Here's part 1, in case you missed it: http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=8953

I was hired by the Orianne Society to be a tortoise technician on the preserve they own in southeastern GA. I got some pretty decent herping in...

Oh before we get into this, if you have herped with me before this GA trip, you probably know that my white whale was copperheads. But, on the 23rd of September 2011 at 9:40pm, after searching in nine states (Ohio, Illlinois, Missouri, North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, and now South Carolina) I officially FOUND A FREAKING COPPERHEAD. Pictures are later in this post.


Me with one of my turdles:








Baby turdles!










My trapping site:


Hazards of my trapping site:




Other stuff found on the preserve:




Kiley, the swamp monster:


FL pine:






I didnt think much when Josh flipped this brown snake, but it turns out it was a county record!


EDB:






Dirk and TIm Warfel herping along a very large river


Baby soft shell


Softies on a log, taken with my iPhone


Butterflies
Gulf Coast Fritillaries and other butterflies



















Muscles displaying. When the right fish species comes along the mussel will eject larvae at the fish. The larvae will latch on to the fish's gills and feed off the blood there until they mature and drop off to become adults.




Gators in the pond on the preserve:




Dead deer in a gator hole



Random stuff from the preserve:
The only farancia i found


Mayflies on the Ocmulgee:


The Ocmulgee:




Skeletortle




That's the end of the preserve stuff...











I had to bring a injured on the road indigo to the sea turtle center on Jekyll, and spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach photoing birds: (Sadly the indigo ended up not making it )


























Not from the preserve:

Some Carolina Pigmys:














Anery:





"Where'd you go?"





My lifer spadefoot that I found before Josh Holbrook found his





Hoggies!


An eye for an eye:




Another eastern:




And a few southerns I had help finding. That was one busy freaking day on that one road!












From the hognose road:










Brand-new baby cow. These are his first steps!


Southern Two-Lined




Another twolined, this one from Virginia


Yay nerodia!










I can't seem to get a clear shot of a skink





















Florida

Then Tim Warfel and I met up with Tim Borski and Jake Scott to go hunt a bit of Florida...








Baby green




Florida Softshell Apalone ferox


Still has his egg tooth!


Loggerhead musk


Narrow-striped dwarf siren Pseudobranchus axanthus axanthus




Red-bellied Slider


Some Nerodia


































More non=preserve GA

Pigeon Mountain
PM Salamanders, Plethodon petraeus








Plethodon ventralis


Slimy in a crack


Caves found in a cave






in situ:



I hope you guys like salamanders. Here, have some more.


Blue-ridge two lined Eurycea wilderae




Southern Grey Cheeked Salamander Plethodon metcalfi








Two-toed Amphiuma Amphiuma means


Josh Parker and I got 4 species of duskies in one day.
Occoee





Seal (monticola)


Blackbelly





Urutus are native to GA, right?






























So then I left GA and headed west. Thanks to everyone I stayed with, visited, herped with, or met for the first time. You guys made my road trip very memorable, and you're all welcome to wherever I happen to be!

Kansas for the KHS meeting




Sandhill cranes:
Sorry for the crappy quality, but it was dusk and they were a very very long way away, and I'm out of excuses. I need to learn how to use my long lens better
















I visited Alex Krohn (Viridovipera) in Las Vegas and we camped in Death Valley:






And he showed me some Alamagorso Toads (Bufo nelsoni)
















California (finally!):
Went to go hang out with Dan Krull to look for Xantusia, but all we found was this silly blanvilli
(I freaking love Phrynos, by the way)




























Okay I guess you guys have been patient enough. Here are my copperhead shots. I know there are a lot of them, but they were my first damn copperheads! Nine states it took me to find one! NINE!
The lifer: (Aiken Co, SC)








I went to go get something from my car, and I left the snake where I had been photoing it. When I came back, i was like "SH*T! WHERE THE HELL DID THE SNAKE GO?!" and then i realized it hadnt moved a muscle from where I left it...



Okay the second
Richmond Co, GA


And then some more...






