Search found 110 matches

by beemaster
August 27th, 2016, 2:08 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Finally wrapped up Lampropeltis for Florida.
Replies: 5
Views: 3212

Re: Finally wrapped up Lampropeltis for Florida.

Pardon my ignorance, but are these generally considered to be tougher to find than L. extenuata and S. Fl. mole kings?
by beemaster
May 27th, 2016, 2:38 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Introduction of Myself - New Herper - Advice on Books, etc.
Replies: 9
Views: 6180

Re: Introduction of Myself - New Herper - Advice on Books, e

I fully agree with the two above recommendations. Grew up on those old Peterson's guides, and Greene's book completely changed how I looked at the natural world. That truly is not an exaggeration; everything just clicked in a way it hadn't before after I read it.
by beemaster
April 29th, 2016, 1:14 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: A long weekend at the Hoyer's home
Replies: 6
Views: 3826

Re: Glad That You Had Fun, Visitor

I've had brief correspondences with Richard in the past, and he's advised me on more than one topic. I enjoyed herping with Richard Hoyer once when my other herping buddy & I drove down to Hoyer's area for a visit. We saw quite a few Rubber Boas that day. My friend & I also saw Richard's Ha...
by beemaster
April 2nd, 2016, 7:07 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Egg Mass ID help
Replies: 5
Views: 3087

Re: Egg Mass ID help

They look Ambystomatid to me. I'd lean toward a smaller than average A. maculatum mass, which aren't uncommon where I come from. Looks too firm to be A. jeffersonium (or chorus frogs, though I could definitely be wrong about that), and if the picture was taken sometime the past couple weeks, I'd fig...
by beemaster
March 7th, 2016, 1:18 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Female herpetologists or herp enthusiasts
Replies: 90
Views: 50135

Re: Female herpetologists or herp enthusiasts

Tangents form in threads, and out of all the posts and threads through all the years and all the tangents about folks and their lives in a heteronormative world of assumption, I realize a brief foray into acknowledging that there are gay people in the herping world could be uncomfortable. Honestly,...
by beemaster
February 11th, 2016, 6:59 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Spring Emergence 2016!
Replies: 19
Views: 9624

Re: Spring Emergence 2016!

Feels like an early spring is coming to SE Massachusetts. When I say that, I mean like the blue spots out the first week of March, wood frogs out the second week, and spotties and peepers out in full force by the end of the month. I've been wrong before, and you can never tell this early, but it jus...
by beemaster
February 2nd, 2016, 9:57 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Which Coluber subspecies is this?
Replies: 14
Views: 5852

Re: Which Coluber subspecies is this?

I'm guessing C. c. priapus, particularly from Missouri or S. Illinois, where it might be expected to have a little bit of influence from C. c. foxi and/or C. c. flaviventris.
by beemaster
February 2nd, 2016, 4:30 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Mobile-Tensaw Alabama Delta
Replies: 6
Views: 2412

Re: Mobile-Tensaw Alabama Delta

This has actually been one of my top fantasy vacation spots since I was a kid. I've only gotten to go on one trip so far, though, and central FL won out. If my situation ever allows me the resources and freedom to take regular trips, however, I'm definitely going to coastal Alabama.
by beemaster
November 29th, 2015, 12:22 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: A welcome surprise among the usual suspects in western MA
Replies: 5
Views: 2300

Re: A welcome surprise among the usual suspects in western M

This guy was under a small piece of deadfall in a dry vernal. I was surprised to find it as there were no mossy hummocks for egg deposition nearby that I've been assuming to be a strong predictor much of the time. You are correct. I'll add that, in the SE part of the state, they will also turn up i...
by beemaster
November 29th, 2015, 12:13 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Finds from NYC
Replies: 13
Views: 4395

Re: Finds from NYC

Nick, these are great! I would not be surprised by an eastern garter near the botanical gardens; of course, this means there is a food source for them (I would think that, in addition to worms, they would need some sort of vertebrate in their diet). There are supposed to be a population of (introdu...
by beemaster
September 16th, 2015, 12:26 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Questions from your President
Replies: 43
Views: 16121

Re: Questions from your President

I don't know if anyone has done this as I have suggested it several times, but I suggest those who think I'm being paranoid research the history of the spotted turtle in Ma. It's everything I have feared and is directly behind my distrust and unwillingness to contribute. This is only anecdotal, but...
by beemaster
September 9th, 2015, 9:27 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Snakes? Maybe a lizard or two? Frogs?
Replies: 3
Views: 1440

Re: Snakes? Maybe a lizard or two? Frogs?

