Search found 672 matches

by Matt J
April 21st, 2014, 2:58 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Headless, Tailless Snake ID
Replies: 8
Views: 4626

Re: Headless, Tailless Snake ID

Should also submit to PAherpsurvey.org. They will want to scrutinize it too, and hopefully they agree and can change the PA status from extirpated to endangered. That level of protection might help protect nearby properties from development. I thought they were a Species of Special Concern in PA? (...
by Matt J
April 18th, 2014, 6:43 am
Forum: Image Lab
Topic: is anyone familiar with the canon rebel sl1
Replies: 2
Views: 2635

Re: is anyone familiar with the canon rebel sl1

I'd recommend leaving the camera on Auto until you get comfortable with it, then start shooting in Manual and see what happens when you change your ISO, shutter speed, and aperture. If you have a large memory card you can use RAW file formats for more control during editing, otherwise large JPEG wil...
by Matt J
April 14th, 2014, 5:44 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Terrapin hatchling delayed emergence
Replies: 3
Views: 2005

Terrapin hatchling delayed emergence

Admittedly I've never heard of delayed emergence by hatchling turtles until today. Seems as though some hatchlings will stay in the nest through fall/winter and finally come out in late spring when the soil warms up. While working in a salt marsh today I found a diamondback terrapin hatchling fresh ...
by Matt J
March 25th, 2014, 6:05 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: First Post
Replies: 5
Views: 3183

Re: First Post

Welcome to the Forum, Jake. Plenty of cool people on here (plus the occasional jerk, lol). When I lived in Baltimore I used to herp around Pasadena and liked it a lot. There are some really nice parks in Anne Arundel with plenty of vernal pools around there, so keep searching and start taking pictur...
by Matt J
March 13th, 2014, 1:43 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: March 2014 Species Counts
Replies: 22
Views: 5921

Re: March 2014 Species Counts

3/12/2012 Kent and NCCO, Delaware S. leopard frogs chorus during the afternoon with a few spring peepers and NJ chorus frogs calling randomly 6 spotted salamanders (3 DOR) 7 marbled salamanders 2 tiger salamanders (found by others) TMTC wood frogs, spring peepers, and chorus frogs 3 S. leopard frogs...
by Matt J
March 11th, 2014, 2:28 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Countdown to Spotted Salamanders!
Replies: 65
Views: 18669

Re: Countdown to Spotted Salamanders!

To quote one Matthew Jennette:
Matt J wrote:Down here in Delaware I'm predicting March 12th
Right now the forecast is 60* and raining at dusk tomorrow. Sounds perfect to me.
by Matt J
February 19th, 2014, 3:10 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Countdown to Spotted Salamanders!
Replies: 65
Views: 18669

Re: Countdown to Spotted Salamanders!

Down here in Delaware I'm predicting March 12th

Image
by Matt J
February 12th, 2014, 3:07 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Siren in Delaware?
Replies: 9
Views: 3325

Re: Siren in Delaware?

I suppose anything is possible but I'd put money on it being an eel. Time to put some traps out there and find out!
by Matt J
January 16th, 2014, 6:06 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Red Salamander Eggs
Replies: 7
Views: 3799

Re: Red Salamander Eggs

Don't you know the rules?!?! You are supposed to post a picture of slug eggs and then we debate it!

Kidding, very cool observation. I've only seen it myself with Dusky's, didn't know Reds did it too.
by Matt J
November 15th, 2013, 1:10 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: End of the Year 2013... #2 - LAMEST LIFER
Replies: 24
Views: 9823

Re: End of the Year 2013... #2 - LAMEST LIFER

My Lamest Lifer was actually one of my targets this year, but this is the worst way to find it. Ribbon snakes aren't the rarest herp around, but I've never been able to get a pic of one. This summer I was mountain biking and (at the last second) I spotted this ribbon snake in the middle of the trail...
by Matt J
June 30th, 2013, 4:59 pm
Forum: Image Lab
Topic: Canon Telephoto help needed
Replies: 14
Views: 8274

Re: Canon Telephoto help needed

Not to complicate your decision, but why are you not considering the 100-400mm lens? You get an 'L' lens, image stabilization, 400mm of reach, and it is compact enough to walk around with all day. I couldn't imagine hiking with a 300 or 400mm lens, but I try to baby lenses like that.
by Matt J
June 18th, 2013, 6:10 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Southern MD trip recap - A 25 species day
Replies: 11
Views: 3795