And one I found. All of these pics are in situ. I never touched the animal, and I moved slowly around him so he wouldn't spook.









I'll end with what I think ties with the best picture I have ever taken. I only see one thing wrong with it, and I'm not going to say what it is, so that I dont ruin it for you all.



Thanks for looking, and sorry for all of the pictures...hope I kept you guys entertained!
-Marisa

I have to say that I'm jealous of your travels and herping experiences. Great photography, as always, especially that last shot. Loved it when I saw it at KHS. I think I know what's wrong with it too, it's that darn fly in the corner

Seriously? This has EPIC post for November written all over it. at the Gopher Rd photo. You nailed it on this one, great job!

Incredible!

Holy crap Marisa!

Is there anything you DIDN'T see?!? You know I'm jealous of your adamanteus and contortix shots! Looks like you had a smokin' year, and I'm lookin' forward to herpin' with ya again in the future....

PS- That shot of Tim surveying the shoreline has "I'm a supervisor...I don't get dirty" written all over it!

-Kris

Ha! He did look too clean in that pic. I like that nickname, "the supervisor".

Gotta give a shout out to the hogs. You got Nicholas wanting to head south with those shots.

Yet again, another nice post. Those three mugitus photos are great, and I bet it was a thrill to find such a beaut. too.

-Dell

All around excellence. "Where'd you go?" might be my new favorite box turtle pic, and it was nice seeing all the gopher tortoises, even if I'm still smarting from having been outrun by one. Incredible stuff, all of it.

The copperhead shot you closed with is fantastic.

JimM

Great photography/finds Marisa!

Lots of your amphibian shots make me "almost" want to start photographing them. Almost. lol

Let's see...my favorites were the hognose/toad photos. Your EDB, copperheads, and pygmy rattlesnake photos were spectacular. Makes me want to plan a trip for EDBs & pygmies

Beautiful stuff.That being said-you sure your employer's cool with you bringing so much attention to it all- postin this stuff here,and making mention of their project's locales-let alone doing so specifically?Incredible.

Seems somewhat outside the standard practice to me,and I kinda wonder what good it really accomplishes to post here.You were presumably brought onboard that project to help protec that flagship species,right? And for god sakes why not at leats remove the specific locales?How about at least throwin out a reminder that some of these are federally protected as well as state protected,and that touching them at all is illegal?

I mean your pics are fantastic,seriously- but are the accolades really worth all that potential negative that can come of so much attention HERE where you're just preaching to the choir at best?Hell someone-yeh,a 'fellow herper' from this 'community' just got busted with some of these very species in his posession in the very same frickin state.Come on now let's think about it huh?

OK sorry,back to the hugfest

Those aren't southern two-lined sallies?

Great photos...you keep getting better and better

Those petraus shots. . . mmmm.... Great post all around - It was great getting out with you despite the complete lack of snakes :-/

Seminola or bust!

Nice post, thanks for that. I agree about the "jealous about your travels" comment as well as the 2-lined instead of 3-lined...

Nice find on the dwarf siren. That amphiuma portrait is very nice. I agree with J-Miz that those are two-lined salamanders. Also, your seal salamander pictured is some other Desmog, perhaps a young quad?

I think I'm only the third person to type that I'm jealous of your travels, but I don't think I'm the third person to think so. You sure have seen a tonne! Your photography is getting to be really good as well

Ian

Nice stuff Marisa! Great variety, and I am glad you got your copperhead(s) finally.
By the way, your yellowbelly slider is actually a redbelly.

Great photos!
See you again sometime,
--Berkeley

SHEEEE-IT that was fantastic! Always love your photography...I feel like i need a smoke now. Awesome!

To everyone but ugh:
Thanks so much for the correct IDs! This is what happens when you work on a post for too long

To ugh:



HI ugh-
I dont think I mentioned the specific locale of anything besides the Pigeon Mountain salamanders (and, well, their location is in their name), and the counties of the copperheads. I never even said what county the preserve is in. I'd be happy to throw up my shots with no commentating at all, if that would be more appropriate. Also, It may comfort you to know that I was under permit while handling the animals that are protected in the state.