I live nowhere near San Francisco, but I did want to drop in to say I wholeheartedly approve of the way you're promoting your event. Your phrasing got a chuckle out of me, even if nobody else bites.
by beemaster
August 1st, 2015, 3:36 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: North Jersey Herping Look at this baby
Replies: 3
Views: 3017

Re: North Jersey Herping Look at this baby

Definitely a young northern brown. The ring around the neck fades after a summer or two. Cool to see someone else exploring the urban northeast for snakes! A whole lot of my youth was devoted to the very same thing. Always found lots of northern browns in vacant lots, city parks, and behind schools ...
by beemaster
July 3rd, 2015, 9:55 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Andrea and Mike's 2015 Species Seen (xposted from NE Chapter
Replies: 15
Views: 8719

Re: Andrea and Mike's 2015 Species Seen (xposted from NE Cha

LOVE that garter snake! Found one just like it behind a supermarket back in 2002 and I've never seen another one like it before or since.
by beemaster
June 24th, 2015, 12:14 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Not the only one out looking for 'snakes'
Replies: 33
Views: 10995

Re: Not the only one out looking for 'snakes'

When she was telling me about it, I got the impression she was talking about a snapper. Too bad she missed the program, she might have been able to learn what it was that she saw.
by beemaster
June 23rd, 2015, 2:03 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Not the only one out looking for 'snakes'
Replies: 33
Views: 10995

Re: Not the only one out looking for 'snakes'

I don't think so, the first time I ran into her (about 10:15AM) she was coming down the trail with some older gentleman, who I believe may have been in her car later on around the time she approached us (about 2:45PM). She came up to me and started asking me questions. I showed her the same snake I ...
by beemaster
June 22nd, 2015, 3:31 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Not the only one out looking for 'snakes'
Replies: 33
Views: 10995

Re: Not the only one out looking for 'snakes'

We did pull into what turns out to be a very notorious gay cruising area in Cape Cod last year. It took my husband saying, "We should just go somewhere else...there's nothing here for us" a couple of times before it dawned on me that 1. I was the only woman there and 2. that one guy would...
by beemaster
June 18th, 2015, 6:24 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Not the only one out looking for 'snakes'
Replies: 33
Views: 10995

Re: Not the only one out looking for 'snakes'

Great story! I've had this happen to me twice, but both times were as I was leaving, so I considered the events to be more comical than startling in nature. The first time was when I was a teenager. There was this huge vacant lot behind this abandoned little league field in an otherwise urban/indust...
by beemaster
May 18th, 2015, 10:31 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Rattlesnake ID request
Replies: 5
Views: 2550

Re: Rattlesnake ID request

Yeah... my friend didn't TAKE the video, nor did he upload it or post it anywhere. He isn't into snakes, but he knows I am, and I guess some people where he works were going nuts over the vid so he forwarded it to me. Once I saw the vid, however, I called BS on the location provided in the link. I i...
by beemaster
May 18th, 2015, 12:55 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Rattlesnake ID request
Replies: 5
Views: 2550

Rattlesnake ID request

A friend of mine sent me this crappy video, but the disparity between the supposed location (Arlington, VA), the habitat, and animals pictured kept me curious enough to keep watching it. Be warned in advance, it's basically some guy who stumbles upon a hibernaculum and mildly harrasses the animals a...
by beemaster
May 18th, 2015, 12:41 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Timing of AC Checks?
Replies: 10
Views: 3497

Re: Timing of AC Checks?

AC produces the most for me from late April to late June and then again from mid August to mid September. March to mid April everything is still pretty cool and wet up here; I'll flip a few snakes here and there, especially small and juvenile Thamnophiines, as well as some neat amphibians, but for t...
by beemaster
April 22nd, 2015, 4:20 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Aquatic Behavior in Red-Backed Salamanders?
Replies: 9
Views: 4033

Re: Aquatic Behavior in Red-Backed Salamanders?

I used to occasionally flip them while looking for Eurycea in streams. Fished a dead one out of a puddle last Saturday, as well.
by beemaster
March 11th, 2015, 3:34 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Spring in Scandinavia, usual suspects
Replies: 2
Views: 1822

Re: Spring in Scandinavia, usual suspects

There's a second lizard in the top photo! Thanks for sharing.

On another note, am I the only one who finds it amazing that this guy is finding stuff in Scandinavia before we can find anything in New England? Seems crazy to me.
by beemaster
February 21st, 2015, 10:28 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Request for help on an ambitious plan
Replies: 13
Views: 7883

Re: Request for help on an ambitious plan

No migration by the end of March? Ouch! Thanks for the offer - I might have to dip a little south if it's looking grim though. I'll wait for others to chime in. Locally, I saw my first blue-spotteds in the afternoon of 3/29, and several male spotteds headed to the vernals that night. In the western...
by beemaster
February 18th, 2015, 11:01 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Nerodia Sipedon Question
Replies: 12
Views: 3505

