Daniel Parker

Herper of the Month

January 2008

Daniel Parker

"Like many herpers, my obsession started with dinosaurs. Danny and the Dinosaur was one of the first books I read as a Kindergardener, an appropriate choice. I went through different phases of favorite animals, but I eventually settled on what I could see and touch for myself. Our yard in the small town of Lake Alfred, Florida was home to a few precious few herps, including squirrel tree frogs, southern toads, green anoles, brown anoles, and southeastern five-lined skinks. The discovery of any of these was exciting for me. Sometimes, Dad would bring home turtles that he rescued from roads. Usually, we would keep them for a time before releasing them in a safe area. At one point, my parents set up a tank for a particularly cool turtle that Dad found. I was able to identify “Wilbur” as a chicken turtle with the Golden Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians. That book and Archie Carr’s The Reptiles from the Time Life series were the first herp books I can remember. I soon added a small common musk turtle to our new turtle tank that I found in the shallows of the nearby lake. Both of these turtles lived for many years in captivity before eventually escaping from my first attempt at an artificial pond as a teenager."

"Needless to say, I was hooked and there was no turning back. When I was in fourth grade, my family moved to the wilds of the Green Swamp. Around the same time, I found Snakes of Florida by Owen Godwin (founder of Gatorland) in our school library. This was the first book that I had read that had color photographs of most of our native snakes. My parents gave me Ray and Pat Ashton’s Handbook of Reptiles and Amphibians of Florida, a three volume set that was the first complete field guide to Florida’s herps. The best part of this guide for me was that it covered the habitats and ranges of our native herps in excellent detail. I had a new mission: FIND SNAKES!"

"I remember my first serpentine finds of that spring vividly. The first was a black racer that quickly disappeared into the oak thicket in the sinkhole in our front yard. One of my neighbors called me down to see a big garter snake that basked on his doorstep after a night of gorging on toads caught under the porch light. He showed me the forked stick method of pinning a snake, which I later learned was not advisable. Even so, he was a great guy and encouraged my blossoming interest in all things slithery. I found my own big yellow rat snake nearby. Of particular interest was the beautiful mud snake that Dad spotted crawling across the yard in the late afternoon. This was one of my early favorites, as evidenced by my screen name on this forum."

"The neighbors and herpers such as Wayne Hill, who grew up just across the lake from me (years earlier), reported that eastern diamondback rattle snakes and eastern hognose snakes were once common in the area. I was disappointed to find those species very difficult to find. The only EDB I saw as kid was a baby found crossing the road near our house. The normal protocol, even by folks who were otherwise tolerant of snakes, was kill the venomous ones, but my Dad made an impression on me by letting the little rattler go on its way peacefully. As the finds piled up, I made maps of the neighborhood and put a dot where I found each snake. One thing that I am proud of is that I recorded every snake I found in this area in the subsequent 11 years. I recently compiled my childhood field notes and came up with the totals listed below."

Snake Survey 1990-2003
Total: 353 individuals seen
Species
1. Yellow rat snake Elaphe obsoleta quadrivittata 63 17.8% Abundant
2. Southern black racer Coluber constrictor priapus 54 15.3% Abundant
3. Florida water snake Nerodia fasciata pictiventris 53 15% Abundant
4. Peninsula ribbon snake Thamnophis sauritus sackenii 39 11% Abundant
5. Corn snake Elaphe guttata guttata 34 9.6% Abundant
6. Florida green water snake Nerodia floridana 18 5% Common
7. Eastern mud snake Farancia abacura abacura 15 4.2% Common
8. Striped crayfish snake Regina alleni 14 3.9% Common
9. Southern ringneck snake Diadophis punctatus punctatus 13 3.7% Common
10. Eastern garter snake Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis 9 2.5% Uncommon
11. Rough green snake Opheodrys aestivus 8 2.3% Uncommon
12. Black swamp snake Seminatrix pygaea 6 1.7% Uncommon
13. Florida scarlet snake Cemophora coccinea coccinea 6 1.7% Uncommon
14. Scarlet king snake Lampropeltis triangulum elapsoides 5 1.4% Uncommon
15. Eastern coral snake Micrurus fulvius fulvius 5 1.4% Uncommon
16. Brown water snake Nerodia taxpilota 4 1.1% Uncommon
17. Florida cottonmouth Agkistrodon piscivorus conanti 2 0.6% Rare
18. Dusky pygmy rattlesnake Sistrurus miliarius barbouri 2 0.6% Rare
19. Eastern diamondback rattlesnake Crotalus adamanteus 1 0.3% Rare
20. Eastern coachwhip snake Masticophis flagellum flagellum 1 0.3% Rare
21. Eastern hognose snake Heterodon platirhinos 1 0.3% Rare

