Herping 1985, Jefferson County, Texas

[reptileexperts]

Well, I've put a bit more effort into herping this summer than the last couple of years, and found it to be quite enjoyable at some of my old spots. Had a friend from college down in my area on Thursday, so I took her out to one of my favorite local herping spots for some night cruising / right away walking to see what we could turn up. Targets for the day included: Western Mudsnake, Mississippi Green Water Snake, Brown Snakes, Speckled Kingsnake. Of which we turned up half, but had a pretty enjoyable time never the less.

We encountered 6 species of snakes alive, across 12 individuals.

3x Western Cottonmouth
2x Mississippi Green Water Snake
3x Broad-banded Water Snake
1x Marsh Brown Snake
1x Gulf Coast Ribbon Snake
2x Plain-bellied Water Snake (both juveniles, presumed Blotched)

We also documented a plenthora of amphibians including: Green Frog, American Bull Frog, Squirrel Tree Frog, Green Tree Frog, Leopard Frog, Gulf Coast Toads, and calling Eastern Narrowmouth Toads. Here are a few images from the trip!


Broad-banded Water Snake


Mississippi Green Water Snake


Blotched Water Snake


Marsh Brown Snake




Squirrel Tree Frog


Green Tree Frog calling

And as a bonus, there was a juvenile Cooper's Hawk hunting in the fields nearby giving an amazing photo op!



Hope you guys enjoy! I will be heading out for a week of herping the cloud forest in Panama with my better half in 18 days!! (www.canopytower.com) staying at the canopy lodge in el valle :-) Will post another thread as things unfold.

Happy herping!

Cheers

[Mephibosheth1]

What should I be looking for in a herping spot??
I would really like to try and examine the local flora/fauna here in Cali, but wouldn't know the first place to look lol

[reptileexperts]

What should I be looking for in a herping spot??
I would really like to try and examine the local flora/fauna here in Cali, but wouldn't know the first place to look lol

Talking with locales, and looking at Range maps for what you are after. You need to know WHAT is in your area, then study what kind of habitat they prefer. Once you know that, it's about locating the habitat that you have acceses to, then searching ;-).

In the states, a really popular method for catching snakes is road cruising, it IS illegal in some states in certain ways, but you can do it in most, and others you simply have to walk the right away (unpaven shoulder). And wear reflective gear. During the day time you can simply go hike a trail in the proper habitat, during the night time its all about cruising the roads in the habitat at about 25-35 mph and seeing what crosses. I was in Cali recently herping San Diego, we took hwy 78 to the Salton Sea from San Diego, and did pretty well, but we didn't start going down the mountain pass on 78 till the sun was going down, and spent from 8 PM till 4 AM out in the desert cruising and searching. Our goals were Colorado Desert Sidewinder, and California King Snake, as well as getting what else MAY be around like - Shovel-nosed, Leaf Nosed, Rosy Boas, etc.

Lastly, find a herp society near you. Google, kingsnake, both of those are good places to start your search for a local society. Many have access to private lands for field surveys where a lot of people gather to survey what herps are find in an area.

Cheers

[TerrieL]

Great pics, thanks for sharing. I love the one with the calling frog, very nice

[Jason Bowden]

Great thread!
I love field herping!

[reptileexperts]

Thanks Jason, and Terrie - tried to get the call right as it was really throwing its vocal sac out, but kept missing it due to really tight conditions, and a frog who would stop calling when my flash would hit it.

Aside from the top 2 picks and the hawk shot, alll these images were taken late at night.

[reptileexperts]

American Alligator


Gulf Coast Ribbon Snake

Just a couple of shots from this weekend when I went back to this area to see what I could find.

Cheers

[Tannerrrtx]

ahhh its hatching season, found some baby racers out in brown county, and a western coachwhip!

[BulkMice]

Very nice! We saw quite a few venomous species when I worked out at the Motiva Plant located there in Jefferson County!

[reptileexperts]

Venomous SPECIES? as in more than just western Cottonmouth? Jefferson County has Southern Copperhead and Eastern Coral - but neither are found in abundance in the marshy area around here. Need to venture into hardin county ;-)