As for the Orianne Society, their website is http://www.oriannesociety.org. I encourage you to browse around and learn about them. In my defense, I will note that I have not given and additional information as to the locale of the preserve than is given on their website. I would also like to note that they are pretty tough against trespassers, and there are better places to find indigos that are on public land.

If you have any additional concerns on my use of locales, please voice them.

-Marisa

I AM SWAMP MAN!

My friend asked me the other day if I missed anything back east, and I was just saying how I missed seeing Agkistrodon on the roads at night and when flipping. Yeah I admit I did get tired of piscivorus but contortrix were always a treat and never really got old for me.

My friends aunt used to work on the Ft Stewart indigo study some years ago. They were the only things I never managed to see alive in the years I ran around down there.

Excellent post on your SE journeys.

-N-

Great Post!!! The Gopher shots are fantastic!!!
Dave S.

PS...Funny how everyone has a White Whale they can't find but everyone else can. I've been looking for Ornate DBT for years. Haven't seen or at least been able to confirm a sighting yet. Other people tell me they find them in the exact spots I have looked.

LOL most here know me well enough to know I don't hesitate to voice concerns. Anyway yeh it looks like you edited out most of the locales you mentioned now so that's cool.It just surprised me to see you post all that-and of course I still got no answer/see no reason as to why.....Don't know if you get what I'm saying,doesn't seem like it,whatever.Btw I didn't mention the laws out of concern for you-I figured you had a permit considering who you work for(yes I'm quite familiar with them)-I was speaking more out of concern about other people that you may have inspired....

Actually I'm a little surprised most of these positions still don't come with a clause barring employees/volunteers from posting any of the work related to the projects on forums like this.Usually it's sort of implied or understood but sometimes you gotta spell stuff out for folks.

Great post Marissa! That "head on" nasticophis shot is killer!

Really? Voicing concerns is one thing...but there are ways to go about doing things and ways not to. As far as the "editing out of specific locales", this post took just as long to load this time as it did on the first go around, and I didn't happen to notice anything missing...(then again, perhaps I was too busy admiring all the wonderful photographs of amazing animals...I'll have to pay a bit more attention the next time I want to trespass on federally protected property to see some critters I suppose.)

Since when does Marisa (or anyone else for that matter) have to satisfy YOUR curiosity about when, where and why they do things? I get your concern...fine and dandy...but the fact remains that if you were THAT concerned, you could have just as easily sent a PM to Marisa and voiced your concerns rather than doing so publicly...Like I said...there's ways to do things and ways not to.

I'm not fighting anyone else's fight here, or trying to speak for anyone else...Marisa can (and will) chime in should she feel the need to...(which I kind of doubt)...Suffice it to say that she doesn't need anyone else sticking up for her as she's quite capable of doing that herself...I will say that she's a top-notch naturalist, and for you to publicly chastise her for what YOU feel is "over the line" says much more about you than it does about anyone else.



-Kris

I don't believe I've ever replied to one of your posts, so this seems like as good a time as any... I'll not withhold my concerns, either. The mass of negativity that seems to surround each and every one of your posts is really hard to overlook. I'd venture the guess that the vast majority of us who post on this forum are conservation-minded. Would you disagree? I think not. We would all (of course I'm speaking in generality) like the animals and habitats we so enjoy to persist. I see absolutely nothing in this post (and I was the second one to open it this morning) that would lead to further peril for any of the animals posted. Get a grip, man. Sometimes a bit of self-reflection is a good thing, Justin. For example, you spend a lot of time in delicate, dwindling habitat that already gets hit hard by the surrounding metropolises. (forests of the over-populated Northeast) for someone so concerned about ecological well-being. Do you not think the forest and it's inhabitants would be better off without you disturbing them? There really is no such thing as unobtrusive herping. Watching rattlesnakes is best done in the West, where the population is smaller/less concentrated and the threats are not as great.

Marisa,
Nice post! Those mussels doing their larval-release display are awesome!

Great stuff and photos. You did well in your short time in the southeast.