"My family’s annual summer trips to Wisconsin also nurtured by herpetological interests in a different way. While garter snakes and painted turtles were welcome finds, I was especially interested in finding salamanders. The Florida peninsula is poor in salamander diversity, particularly terrestrial species. One summer, my cousin and I made it our mission to find as many salamanders as possible. We were rather successful, rounding up a number of redback salamanders and eventually a few blue spotted salamanders, which the locals called “mudpuppies” (not to be confused with Necturus) and believed to be dangerously poisonous."

"In high school I kept myself busy with various activities including sports, journalism, and music, but I never stopped herping. I have never been satisfied with only one hobby! After graduating high school, I entered college as a music major. Voice was my primary focus, but I also studied composition and jazz improvisation. In addition to my “serious” musical studies, I played in rock bands as a singer, guitarist, and keyboardist."

"I got a job at The Reptile Shack in Lakeland and experienced crash course in the business of herpetoculture, under the direction of experienced keepers and breeders Tim Scott and Curt Harbsmeier."

"While I always kept herps as pets, my primary interest was always seeing them in the wild. Even in captivity, I much preferred the animals I caught myself to pet store stuff. I see a new breed of hobbyist that believes that herps come from a pet store, and though I am glad herps have become more mainstream, I think it is sad that many have lost the connection to the wild."

"After college, I became a music teacher and choir director in Highlands County, FL. Despite the demands of teaching at two schools and conducting numerous after school activities, I made adequate time for herping."

“The Eviction of a Gopher Tortoise”
International Herpetology Symposium
Photo contest winner for category Going, going, gone

"My location on the Lake Wales Ridge was just too good. It put me within easy driving distance of the sugar cane fields south of Lake Okeechobee and the Kissimee Prairie region to the north of the Lake. I could go in any direction to flip in the afternoon or roadcruise in the evening, and still be home at a decent time to get a good night’s sleep."

"It was during my teaching years that I made many wonderful friends and contacts in the area of herpetology. I joined the Calusa Herpetological Society, became a volunteer for Florida Museum of Natural History, and became active on the forums. I realized that the more friends I made all over, the more places I had to stay and areas I could herp."

"My adventures have led me all over the Southeast, Southwest, and Midwest. I have traveled around the country, trashing vehicles in the process, and herped with wonderful folks such as Dwight Good, David Dunn, Dave Justice, Bill Love, Chris Lechowicz, Anthony Flanagan, and most importantly, my awesome girlfriend Lisa Zinser."

"I also started to focus more on my photography and my own business, Sunshine Serpents. I created an online guide to the herps of Highlands County on my website www.sunshineserpents.com."

"After four years of teaching, I realized it was time for a change in my life. I had gotten so involved in the herpetological community, I knew that was where I belonged. My original goal was to take extra courses to prepare to pursue a graduate degree, but a few financial mishaps and a slump in the housing market made that infeasible. I looked for other opportunities while Sunshine Serpents kept me afloat. My old boss Curt Harbsmeier was on the board of the Ashton Biodiversity Research and Preservation Institute. Through him, I made contact with Ray Ashton, the author of my favorite Florida field guide. As luck would have it, a position soon opened at the institute. I was happy to come on board as a research assistant and curator. It would be an excellent opportunity to work with the animals that I loved while learning from one of Florida’s foremost conservationists."

"Though I am very happy with my life as it is now, I know there are many life changes in store for me in the next few years. My interests are still diverse and music will always be a huge part of my life. I am working on several exciting writing and scientific projects and I intend to continue to further my pursuit of higher education. To keep up with my latest adventures, check out my website www.sunshineserpents.com. The field herping page may be of particular interest."

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