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Reptile watchin'
My amateur birding walks have morphed into combined birding-herping walks as of late, and wouldn't you know it, they're now twice as fun! I've been fairly lucky getting photos so far, so I figured I'd share some for all the field herpers around here. Here are a few recent sightings. Enjoy!
Northern water snake (Nerodia sipedon sipedon)
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Eastern garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis)
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Black rat snake (Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta)
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Bonus non-herp! Ghost crab (Ocypode quadrata)
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Very cool!! Thanks for sharing :gj:
What state are you in?
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Very nice finds! :gj: Thanks for sharing.
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Re: Reptile watchin'
Cool photos, your guys are so lucky to have thus sort of wildlife
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Looks like it was a fun outing. Thanks!
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Re: Reptile watchin'
Quote:
Originally Posted by Craiga 01453
...What state are you in?
Perhaps the state of confusion...:D
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Love the black rat...
Thanks for sharing.
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Re: Reptile watchin'
Thanks y'all! I'm glad others enjoy the photos as much as I do.
I'm based in New Jersey, though I do get around a fair bit. Herping in New Jersey can be a bit different compared to other places in the US due to our strict herping laws that resulted from historic and ongoing poaching. If you're found hooking or handling a wild herp and you're not permitted for and actively doing work/research that requires you to do so, you're liable to wind up in Big Trouble. We love our native herps here and we don't want to see them hurting again. Coincidentally, this means that New Jersey herping actually looks a lot like birding -- just sit back, watch the animal do what it does, maybe snap a few photos, and let them go about their day without you messing with them. It's actually quite refreshing when you think about it that way. Leave only footprints, take only pictures.
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Re: Reptile watchin'
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Love the Nighthawk! I’m surprised it let you get that close before flying off.
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Water snakes and I don’t get along very well. Lol they can be pretty defensive
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Big thanks for sharing, so cool. God bless.
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Re: Reptile watchin'
And here I thought herping season was over!
Came across this mellow fellow on my birding walk today. Normally I see black racers and black rat snakes at this site, so I thought I was looking at a transitional rat snake at first given the pattern. Then I saw the keeled scales in the photos and realized it was a Northern water snake. Seems as though I'm a Nerodia magnet, because this snake was a fair way off from the water!
Northern water snake (Nerodia sipedon)
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Cool.
I've found them a good distance from water too...I guess they can do what they want but it still makes me scratch my head. :)
Whatever plan that one has it looks to have done well this season before the long fast.
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Re: Reptile watchin'
In honor of a black rat snake making the news, here's a throwback photo of one I came across last season!
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Herp season is starting up in my neck of the woods. Baby turtles are starting to emerge, and I'm planning on checking in on my Nerodia hotspot soon.
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Re: Reptile watchin'
Herp season is starting back up! Checked out one of my spots from last season and saw a few familiar faces.
Norther water snake (Nerodia sipedon)
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This fellow was particularly friendly. They let me sit pretty close to them and we just chilled and watched each other for a while. Eventually they crawled off into the foliage to poke around. Lots of curious tongue flicking, calm exploration, and a good yawn!
Painted turtle (Chrysemys picta)
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Northern red-bellied turtle (Pseudemys rubriventris)
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Northern green frog (Lithobates clamitans melanota)
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Really cool encounters, especially the curious water snake. :D
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Re: Reptile watchin'
That's so cool, wish we had loads of reptile wildlife about
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Re: Reptile watchin'
Quote:
Originally Posted by richardhind1972
That's so cool, wish we had loads of reptile wildlife about
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When we visit our lad in Florida we always go lookin’ for interesting stuff .. he’s near lodges / lakes and woods .. - last time I was stung by a flaming’ scorpion and it wrecked for about half an hour .
Obvious things like snakes, armadillos and lizards plus alligators and turtles but they occasionally hear the bears , coyote and panthers
Even the birds and fish are colourful and more interesting than our British ones !!
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Re: Reptile watchin'
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zincubus
When we visit our lad in Florida we always go lookin’ for interesting stuff .. he’s near lodges / lakes and woods .. - last time I was stung by a flaming’ scorpion and it wrecked for about half an hour .
Obvious things like snakes, armadillos and lizards plus alligators and turtles but they occasionally hear the bears , coyote and panthers
Even the birds and fish are colourful and more interesting than our British ones !!
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Sounds awsome [emoji7][emoji7]
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Re: Reptile watchin'
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zincubus
Even the birds and fish are colourful and more interesting than our British ones !!
Aww, your British wildlife has its own charm!
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Re: Reptile watchin'
Another day, another good herp walk! There's a lot of vernal pools in my area after all the spring rain, so the water-oriented herps are quite happy.
Northern water snake (Nerodia sipedon)
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Thamnophis species
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Not quite sure if this fellow is a common garter snake or Eastern ribbon snake. They slithered away into the above cover before I could get a good look at their face.
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Re: Reptile watchin'
Quote:
Originally Posted by WrongPython
...Not quite sure if this fellow is a common garter snake or Eastern ribbon snake. They slithered away into the above cover before I could get a good look at their face...
Yeah, I've tried demanding I.D.'s but they just stick out their tongues & do the same thing to me? :D Love seeing them in the wild anyway though. TKS for sharing.
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Re: Reptile watchin'
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spicey
Aww, your British wildlife has its own charm!
Possibly our cutest critters are your Grey Squirrels :)
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Re: Reptile watchin'
Baby turtles are starting to emerge! This one is a regional special.
Diamondback terrapin (Malachlemys terrapin terrapin)
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Northern water snakes, painted turtles, and red-bellied turtles are also out and about in the region. I saw a black racer at one of my usual spots this past weekend as well, but they were too quick for me to get a photo. It's a shame, because said racer was crawling right at the toe of my shoe while I was watching a water snake swim!
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Re: Reptile watchin'
It was rather cold this past weekend, so I didn't see many herps. Plenty of cool birds, though, and a few basking turtles.
Red-bellied turtles (large) and Painted turtles (small)
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Re: Reptile watchin'
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Nice find and a great looking specimen! Black Rats will always be one of my favorite North American colubrids. Used to catch those all the time when I was growing up in Missouri.
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Reptile watchin'
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Re: Reptile watchin'
Had a surprisingly nice couple of days of herping! It's mostly the usual suspects, though the turtles were particularly active and seeing this many species was nice.
Northern water snake. I saw a second one on a nearby beach, but upon closer inspection it looked as though a particularly aggressive and broody American oystercatcher got to them first. (I've seen said bird attack ospreys and vultures that come within 200 yards of their nest.) It's a shame, because they were a particularly beautiful individual.
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Either a black rat snake or Eastern racer -- they were too far away to tell. This area is prime black rat snake habitat, but I've seen one particularly racer multiple times at this exact spot.
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Red-bellied turtles. These turtles are huge! Imagine a painted turtle the size of a snapper and you'll get the idea.
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Diamondback terrapin. This year's crop of babies is starting to emerge en masse.
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Bonus round: turtle versus muskrat! Said muskrat was minding their own business, collecting foliage for their nest, when they accidentally stepped on a very grumpy turtle.. My gut tells me it's an Eastern mud turtle, but it's hard to tell from how murky the water was.
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