Its not hard to voice concerns when you hide behind a screen name. Marisa's post was epic, and thoroughly in-line with the forum rules. If you'de like a stricter forum, maybe start one up? "Ughs Lonely Forum" - has a nice ring to it don't you think?

Well, you had a productive year. Glad to see you finally got your Copperhead.

I think your Ocoee Salamander is an Imitator Salamander, with those red cheeks and all.

Andy

Patting yourself on the back here for being the self-righteous herp watch dog, must feel good.

God, I'm getting tired of people taking the piss out of someone's post because they believe they have crossed their version of an ethical barrier. I enjoy these year end post, and don't mind giving someone an at-a boy/girl for a job well done, I see a lot of animals posted here that'd I'd never see otherwise.

Okay back to the "hugfest".

Again nice post, and I still like that mugitus.

-Dell

Very neat post. Fascinating to see the mussels. Did you get to observe any fish approach or interact with the mussels?

That's the first time I've ever been accused of being not dirty enough!

Really liked this post lady.

Simply awesome! Love all the animal and habitat shots, great work!

I'm with Dell on this one and love that Mugitus, what a screamer!

-Isaac

D. ocoee occasionally have red cheeks and/or red legs. They are very cool.

mfb: unfortunately no, but it was really cool to see the muscles do their thing

Andy and Kevin: yep, it was Occoee; I thought it was imitator at first too, until I realized that I was way out of range for them.

Just FANTASTIC all the way around!! Love that box turtle shot!! Loved all the other shots as well

Truly epic post!

Awesome photography and herps!

I thought the info you gave out was totally appropriate!

Thanks for yet another great end of the year post!

Gary

Nice pics! Though there are more copperhead pics than I care to see in a single post Nine states without one is pretty impressive. Glad to see your pics around here again. Though this was a more than dismal year for herping Texas, it seems missing from most of your travels, what gives?

Later, Scott

J.Easter-saw you on TV btw- it’s true she didn’t break any forum rules. And I’d never have a forum because I’m just don’t see a reason for them.Or rather,I see too many reasons not to. But can someone humor me and answer my question-how does more attention here from herpers benefit the animals;What good could come from her posting it? Because conversely, I can think of plenty reasons to NOT post it.

Not trying to pick on her ,it’s not personal at all as I’ve never met Marissa(know some folks that have though in different places) and have never heard a negative word spoken about her.And yes her photos are stellar.Only reason I didn't communicate via pm was that I was just trying to provoke some thought/consideration among the crowd. And unlike what Dell said, Marissa I was absolutely not trying to ‘take the piss out of your post’,I don’t even know how to do that or what that means lol.

Easily Quote of the Day. It would win that prize on any forum at any time. Ha ha ha ha! Unreal. As for why the animals were posted: It brings enjoyment to others and nurtures a growing, evolving interest in the natural world - for both the poster and the reader. How is that bad? What harm did it do? It isn't and none. Those are your answers. Please re-read my post to you on page 1.

-Cole

Marisa, great post! You sure do "get around" (and I mean that strictly in the herper sense!) Perhaps I missed something in the post but WHERE THE HELL DID THAT BOTHROPS COME FROM???????

You're brighter then that, you know what it means.


Really? Why are you posting on this one then? I have friends that don't care for forums either, and they don't post on them or read them even.

-Dell

Did you know that ugh is hug spelled sideways?

And did you know that there is no hug in buzz-kill?

No hug for you.

Sorry, Marisa, that your epic post has been sidetracked. :/

I can give you a practical example of "the good" that came from this post. My son, who is 13, saw this post; he's herped with Marisa and respects her. As we scrolled through the pictures, we talked about the opportunities he could have by continuing down his current path. Posts like these inspire him and hopefully oneday, he'll have a career doing something he really enjoys along with making a positive impact in the scientific community.

Ugh (nice name btw)? You remind me of the coach I ran into a few weekends ago. Our basketball team beat his team in the finals of a tournament. After the game, we talked and he proceeded to tell me how the kids on his team weren't that good, one of them was getting over a cold, another one got hurt in the game, etc., instead of just telling me congrats and moving on.