Re: Southern MD trip recap - A 25 species day

That N. cricket frog is killer! And all that greenness...many of your aquatic shots are enough to make me forsake the desert...until our monsoon comes anyway. Your post emphasizes what a fool I was to live in the DC area for nearly 3 years without doing any serious local herping. And you are funny....
by Matt J
June 17th, 2013, 8:51 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Southern MD trip recap - A 25 species day
Replies: 3
Views: 1839

Re: Southern MD trip recap - A 25 species day

spinifer wrote:I am tempted to call your 5-lined a broad-head, but I'm holding back due to the poor photo.
Poor photo?!?!?! Haters gonna hate. :lol:
We did find a broadhead in the same general area, so this is a possibility. I have another pic of this one but it may be even crappier, I can check after work.
by Matt J
June 16th, 2013, 6:17 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Southern MD trip recap - A 25 species day
Replies: 11
Views: 3795

Re: Southern MD trip recap - A 25 species day

Mike VanValen wrote:Were you guys targeting something specific down there?
We had a few species we really wanted to see but didn't spend the whole day looking for any one species in particular. We checked out a ton of different habitat types.
by Matt J
June 16th, 2013, 10:05 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Southern MD trip recap - A 25 species day
Replies: 11
Views: 3795

Southern MD trip recap - A 25 species day

On Friday, Kevin (MDherpsearch) and I met up for 18 hours of southern MD herping in few counties. It was raining pretty hard when I got out there at 7am but eventually got up to only 75* and plenty of sun. I’ll post my pics in order of how we found them with some others thrown in. I’ve had good luck...
by Matt J
June 16th, 2013, 9:59 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Southern MD trip recap - A 25 species day
Replies: 3
Views: 1839

Southern MD trip recap - A 25 species day

On Friday, Kevin (MDherpsearch) and I met up for 18 hours of southern MD herping in few counties. It was raining pretty hard when I got out there at 7am but eventually got up to only 75* and plenty of sun. I’ll post my pics in order of how we found them with some others thrown in. I’ve had good luck...
by Matt J
June 16th, 2013, 9:10 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: PA Wilds 2013
Replies: 12
Views: 3376

Re: PA Wilds 2013

Plus hey you're less likely to get bit. It's nice that you move the snakes before replacing the rock; but I mean that there even can get totally hairy- in this case,you're talking about 5 warmed up, totally spooked and defensive/threatened adult rattlers hooked out or whatever one by one, you get t...
by Matt J
June 15th, 2013, 9:18 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: keeping track of snakes this year.
Replies: 5
Views: 1580

Re: keeping track of snakes this year.

kirbyl4 wrote:By now i thought i would have seen more copperheads. my garter snake count is surprisingly low. I thought this was kinda interesting.
(I haven't seen a single garter snake this year, not sure how that's even possible) :oops: :oops: :oops:
by Matt J
June 13th, 2013, 4:27 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: How many snakes of the year?
Replies: 23
Views: 5433

Re: How many snakes of the year?

7, a new personal record. It's been a great year!!!!!!!!!
by Matt J
June 13th, 2013, 4:23 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Scarlet Snake
Replies: 4
Views: 1613

Re: Scarlet Snake

It goes without saying that this is an amazing find. Congrats man, I'm sure you covered many miles to find this :beer:
by Matt J
June 13th, 2013, 1:32 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Ringneck Question
Replies: 6
Views: 1707

Re: Ringneck Question

Pondering Ringneck subspecies... do you want to give yourself gray hairs?
by Matt J
June 12th, 2013, 1:42 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Roadcruising Tropical Storm Andrea (spadefoots!)
Replies: 5
Views: 1991

Re: Roadcruising Tropical Storm Andrea (spadefoots!)

Cool, Matt. Is the solid cinerea a DE frog? Yeah, all of this was in New Castle Co., DE. When I grabbed it off the road it got really dark green, but as soon as I parked and brought it over to a tree it was bright green again. The calling spadefoot shot is awesome. I would have ruined a pair of sho...
by Matt J
June 10th, 2013, 4:56 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: How many hours/day per year do you herp?
Replies: 20
Views: 4743

Re: How many hours/day per year do you herp?

1 - How many hours/day do you spend in the field herping ? 2 - Does your significant other - boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse understand your hobby? If so, are they accepting of it or even join you in the field? Or if they are not understanding of your hobby - does this impact how much time you spend? 3...
by Matt J
June 10th, 2013, 3:05 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: salamander I.D. Help
Replies: 11
Views: 2839

Re: Salamander I.D. Help

I never thought I would say this, but they sure look like Wehrle's Salamanders to me too.
by Matt J
June 9th, 2013, 5:10 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Roadcruising Tropical Storm Andrea (spadefoots!)
Replies: 5
Views: 1991

Roadcruising Tropical Storm Andrea (spadefoots!)