Re: Nerodia Sipedon Question

Shoot, my mistake! Well, in that case, just seek out wetlands that tend to be sluggish moving, well vegetated, open, and sunny. Ponds, lakes, slow rivers, and marshes are all great spots. Tend to focus especially on areas where there are beaver dams, old stone dams, old wells, rock piles, etc. They ...
by beemaster
February 18th, 2015, 10:56 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Massachusetts Blizzard Herping
Replies: 2
Views: 1746

Re: Massachusetts Blizzard Herping

How close were you guys to the vernal pool when you found that snake? It has heat pits! I think it's one of those Massachusetts water moccasins I've heard so much about!
by beemaster
February 16th, 2015, 5:06 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Nerodia Sipedon Question
Replies: 12
Views: 3505

Re: Nerodia Sipedon Question

No problem. Sometimes they turn up in strange spots, too. There are a lot of open, sunny, and well vegetated ponds in this area where they don't seem to be particularly common (or even absent), but then you might randomly turn one up along a RR grade that abuts a wetland you don't typically associat...
by beemaster
February 15th, 2015, 6:58 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Nerodia Sipedon Question
Replies: 12
Views: 3505

Re: Nerodia Sipedon Question

We have one place on our rotation where we have NEVER found an adult or live nerodia, but we have found one dead neonate and two large skins. The only place we have found the skins is at the base of this man-made fall: https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5441/9027431503_5dbedfdd2e_b.jpg If you guys had ...
by beemaster
February 15th, 2015, 4:59 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: found a spotted turtle very sluggish near a river bed. help
Replies: 4
Views: 2911

Re: found a spotted turtle very sluggish near a river bed. h

What Nate said. I've seen several people in the Northeast post about seeing turtles basking in this unusually warm weather. Instinct will make them go back into hibernation as it gets cooler. I believe spotteds are fairly cold-tolerant as well; I see them fairly early in the year, and then they dis...
by beemaster
February 15th, 2015, 4:49 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: February Species Counts
Replies: 4
Views: 2324

Re: February Species Counts

At least you guys get plowed out around Boston! It snows in New Bedford and we're lucky if we can get to work three days later... Usually we escape some of the damage on the coast of Buzzard's Bay, but we haven't been so lucky this year. I have an incredibly optimistic feeling that I'll be hearing w...
by beemaster
February 15th, 2015, 4:21 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Identification Help Thread
Replies: 83
Views: 17412

Re: Identification Help Thread

MD-2... I found nine of these under a few boards. They look like they are Marbleds, but I want to make sure they aren't spotteds. I've been wrong about young salamanders like this before, so... http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c159/brick911/May%202011%20NE%20Chapter%20Trip/IMG_8455.jpg http://i27....
by beemaster
October 7th, 2014, 10:16 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: AC Materials
Replies: 12
Views: 4490

Re: AC Materials

I just want to add that, here in Massachusetts, I don't get a lot of use out of tin (whether singularly or in layers) and other metal, though on occasion I've found racers, garters, ribbons, northern browns, and ringnecks underneath them. Long flat boards are very productive, as are old doors, tarps...
by beemaster
September 2nd, 2014, 7:50 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Herps in the Home
Replies: 14
Views: 5254

Re: Herps in the Home

Sit down, this one is going to be lengthy and nerve-wracking. The weak of heart or stomach might be well cautioned to scroll right down to the next post, lest you be kept awake with the images of my experience dancing around in your brain, taunting, traumatizing you every night you lay down to sleep...
by beemaster
September 1st, 2014, 11:46 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: The Answer to all our ID problems
Replies: 11
Views: 3793

Re: The Answer to all our ID problems

hellihooks wrote:Beemaster... is that a Spadefoot you're holding in your avatar??? cause it's sounds like you're saying call a spade a spade... :lol: :lol:
Totally off topic, but man, we saw so many that day and that was the best picture I got. So disappointing.
by beemaster
August 30th, 2014, 12:16 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: The Answer to all our ID problems
Replies: 11
Views: 3793

Re: The Answer to all our ID problems

dumb. dna should not be part of taxonomy in my opinion. dna will always be different due to many years of fragmentation caused by humans. eventually, small populations will become different enough through dna. does that mean they are a distinct species? i'm going with no. i'm a grouper, not a split...
by beemaster
July 18th, 2014, 3:33 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Maine Made
Replies: 24
Views: 8375

Re: Maine Made

You documenting Milk diversity is pretty cool, and my impression is that they follow Bergmann's rule , at least the ones I've seen in Vermont. It's hard to say. The milk snakes in the US do become much smaller as you move down in latitude, but they start getting bigger again in Mexico and especiall...
by beemaster
July 18th, 2014, 3:27 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Maine Made
Replies: 24
Views: 8375