Marissa –
please excuse this aside for a second-my intent was certainly NOT to ‘sidetrack’ from your post’.Actually though it happens frequently enough that folks oughtta be used to it right?

Cole-
I hear you. These justifications you named-like I said, at best I see it as preaching to the choir.People here probably already have that appreciation don't you think? Come on it’s mostly eye candy, ‘porn for herpers’......And like you said,I live in the overpopulated, overdeveloped, severely fragmented NE. And increasingly see the same all up and down the east coast. So I feel confident in voicing my concerns about foot traffic, over herping, and other avoidable stresses to animal populations. You live in Montana. MONTANA!! LOL. Consider how our different experiences may explain some of our differences of opinion. Not to mention I see you here in the same vein as I-basically checking it out, commenting here and there. When’s the last time you posted some pics? Of a federally endangered species no less? I don’t recall seeing it. I know you’re an intelligent guy,probably much more so than myself so don’t tell me you don’t know exactly the point I’m making here.

Mike-sorry to kill your buzz-again NOT my intent!

Dell-Where's it written you have to agree with much of what goes on here to view or participate?

Anyone else still reading this-
Is a little variation in perspective that much of a curveball for this ‘community’? Get real huh? Makes me think I’m wastin my frickin time here. We’re talkin about a couple of federally endangered herp species here, species that have been hit by collecting and habitat destruction,alteration,fragmentation and (mis)management of land(not in that order)increasing exponentially for at least the last century. So someone(me) suggests considering erring on the side of caution via subtlety-as opposed to broadcasting her pics for no substantial obvious reason other than cheers from her peers(?) – gets rotten tomatoes thrown at him. Nice. WTF? lol…..
Just trying to stimulate some thought from another p.o.v…..And that’s actually what I like most about a forum.

I am inspired by this post in the following ways:

Marisa's enthusiasm is infectious. Jaded old farts like me need regular doses of that. I hope to meet you in the field again sometime, Marisa.

I'm even more determined to nail down my 'cursed herp' next year, hopefully in less than nine states.

I'm always inspired by good photographers. I really need to rob a liquor store and upgrade my rig.

I hadn't checked in on Project Orianne in a while. I did, and I made a small donation while I was at it. (You can too).

I am inspired to push Tim into some mud the next time I see him. Way too clean, Tim.

cheers, Mike

Hey mike, I know this is OT, but just curious, whats your cursed herp?

As to the OP, sick post. Looking forward to more. It was a stupid bet anyways

Matt

Yet you keep typing?


In reference to the value of these posts with localities, etc. . . I believe it's the book of Proverbs that says "As iron sharpens iron, so one man (herper, in this case) sharpens another." The point is, humans are a communal species, and there's not a single dang herper on here who would be as good at herping as they are now were it not for help/locales/friendship/etc. from other herpers.

Ugh, if you really don't see a benefit to sharing photos...then don't post any. If you can't see the benefit in others doing so, that's ok. If you have to wonder whether you're wasting your time here or not, you probably are. Go find something else to do.

Differing opinions and spirited discussion are embraced here...what is not is the "poo poo on the parade" cloud that seems to follow you around anytime you post. It's a free country man (at least for a little while longer)...do as you see fit...but don't expect others to embrace your methods of communication simply because you think you're right.

-Kris

PS-I think we should get back to the content of this AWESOME post...

Fantastic post (the original one, not the rest - Americans are funny ).

Hard to pick favourites, but I love the pine snake, the hog-noses, the pygmies and the copperhead shots.

I'm inspired by this post (along with others) to visit the USA - that's good for your economy ugh (I've heard it may need some help)

Marisa,

This deserves to be called EPIC, I can't say a bad thing about this post. I've looked it over twice before commenting. Congrats on that well deserved lifer. I'm still jealous that you came strolling through So. Illinois and found a Mudsnake the day I went home... I still haven't seen one! Keep on posting, it's been great seeing what you're up to.

Justin