorite spots in the Okefenokee region and were able to turn up quite a few awesome animals.

Pinewoods Treefrog

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Racer

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We found two gorgeous juvenile Corn Snakes, a species Saunders wanted to see in the wild for the first time.

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Even better than the above was this Dusky Pygmy Rattlesnake, the first one I've seen from the swamp. From what I hear they're very hit or miss in the area, we were lucky enough to find two.

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Another highlight of the day was getting to meet some fellow forum members! Daniel and Michael Dye, Ashley Tubbs, Dale Wilson, and Justin Oguni were also spending the weekend in the swamp. It was awesome to meet them, and I wish we would've had more time in the field together.

That night turned up the usual assortment of garters and waters along with my first Georgia Ribbon Snake (har har laugh away). Meanwhile the others were busy finding BOTH species of crayfish snake on the same road as us! Congrats on those guys, our group was super jealous!

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Sunday was our last day of the trip, and even though we had already had some great finds, I still felt unsatisfied. Did I have an inner sense of what was to come? Or was I just being greedy?

Anyways, we headed to one of the most beautiful places in the Georgia, maybe even the world, in hopes of turning up our last rattlesnake species and a Scarlet Kingsnake. Only accessible by boat, this special place has a rich history and an even richer natural history. Some of the oldest trees I'll likely encounter are found here, along with some of the biggest and most drool worthy stumpholes and hurricanes I'll ever encounter.

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The first find was none other than the reason we came here and the snake to complete the southeast rattlesnake slam! As found to start.

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While we were all photographing the Canebrake, my Dad was able to turn up a Racer, a Rough Earth Snake, and an Eastern Glass Lizard! Talk about a hectic 5 minutes! (Racer and RES were individuals found later)

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Another awesome find was this Racer, photographed as found perfectly perched atop a plametto.

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As if we hadn't been spoiled by this location already, I turned up this gorgeous Scarlet Kingsnake.

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Unfortunately our time in the swamp had come to a close, and it was time to head north. However the swamp was not done with us, as this anerythristic beauty graced us with its presence not five minutes after a juvenile Cottonmouth had us thinking surely we had found our last snake.

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Stunning animal.

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That's what I call a proper goodbye!

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And I'll end this post with a few things from around home, SPRING IS HERE!!! Sure hope it can keep up!

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Thanks for looking,

Happy Herping!!
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mtratcliffe
Posts: 533
Joined: January 19th, 2014, 4:34 pm
Location: Mt Laurel, NJ

Re: Georgia Winter 2015

Post by mtratcliffe »

Awesome finds, Noah! Thanks for sharing - seems like you had a very productive winter.
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Mike VanValen
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Re: Georgia Winter 2015

Post by Mike VanValen »

Sweet post. You guys tore it up, great job. That's a gorgeous EDB.
simus343
Posts: 566
Joined: March 30th, 2014, 1:16 pm
Location: Okaloosa ca, Fla.

Re: Georgia Winter 2015

Post by simus343 »

What?! That was your WINTER?! I envy you! haha. Superb post with great variety and some amazing photographs, it seems to me that you have had quite a bit of practice!

That first black racer is a looker. It seems to have more black on its jaws than a typical racer. Also how many Rough Greens was that you were holding? I counted two heads, were there any more in that bunch?
Carl D. May
Posts: 362
Joined: June 2nd, 2011, 4:17 am

Re: Georgia Winter 2015

Post by Carl D. May »

Noah...super photos! Those corn snakes will be real stunners when they are full grown and that part of the country produces (and has produced for decades) some of the most beautiful animals ever. Excellent poses and backgrounds too.

Was that aner pigmy found in the ANF? Or near it? I'm beginning to wonder just how common those things are.
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noah k.
Posts: 231
Joined: November 3rd, 2011, 5:27 pm

Re: Georgia Winter 2015

Post by noah k. »

Thanks everyone!
simus343 wrote: That first black racer is a looker. It seems to have more black on its jaws than a typical racer. Also how many Rough Greens was that you were holding? I counted two heads, were there any more in that bunch?
I think there are 3 there, maybe even 4.
Carl D. May wrote:Was that aner pigmy found in the ANF? Or near it? I'm beginning to wonder just how common those things are.
It was found just outside of the Okefenokee Swamp on the west side. I didn't even know we had anerys in Georgia until I found it.
HerpMan ATL
Posts: 84
Joined: August 30th, 2014, 12:36 pm

Re: Georgia Winter 2015

Post by HerpMan ATL »

Noah you're the herping Ninja. Awesome finds and photos. I love the juvi Corn Snakes and that Scarlet.
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Noah M
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Location: Gainesville, FL
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Re: Georgia Winter 2015

Post by Noah M »

Your winter is as good some peoples' entire seasons.
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