Re: Maine Made

Thanks for sharing. I especially liked the wood turtle, smooth green, and that dark eastern milk. I've seen milk snakes in a lot of different shades and colors, but I've never seen one like that. Thanks for posting this, Jake! Some of us in MA have talked about going to Maine to find smooth greens, ...
by beemaster
June 16th, 2014, 5:20 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Best Temp for Snakes/ General HELP
Replies: 35
Views: 11380

Re: Best Temp for Snakes/ General HELP

Find fields and edge habitat (edge being where fields/woods come together) and then look for things to flip - rocks, logs, boards, carpet, etc... Look for rocky hillsides to flip rocks... Bolded for truth. Always find the ecotone. Not JUST where fields and woods come together (though that's the mos...
by beemaster
June 16th, 2014, 10:40 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: how can you estimate box turtle age?
Replies: 8
Views: 1820

Re: how can you estimate box turtle age?

I'm curious as I have been encountering so many lately! :) Funny you mention that. I'm in Bristol County and haven't seen one yet this year, despite going out the past four weeks to places I know there to be surviving populations. That being said, all these populations I know down here seem to be i...
by beemaster
June 8th, 2014, 9:04 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Sweden June 5th
Replies: 5
Views: 2035

Re: Sweden June 5th

Wow. That habitat shot looks like it could be a power corridor right here in southern New England.
by beemaster
May 31st, 2014, 8:54 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Herper and a fan of Heavy Metal Music? Check it....
Replies: 39
Views: 10049

Re: Herper and a fan of Heavy Metal Music? Check it....

I know of a couple of well known metal musicians who are deep into the herpetocultural side of things, anyway. Kerry King, founding member of Slayer, is a well-known breeder of Diamond pythons and various carpet morphs on the West Coast. Derek Roddy, current drummer for the bands Menace and Serpents...
by beemaster
May 31st, 2014, 7:47 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: sustained pretty decent bite/ northern black racer. OPINIONS
Replies: 47
Views: 13935

Re: sustained pretty decent bite/ northern black racer. OPIN

I've had similar experiences and it usually resolved to being a couple of teeth being stuck, so I'm going with the general consensus here. I'll also add that to me, a typical racer bite is exactly the one you described; they bite, hang on, and wrench their heads around, dragging their teeth over/thr...
by beemaster
May 26th, 2014, 8:22 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Snake I.D. Help
Replies: 5
Views: 1738

Re: Snake I.D. Help

Aren't the sympatric spitters a bit more girthy? Not that I would rule it out based on the quality of the photo, just seems "off" to me.
by beemaster
May 25th, 2014, 1:13 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Herper and a fan of Heavy Metal Music? Check it....
Replies: 39
Views: 10049

Re: Herper and a fan of Heavy Metal Music? Check it....

Check out the band Animals As Leaders. It is expansive, organically cinematic like a huge globe of water on fire. I was attracted to the name and listened on urging of a friend. I like and love many musics, and songs. I am easily abraded by harsh mechanics so I never explored much metal. But I'm gi...
by beemaster
May 25th, 2014, 9:26 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Snake I.D. Help
Replies: 5
Views: 1738

Re: Snake I.D. Help

I'm not sharp when it comes to African colubrids, but my first thought was wolf snake.
by beemaster
May 24th, 2014, 7:25 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Herper and a fan of Heavy Metal Music? Check it....
Replies: 39
Views: 10049

Re: Herper and a fan of Heavy Metal Music? Check it....

Never really did think of Rush as metal, either, or prog, for that matter. There are elements of both in their music but I've always just enjoyed them as hard rock. My tastes in progressive metal lean more toward the prog than the metal, I guess. Opeth is probably the favorite, and I'm a huge fan o...
by beemaster
May 23rd, 2014, 9:43 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Herper and a fan of Heavy Metal Music? Check it....
Replies: 39
Views: 10049

Re: Herper and a fan of Heavy Metal Music? Check it....

I'm more into the extreme end of metal, but this is an interesting concept and I hope it works out well for you. Good luck! :) And I'm more into the progressive end of metal, but I agree with your comment. There's actually a fair degree of overlap (Voivod, Watchtower, Athiest, Cynic, Blind Illusion...
by beemaster
May 22nd, 2014, 10:16 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Herper and a fan of Heavy Metal Music? Check it....
Replies: 39
Views: 10049

Re: Herper and a fan of Heavy Metal Music? Check it....

I'm more into the extreme end of metal, but this is an interesting concept and I hope it works out well for you. Good luck! :)
by beemaster
May 18th, 2014, 9:52 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: How were your Ambystoma this year? plus belly patterns
Replies: 14
Views: 2893

Re: How were your Ambystoma this year? plus belly patterns

I never really kept track of adults, but I will say that A. maculatum egg masses were a bit less abundant this spring than they usually are. This was even more noticeable when I was out surveying for wood frogs and their eggs. Just didn't hear/see them and their eggs out in the same numbers I usuall...