Or spadefeet? The east coast was forecasted to be hit all Friday with heavy rains, which seemed like a perfect opportunity to see breeding spadefoot toads for the first time. I swung through a spot on my way home from work to see if anything was calling yet but no luck. I did spot a Diamondback Terr...
by Matt J
June 8th, 2013, 2:53 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Roadcruising Tropical Storm Andrea (spadefoots!)
Replies: 6
Views: 2492

Roadcruising Tropical Storm Andrea (spadefoots!)

Or spadefeet? I swung through a spot on my way home from work to see if anything was calling yet but no luck. I did spot a Diamondback Terrapin nesting in the rain: http://i701.photobucket.com/albums/ww14/mjenne1/2013%20Herps/terrapin_zps18eb4f09.jpg I met some friends for dinner and had to explain ...
by Matt J
June 6th, 2013, 5:08 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Diamondback Terrapins from the other day
Replies: 1
Views: 1067

Diamondback Terrapins from the other day

Found a few female Diamondback Terrapins the other day while at work. It's a fairly quiet area but we still ushered a few turtles off the road (aside from the DOR mud turtle). Nice sized female: http://i701.photobucket.com/albums/ww14/mjenne1/2013%20Herps/DiamondbackTerrapin1_zps2bac1e45.jpg This on...
by Matt J
June 6th, 2013, 4:33 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Goals for 2013
Replies: 49
Views: 15038

Re: Goals for 2013

ZantiMissKnit wrote:ETA: Of course, there's a tropical storm coming up the coast, set to hit us on Saturday morning!
Heck yeah there is. I'm hoping to get my spadefoot goal Friday night in the monsoon.
by Matt J
May 29th, 2013, 4:47 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Central Georgia Sandhills
Replies: 7
Views: 2735

Re: Central Georgia Sandhills

Nice post, Sandhills are such unique areas so it's always fun seeing posts. Love the scarlet snake. I've only been to the sandhills (of NC) once and flipped a Tantilla under the very first log I flipped, and didn't flip a single snake under any other log the rest of the trip. Go figure.
by Matt J
May 25th, 2013, 10:37 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Baltimore, MD Question...
Replies: 2
Views: 1178

Re: Baltimore, MD Question...

I found a Brown Snake along some trash as we were walking from one bar to the next in Fells Point last May. So yes, herp around bars in the evenings.
by Matt J
May 25th, 2013, 10:31 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: NE Chapter Trip to North Central PA - May 2013
Replies: 19
Views: 4393

Re: NE Chapter Trip to North Central PA - May 2013

Awesome stuff guys, I was really jealous I couldn't make it this year. Thanks for hosting another successful outing Kyle :thumb:
by Matt J
May 24th, 2013, 12:44 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Delmarva camping trip recap
Replies: 10
Views: 3219

Re: Delmarva camping trip recap

I'm 95% sure that the bird is a chipping sparrow. Your description of the song sounds about right. Congrats on the engagement. That was my initial thought and I removed "...like a chipping sparrow" from my description of the call because I didn't want to bias any opinions. It seemed much ...
by Matt J
May 24th, 2013, 12:38 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Snappers on the move
Replies: 3
Views: 1581

Re: Snappers on the move

My parents have a snapping turtle that they find nesting in their front yard nearly every year. She emailed me this morning and (jokingly) told me how angry she was at it this year because she dug a nest last night in an area they just put grass seed down on. She said they will now patiently wait un...
by Matt J
May 23rd, 2013, 3:58 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Delmarva camping trip recap
Replies: 10
Views: 3219

Re: Delmarva camping trip recap

Mike VanValen wrote:
Matt J wrote:I hope it isn't embarrassingly common?
The bird is a Northern Mockingbird. Sorry :lol:
Lol, are you surrrrrrrrre? From what I remember, there were 3 individuals calling in the area and their call were like a flat single note "tee tee tee tee tee tee tee".
by Matt J
May 22nd, 2013, 4:17 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Box Turtles
Replies: 26
Views: 5723

Re: Box Turtles

S if an animal is captured and contained for hours, or a day, for the convenience of a recreational photo shoot, during that time is it technically ecologically dead? No. If it is [ecologically] alive, then "ecologically dead", then [ecologically] alive again it would now be an "ecol...
by Matt J
May 22nd, 2013, 4:02 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Delmarva camping trip recap
Replies: 10
Views: 3219

Delmarva camping trip recap

Last weekend my fiancee and I went camping elsewhere in Delmarva as an impromptu engagement celebration. Despite the obligatory beach trips we were able to get a little herping in. On our way south we stopped along a few places on the coast to check out migrating shorebirds. She spotted this mummifi...
by Matt J
May 22nd, 2013, 2:55 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Allegheny Mountain Dusky vs. Northern Dusky
Replies: 7
Views: 3355

Re: Allegheny Mountain Dusky vs. Northern Dusky

I agree with the Lycoming individuals being ochropaheus and he Lebanon individuals being fuscus . You're third pic is a perfect example of ochrophaeus . For what it's worth, I lived and worked around Lycoming Co. in 2011 and 2012 and all I ever found were Allegheny Mtn Duskies. Looking through my re...
by Matt J
May 13th, 2013, 6:05 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Need some help on ID'ing toads.
Replies: 19
Views: 4949

Re: Need some help on ID'ing toads.

Looks like I am just going to have to go cruising, listen for banshee screams, find the little suckers and see them in person. I really do think that will be what helps me. Ive read that some people can actually tell the difference cruising at 60 MPH :? I think after tomorrow I will have plenty of ...
by Matt J
May 13th, 2013, 4:53 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: May Species Counts
Replies: 41
Views: 8531

Re: May Species Counts

5/13/13
Kent Co., DE
50*, cold as crap

Basking black racer
Basking water snake
Calling bullfrogs and green frogs
by Matt J
May 12th, 2013, 7:31 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: May Species Counts
Replies: 41
Views: 8531

Re: May Species Counts

5/10/2013
Kent County, DE
75-80*, few clouds

1 painted turtle crossing the road
2 mud turtles (1 on road, other dead in field)
1 snapping turtle
1 freshly dead juvi watersnake
TMTC bullfrogs

and 62 ID'd species of birds in 3 hrs :D
by Matt J
May 12th, 2013, 7:26 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Need some help on ID'ing toads.
Replies: 19
Views: 4949

Re: Need some help on ID'ing toads.

They both have virtually the same call, but the American's can go for 20+ seconds and Fowler's are going to be shorter calls. :D :crazyeyes: I was actually going to respond to say that their calls are very different and should be another way to separate the two. Fowler's toads have a very fast &quo...
by Matt J
May 4th, 2013, 9:13 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Spring in south Arkansas...
Replies: 6
Views: 4313

Re: Spring in south Arkansas...

Love the habitat shots, they look sooo inviting.
by Matt J
May 1st, 2013, 2:39 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: May Species Counts
Replies: 41
Views: 8531

Re: May Species Counts

5/1/13
Kent Co., DE
Salt marsh

3 Diamondback Terrapins (1 basking, 2 heads in the water)
1 Black Ratsnake in an adjacent upland
by Matt J
April 30th, 2013, 4:51 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: April Species Counts
Replies: 49
Views: 9398

Re: April Species Counts

April 29, 2013
New Castle Co., DE (NAAMP Route)

Calling Spring Peepers everywhere
Calling Fowler's Toads at 3 spots, and TMTC on the road
Calling Bullfrogs at 2 spots
Calling Green Frog at 1 spot
Calling Cricket Frog at 1 spot
Pickerel Frogs on the road
by Matt J
April 28th, 2013, 8:11 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: A Successful Day/Black Snake ID
Replies: 5
Views: 2156

Re: A Successful Day/Black Snake ID

Your unidentified black snake is a black rat snake, I say with 99.9999% certainty. Sorry.
by Matt J
April 26th, 2013, 1:38 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: April Species Counts
Replies: 49
Views: 9398

Re: April Species Counts

4/26/13
Kent Co., DE
60*, Sunny

2 Black Racers basking
2 Black Ratsnakes basking
1 Box Turtle carcass
by Matt J
April 22nd, 2013, 5:00 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Releasing a rough green snake in CT?
Replies: 44
Views: 7876

Re: Releasing a rough green snake in CT?

I'll echo what Chris has said. Unfortunately, releasing the rough green snake would mean almost certain death for it. You could contact some of the students in UConn's Herp Club ( https://uconntact.uconn.edu/organization/uconnherpclub/about ) to see if anyone wants it, otherwise they would likely be...
by Matt J
April 22nd, 2013, 4:11 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: The next step, and a Rachel
Replies: 15
Views: 3228

Re: The next step, and a Rachel

You never cease to amaze, Kyle. Awesome stuff!
by Matt J
April 20th, 2013, 11:38 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Western-most Long Island Pine Barrens
Replies: 8
Views: 3192

Re: Western-most Long Island Pine Barrens

Cool observations. I wouldn't discredit bullfrogs breeding in those depressions, they don't need permanent ponds and have been shown to metamorphose in a few months if needed. But who knows, juveniles disperse great distances and this one could have come from miles away.